5 Business Critical Things Every Energy Company Should Know About Their Software and Cybersecurity – Introduction

Software Supply Chain Security: It’s Time to Have “The Talk” with your Software Vendors

The US digital economy has seen a triple-digit increase in cybersecurity threats with a wartime posture among bad actors that is only accelerating the overall trend toward increasing sophistication, size, and volume of cyberattacks. As energy leaders navigate mounting cybersecurity challenges, key concerns are top of mind including how to ensure business continuity, keep business data safe, and thwart rapidly growing attacks with shrinking IT budgets. W Energy Software’s manager of cybersecurity, Michelle Pellon, brings her voice of authority to our blog where she presents an essential checklist for protecting your software supply chain by working with vendors who understand the risks, have a disaster recovery plan, implement certified security controls, and continuously collaborate with security partners.

 

When it comes to your digital oilfield ecosystem, there is a new world order. Quietly and without press releases from the bad actors, a surge of activity has moved hackers from virtual back alley deals to main street shops. The organized crime of cyberattacks, especially from ransomware, is now big business and here to stay. But it’s not just energy companies that are vulnerable targets – if your team relies on any type of software to run your oil & gas business, then you are at high risk unless each of your vendors has the right strategy, processes, and partnerships to always stand guard and rapidly respond to cybersecurity threats.

An Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape

A recent Global Risks Report places cybersecurity failures among the top mid-term global threats. Security firm SonicWall estimates that in 2021 corporate information technology teams faced 623 million ransomware attacks, a 105% year over year increase. Other staggering numbers include a 1,885% increase in attacks directed at the government, 755% for healthcare, 152% for education, and 21% for retail.

The energy industry is also at risk, more so than other sectors with our unique complexities and vulnerabilities of the digital oilfield. Cyber risks continue to evolve as the digital transformation of the energy sector accelerates along with the associated information systems, from wellhead SCADA and flow meters to the back office and city gates.

The Energy Software Supply Chain Security Challenge

Your software ecosystem is the most complex and challenging space to manage cybersecurity risks. If you use 5 different software packages as an upstream operator, say production accounting, division order, lease admin, financials, and revenue accounting, then you inherit the risk from all of the subsystems and open source software those 5 packages are built on, which exposes your team to hundreds or even thousands of potential vulnerabilities. Software supply chain security also extends to your vendor’s IT security and the capabilities they provide for data security, business continuity, and auditing of internal controls. Importantly, best-in-class cybersecurity is also built on partnerships and continuous innovation.

Ransomware operations are truly starting to look and feel like a business, albeit organized crime, with specialists who source prospects, infiltrate, and manage customer service/payments. But that’s as good as it gets in cyberspace, at least these bad actors are in for the profits. But threats and postures can be very fluid. Regimes that suddenly find their energy sector under international sanctions today may respond in turn with cyberattacks on global energy infrastructure tomorrow. We all need to be prepared.

Top Cybersecurity Questions Vendors Should Have Great Answers To

It’s time to have “the talk” with your energy software providers. If they don’t have great answers to each and every one of the following questions, then those vendors who claim to have your interest as a priority are simply neglecting your interests. Use these questions as a conversation starter the next time your team is invited to a technology update (i.e., sales presentation) or visit to a vendor’s innovation center with the red carpet treatment.

  • What is your strategy for software supply chain security?
  • What are you doing to protect my data right now?
  • How quickly can I recover my software/data if attacked?
  • What service organization controls (SOC) do you have in place?
  • When it comes to cybersecurity, how is your team innovating/adding value?

 

Multiple energy software vendors make for a lot of awkward conversations. W Energy Software has taken the leadership position in cyber resiliency, protecting our organization and SaaS ERP clients with continual threat assessment, disaster recovery and business continuity readiness, and by collaborating with security, energy, and law enforcement partners. Plus, because we provide a single code base for upstream (accounting, land, production ops, tax) and midstream (plant accounting, terminal management, transportation, marketing) having the talk with our clients is simple while enabling us to provide the right answer to each of these questions.

