Digitalization allows to make correct and faster decisions - Frank Catumbela

- Tell us about your main responsibilities?

- I have been working in the oil industry for 27 years. I am an advisor to the CEO in the company. I manage the bigger transformation program. There are a lot of projects inside that transformation program. We are changing the organization, the way we operate. Our management used to be administrative, now we are going to functional, so we have the delegation of the authority. So, you do not have to go to the CEO to sign your purchase requisition. All this used to be very centralized.

- Can you evaluate the results of the forum?

- I am the biggest supporter of SAP, and I know the most of its team here. They have been supporting me and our project for the last two years. This is a venue where you actually come and communicate with other people. So, you can make references, learn and share what you have done. This is must have in the digital transformation. We talked about sensitive data, for example, other people’s experiences, compliance with Kazakh law.

- What does digital transformation mean to you?

- If you are talking about the oil and gas industry, then this is the industry which is very data driven. Data driven means all decisions are based on what the data tells you. Unless you go digital and make sure you access to visualization of the date, whether those are in terms of reports, in terms of dashboards, or in terms of stimulations, which we do a lot, you will be unable to make correct and faster decisions. Digitalization, if talking about our industry, it is a decisive moment to the features of our industry.

- What are the benefits of digitalization in your company?

- The very clear benefit of digitalization is that we have turned into a more effective organizational structure, decision-making processes and security have improved. If you really go digital in our industry, there is a probability that the company values decisions and the profitability in the company goes up.

- Did SAP technologies somehow effect on the efficiency or performance of the company?

- We are now in the transition phase. We run a few pilots, but performance is 5 or 10 times more efficient now, that is preliminary. What I see in terms of improvement of the company is incredible. The level of confidence is very high.

- Tell us about the level of competence in the market?

- The level of education in the market is very high. Here, engineering is still something that people do. There is a governmental program for digital Kazakhstan. There is a new generation which is high educated. For instance, my company takes students because they are sharp and they want to be there.

- The digitalization process, does it affect employment?

- In a good way, I have mentioned that there are the roles that might reduce, but there are a lot of roles out there which are coming. If you go specific, some of the functions are controlled, those might be reduced. Nevertheless, we have analytics coming in, we need business analytics, we need data science, we need business intelligence reporting. All those people are needed, there is a new wave of the roles and professions coming in. If you look at our company, we are heavily investing in training. And there is where the balance is.

- Thank you for the interview!

For reference: SAP (“Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing”) is a German multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. The company has customers in over 180 countries, including Kazakhstan. SAP held a forum in Nur Sultan on 30 May, showcasing its new technological solutions to Kazakh organizations, business structures, entrepreneurs, and so on.

Adlet Seilkhanov