SILA Union and the State Duma: industry dialogue on digital governance in the fuel and energy sector
The digital transformation of key economy—forming industries is a matter of national strategy and competitiveness of the country. In the walls A series of expert round tables has been logically developed by the State Duma in the format of an industry dialogue to develop reference standards and growth points. In this context, SILA Union, as a regular expert on strategic management, once again acted as one of the key participants in the expert discussion, presenting her practical experience in the formation of domestic digital management methodologies.
The round table "Digital management in the Fuel and energy sector: domestic standards" was devoted to one of the most complex and critically important areas of the economy — the fuel and energy complex, where digital solutions directly determine the sustainability of management, transparency of processes and the ability of the industry to act as a single, well-coordinated mechanism. In conditions of high capital intensity, technological interconnectedness and increased responsibility for results, it is precisely the built—in logic of decision-making, end-to-end manageability and reliance on uniform rules that are becoming a key factor in the long-term development of the industry.
The event was held at the site of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications. The meeting was moderated by Deputy Chairman of the Committee Andrey Svintsov. The discussion was a continuation of the earlier work on the formation of unified approaches to digital industrial management, but this time the focus was on the specifics of the fuel and energy complex, oil and gas industries.
The role of SILA Union: from common standards to industry models of the fuel and energy complex
As at previous meetings, SILA Union was invited to participate in the expert agenda as a developer and vendor of a domestic process and architectural management platform already used at the largest enterprises in our country. The presented experience of the company became a link between the previously discussed approaches and the current industry focus on the fuel and energy sector.
SILA Union experts emphasized that digital transformation is impossible for energy and oil and gas without formalization of processes and a unified architectural management logic. It is process models that make it possible to link production, technological, managerial and IT circuits into a single digital space, ensuring transparency, manageability and predictability of changes.
The following issues were raised during the discussion::
adaptation of standard process models to the specifics of the fuel and energy complex;
integration of process management with engineering, production and dispatch systems;
formation of requirements for digital counterparts of energy facilities based on processes;
switching from foreign solutions to domestic platforms without loss of manageability and reliability;
the role of process standards as the basis for scalable digitalization of the industry.
"For the fuel and energy sector, digital transformation must begin with processes and management architecture. Only by relying on common standards and domestic platforms such as SILA Union can the industry ensure sustainability, security and predictability of development. It is a systematic approach, where each control element is integrated into a single digital ecosystem, that will optimize current processes and scale successful cases to the entire complex, ensuring a real effect from implementation and increasing efficiency at all levels," said Elena Silkina, founder of SILA Union.
SILA Union's experience has shown that it is the presence of a methodological foundation that allows fuel and energy companies to move from point-to-point IT projects to systemic digital transformation.
From strategic documents to managed digital systems
The fuel and energy sector is currently the focus of several government strategies and development programs. The national goals of digital maturity, fixed by decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Industrial Development Strategy until 2035, the Energy Strategy of Russia, documents on economic security and the development of the mineral resource base form a clear request: digitalization should be systemic, based on domestic technologies and standardized management models.
The participants of the round table noted that for energy and oil and gas companies, digital transformation is primarily a restructuring of business architecture, management processes, approaches to data and responsibility. High capital intensity, asset allocation, and increased security and reliability requirements make the fuel and energy sector one of the most challenging industries for digital change.
Practical experience and real limitations of digitalization
During the first block of discussion, representatives of fuel and energy companies and the oil and gas industry shared their assessment of the current level of digital maturity, talked about ongoing transformation programs and identified key barriers. Among the most frequently mentioned problems are the fragmentation of the IT landscape, the legacy of foreign systems, the complexity of integrating production and management circuits, the lack of high—quality data, and the methodological heterogeneity of process descriptions.
Special attention was paid to the consequences of the departure of foreign vendors. The participants emphasized that successful import substitution is possible only if the processes are manageable and transparent. Simply replacing one software product with another without revising the architecture and management logic does not solve strategic problems and often increases fragmentation.
The personnel issue remains a significant factor. The lack of specialists who are able to simultaneously understand the industry specifics of the fuel and energy complex, process management and modern digital tools significantly slows down the pace of transformation and increases the risks of projects.
Request for standards and industry coordination
The second block of the discussion was devoted to the future: what conditions are needed for the further development of digital management in the fuel and energy sector. Almost all participants agreed that the industry lacks uniform standards, both methodological and technological. We are talking about standards for describing business processes, requirements for system compatibility, principles of building digital twins, approaches to data integration and change management.
The issue of the role of the state was of particular interest. The participants in the discussion noted the need for comprehensive support: from the regulatory consolidation of process approaches and requirements for domestic platforms to the creation of conditions for pilot projects and mechanisms for replicating successful practices.
Industry specifics as the next stage of digital maturity
The round table showed that industrial digitalization in Russia is moving to a new level. If in the previous stages the main task was to realize the need to switch to domestic solutions and unify management systems, today the focus is shifting to industry-specific details. The fuel and energy sector requires its own process models, architectural templates, and standards that take into account the technological complexity and criticality of the industry.
The continuation of a series of similar events in the State Duma testifies to the formation of a stable expert agenda. The dialogue between the government, industrial companies, IT vendors such as SILA Union, and the expert community is becoming a key tool for developing solutions that can be scaled to the entire industry.
Digital governance in the fuel and energy sector is increasingly perceived as an element of national security and long-term development. The formation of common standards, the development of domestic platforms, staff training and a coordinated architectural policy — these are the factors that the participants of the round table called the basis for a sustainable digital transformation of the Russian energy complex.