Over the course of the next 5 blog posts, I’ll show you why W Energy Software should be your vendor of choice, starting with our approach to managing your software supply chain vulnerabilities, so stay tuned!

 

 


 

About W Energy Software

Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, W Energy Software offers the oil & gas industry’s only unified ERP solution built for the cloud that is relied on by more than 130 upstream and midstream companies to accelerate business performance, improve operational efficiency, and drive costs down.  W Energy Software combines precision-built software in one extendable cloud-based workspace with an intimate understanding of the oil & gas business to deliver solutions that offer flexibility, affordability, and continuous upgrades.  Unlike other ERP software that loosely ties together a mix of legacy solutions and fragmented technologies, W Energy Software designed a unified upstream and midstream ERP platform to seamlessly track oil, gas, and NGL from the wellhead through transportation and marketing, eliminating data silos as well as the burden and costs of maintaining multiple systems.  With W Energy Software, oil & gas companies stay lean and agile with the tools they need to adapt to market changes and meet evolving customer needs head-on, all while gaining the confidence that their business is running on the latest technology. For more information, please visit www.wenergysoftware.com.

 

 


 

 

Michelle Pellon, DevOps Information Security Manager at W Energy Software

A native of Houston, Michelle began her IT career as a programmer on the Human Genome Sequencing Project. Her passion for security quickly shaped her career as she moved into a critical role working with Federal law enforcement teams to fight child exploitation online. Michelle directs the DevOps and Cybersecurity strategy for W Energy Software, connecting corporate operational and security objectives to business initiatives. Additionally, she shares her message about evolving how people think about and approach security, privacy, and trust through speaking engagements at various conferences and other events. When not engaged in security research and advocacy, she is also an accomplished sailor with the Houston Yacht Club.

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Hayes Luger

Vice President of Professional Services

Hayes has over 17 years of experience in the Energy and Financial Services space driving high growth organizations while focusing on operational improvements and delivery excellence. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the University of Mississippi.

Specialties: Management / Technology Consulting, Strategy, Disciplined Sales Execution, Account / Customer Success Management, Relationship Management, Delivery Methodologies & Best Practices, Estimating Models & Frameworks, SaaS & On-Premise Software Implementation, Program / Project Management, Team Building & Leadership, and P&L Management.

JONATHAN JACKSON

Chief of Staff

Jonathan joined W Energy Software in 2022, bringing more than 10 years of experience in corporate finance and financial services. Prior to joining W, he served on the FP&A team at Magellan Midstream Partners, where he focused on business optimization and cost containment. As Chief of Staff, Jonathan’s current responsibilities include strategic planning, project management, and decision support within W’s executive team. He graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Northeastern State University, earning a B.B.A. in Finance. Furthermore, he holds an MBA from Louisiana State University Shreveport and a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Rachel Collins

Chief Executive Officer

Rachel Collins joins WES with over 25 years of organizational transformation experience. Prior to WES, Rachel was the General Manager of Insite360, the software and analytics division of Gilbarco Veeder-Root (a NYSE:VNT operating company). Prior to Insite360, Rachel served as General Manager and SVP at Aurea Software (ESW Capital/Trilogy), where she directly managed several acquisitions including ista NA, Lyris, MessageOne, AlertFind, Artemis, Jive software operations, and Jive’s FedRAMP program. Rachel is responsible for over a billion annual recurring revenue since 2013. She also founded a boutique consulting firm focused on java development and middleware integration serving the energy, financial services, and healthcare sectors.

Rachel graduated with Cum Laude honors from LSU, with a B.S. in Information Systems and Decision Sciences. In 2019, Rachel graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Colorado State University Global, with a Master’s Degree in Finance.

MICHAEL TETZLAFF​

Chief Financial Officer

Michael earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky and holds an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. He began his career at LaSalle Bank in Chicago, later transitioning to an asset management firm, leading efforts to optimize internal processes and manage data flow across the organization. Michael has over 20 years of experience in FP&A, accounting, information systems management and capital markets.

