Development of IT in support of remote work in Rosneft’s research centers: evidence from Tyumen Petroleum Research Center

ABSTRACT

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility of remote (out-of-office) work for employees of Rosneft’ s research centers has been considered as a distant prospect that requires a balanced assessment and approbation. Rosneft as other Russian vertically integrated companies adhered to the information security policy for corporate research and design institutes and oil and gas producing enterprises based on the assumption that the employee's workplace should be located in the office, inside the protected perimeter of the network. Under the influence of restrictive measures caused by the spread of the virus, remote work has turned from an organizational and technical innovation into a necessary condition for the continuation of the centers' activities. The article covers the experience of Tyumen Petroleum Research Center, Rosneft corporate institute, gained in the process of switching to remote work in conditions of tight deadlines and restrictions of access to public cloud services. Main characteristics of research center IT infrastructure and implementation of technical solutions of remote work reviewed. Authors analyzed effect of IT infrastructure changes and the massive emergence of remote workplaces on IT budget and activity of IT service, and assessed an impact of new business schedule on routine activity of employees, middle and highlevel managers of research center. Tyumen Petroleum Research Center does not plan to return to the previous model after pandemic, and makes a forecast for the continuation of the practice of using remote and mixed workplaces for its employees. This will not negate significance and demand of personal interaction. Based on this prospective, development of technologies and infrastructure solutions in research center during next three years will progress alongside with digital transformation of processes, intellectualization of services and increasing of employee's workplace mobility. © 2021, Neftyanoe Khozyaistvo. All rights reserved.