Andy James

Chief Product Officer

Andy has 30 years of oil and gas experience which have been focused on technology leadership roles. He has extensive experience in commercial software delivery, product management, and product life cycle. Mr. James joined W Energy Software in January 2023, prior to which he served 10 years at IHS Markit where he led the global software development organization for the upstream oil and gas business. Key contributions include leading the geoscience software organization, migration of key platform technologies to the cloud, and Agile development transformation. Mr. James also spent 20 years in global roles in London, Holland, and Houston with Halliburton, including stints with KBR, Halliburton Integrated Solutions, and finally Landmark Graphics.

Vipul Bansal

Chief Technology Officer

Vipul Bansal brings in 20+ years of technology experience helping organizations build scalable solutions. In his role as VP of Engineering, Vipul leads the platform engineering teams delivering robust ERP solutions and plays a critical role in helping W Energy remain at the forefront of innovation. Prior to joining W Energy, Vipul was Head of Engineering for Seven Lakes Technologies building truly cloud-native SaaS solution for oilfield production, field operations and production accounting. Vipul received his Master’s from Wayne State University and holds a Bachelor’s in engineering from Sardar Patel University.

Whitney Braden

Chief Human Resources Officer

Whitney joined W Energy Software in 2013 and currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources. She is passionate about building strategies and initiatives focused on solving business and people challenges. Whitney earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Rogers State University and a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management from Oklahoma State University.

David Craig

Senior Vice President of Client Experience

David has over 20 years of experience in Upstream Oil & Gas spanning the IT strategy, design and implementation disciplines as well as extensive experience in data warehousing, business analytics, revenue accounting, production accounting and land applications. He earned a BA in Business Administration and Management and his MBA from Baylor University.

Frank Fuda

Vice President of Sales

Frank joined the W Energy team in 2020 and currently serves as Associate Vice President of Sales. He has 14 years of experience in various sales roles and enjoys helping clients across the oil and gas industry achieve strategic transformation. Frank earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University.

Aubree Witt

Business Operations Coordinator

Aubree joined W Energy Software in 2018 and currently serves as the Executive Administrator for the Leadership Team. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors in Sociology and comes with 10 years of administrative experience.

Stacey McCroskey

Head of Product Strategy

Stacey McCroskey, Ph.D., PMP joins WES with over 25 years’ experience in both corporate and educational settings. She has focused on software products and services in the oil & gas, construction, and financial services industries. She is a management professional with global experience in strategic planning, product leadership, project and change management, product development, and employee development.  Stacey has also worked as a college professor and Dean teaching management, leadership, organizational behavior, and project management courses.

Stacey earned her undergraduate degree and Master of Science in Accounting Degrees from Oklahoma State University. She also has a Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and her Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management from Capella University. She has her Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification from the Project Management Institute.

Sean Giese

Board Member

Sean joined True Wind in 2018 and is a Director of Envoy Global, Sysnet Global Solutions, and W Energy Software. Prior to joining True Wind, Sean spent over a decade at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) where he led and managed growth equity investments and buyouts within technology. Sean was involved with various investments across the technology sector including Actifio, Cradlepoint, Datto, ExtraHop, Fuze, GoDaddy, Twilio, XRS and several others. Prior to joining TCV, Sean was with Deutsche Bank in the Technology Mergers & Acquisitions group.

Sean holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles.

Mike Crest

Board Member

Mike brings more than 25 years of IT industry experience where he was most recently CEO and President at Optanix, a software and solution provider for large enterprise collaboration and communications technology, where he led the team through a successful sale of the company in 2021.

Prior to joining Optanix, Mike served as CEO of Arcserve, a provider of data backup and recovery solutions, where he led the team that took the company independent. Before that, he held several executive level roles at CA Technologies, one of the largest independent software corporations in the world, and spent eight years in technology sales leadership roles at one of the largest resellers in the world.

Mike holds B.S. degrees in Business Administration, Computer Science and Communications from Minnesota State University.

SAM AUSTIN

Board Member

Sam joined True Wind in 2021. Prior to joining True Wind, Sam was co-CFO of Active Interest Media. Prior to his role at Active Interest Media, Sam worked at Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, and in the Financial Sponsors Group at Citigroup.

Sam holds a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in Latin American Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Mike Anello

Board Member

Mike Anello is dedicated to helping growth-oriented businesses maximize their operations by applying his extensive sales and marketing expertise to portfolio companies.

Prior to founding M33, Mike was a member of the ops team at Valor Equity Partners, where he focused on implementing sales and marketing best practices across the firm’s portfolio. Before this, Mike led business development for Axium Software (acquired by Deltek), where he led acquisitions and helped double the size of Axium’s sales and marketing engine in less than two years. Mike has worked with several companies to optimize and streamline their sales and marketing efforts, including Illumio Software, Tesla Motors, Manduka, Porch, and Project44. He was also a cofounder of Cleverlayover. Mike, Gabe and Brian first worked together at General Catalyst. There Mike built the sourcing team and focused on software and healthcare opportunities.

Mike graduated from the University of Notre Dame summa cum laude. He walked on to the Notre Dame Football Team, eventually earning a scholarship and two-time Academic All-American Honors. Mike received his MBA from Harvard Business School. While there, he partnered with Shikhar Ghosh and Mark Roberge to build a playbook around best practices for scaling sales teams from $10 million to $100 million in revenue.

Mike’s passion for giving back led to the launch of Boston’s inaugural St. Baldrick’s Event, a pediatric oncology research foundation. Since then he has led more than 10 events in four cities.

Peter Waldroop

Board Member

Pete Waldroop has served as executive, CEO, and Board member for numerous organizations over his 26 year career in IT and software.  Mr. Waldroop has founded such successful organizations as Waterfield Energy, Capitalize Consulting, and Quorum Business Solutions. Mr. Waldroop’s commitment to client service now extends to cyber security though Asgard Cyber Security.

Rachel Collins

Board Member

Rachel Collins joins WES with over 25 years of organizational transformation experience. Prior to WES, Rachel was the General Manager of Insite360, the software and analytics division of Gilbarco Veeder-Root (a NYSE:VNT operating company). Prior to Insite360, Rachel served as General Manager and SVP at Aurea Software (ESW Capital/Trilogy), where she directly managed several acquisitions including ista NA, Lyris, MessageOne, AlertFind, Artemis, Jive software operations, and Jive’s FedRAMP program. Rachel is responsible for over a billion annual recurring revenue since 2013. She also founded a boutique consulting firm focused on java development and middleware integration serving the energy, financial services, and healthcare sectors.

Rachel graduated with Cum Laude honors from LSU, with a B.S. in Information Systems and Decision Sciences. In 2019, Rachel graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Colorado State University Global, with a Master’s Degree in Finance.

SALLY ROUSE

Chief Operating Officer

Sally has spent 20+ years in IT, Commercial Software and Consulting focused on Operations and Customer Success.  Sally most recently was the VP of Customer Success at Gilbarco Veeder-Root (a NYSE:VNT operating company), a retail petroleum equipment manufacturer and technology platform with a customer base of more than $450mm in annual revenues in their Retail Solutions organization. Sally joined W Energy Software in April of 2023 and will leverage her extensive experience in managing large Services & Customer Success organizations to drive efficiencies through automation and build cross functional synergies to support our growth and scale.   

HARI DUTT

Head of Product Management

Hari is a highly experienced professional who over 18 years has consistently demonstrated a passion for leveraging technology to achieve exceptional business outcomes in the Energy industry. Prior to W Energy Software, Hari as the Director of product management was pivotal in shaping the JOYN product line and ensuring its alignment with overall business strategy making Seven Lakes Technologies a market leader in oilfield operations and data capture. As an offshore oilfield engineer in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, Hari brings a unique perspective to the Energy software industry. 

Hari graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management with an MBA. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Materials & Metallurgical engineering from the world-renowned Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai.

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