New Technology Magazine

Quorum’s Pipeline Transaction Management System Now Available In A Hosted Version

HOUSTON, Tex. -- Quorum Business Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of business and information technology solutions for the oil, gas and renewable energy industry, announces that its popular Quorum Pipeline Transaction Management (QPTM) software solution is now available as a hosted version, accessible via the internet.

QPTM is an industry-leading software solution used by natural gas pipeline and storage facility operators to manage transactions with their shippers, including contracts, scheduling, nominations, allocations, billing and accounting.

QPTM is currently in use by 15 facility operators, managing over 60 pipeline and storage facility assets. The software solution addresses FERC regulated pipelines and storage facilities subject to NAESB standards, including the most recent NAESB 2.0 standard.

Traditionally, the QPTM software solution has been deployed locally on the client’s network at their premises. This new alternate hosted version of QPTM allows clients to simply access this powerful functionality from any web browser over the internet, with Quorum managing the software and hardware infrastructure, facilities, security and supporting IT functions such as client support, change management, application availability, monitoring and software update release management processes.

Hosted QPTM clients will also receive the benefits of regular software updates, including updates in support of regularly evolving regulatory requirements, including FERC / NAESB. Certain clients view the hosted version as a preferable alternative, attributing less implementation effort, zero hardware capital investment and lower ongoing maintenance costs. Quorum has been systematically deploying hosted versions of each of the over two dozen software solutions in the Quorum Energy Software Suite.

This new hosted version of QPTM has been deployed by a first Quorum client who put the system into production service Nov. 1. This client recently acquired an interstate natural gas pipeline asset and faced a critically short lead time to complete deployment of this key commercial operations system. Quorum worked with the client to define business process requirements and configure the software. Utilizing the new hosted version of QPTM, this client completed deployment of the new system in less than two months.

In support of the hosting service underlying Quorum’s software solutions, Quorum has partnered with an industry leading and SSAE16 SOC2 certified data centre service provider to deliver a rigorous state-of-the-art hardware, software and business process infrastructure to make these systems accessible via the internet, on an extremely reliable basis. The QPTM software solution supports natural gas pipeline and storage facilities, a business that is truly a 24/7 round the clock operation. As a result, clients view this system as mission critical and have an expectation of uninterrupted operation.

Quorum’s hosted solution is a Software as a Service (SaaS) model which makes any combination of Quorum software offerings available to clients, while reducing the time, technical expertise and cost investment typically associated with a software installation. This solution is ideal for companies that want to implement a system quickly and easily. Additionally, it allows the client to maintain focus on their primary business, while Quorum manages the technical infrastructure on an ongoing basis. Implementing hosted software helps clients control costs by providing predictable monthly expenditures and minimizing upfront investment by leveraging an existing IT infrastructure. In conjunction with the hosted software offering, Quorum also provides business process outsourcing services for companies that do not have the internal staff resources to manage their back office activities.

Quorum Business Solutions, Inc. is a software and consulting solutions company that develops, implements and supports a suite of business software solutions for the oil and gas and renewable energy industry with a unique approach to providing a longer product life span. Founded in 1998, Quorum employs over 350 staff operating out of offices in Houston, Dallas and Calgary. Quorum has ongoing relationships with over 145 clients, among which 25 Fortune 500 companies are represented. Throughout its fourteen year history, Quorum has successfully completed over 650 business and information technology projects.

The Quorum Energy Software Suite is a set of integrated business applications designed for companies that produce, gather, transport, process and market crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, LNG and wind-generated power. The inherent integration of the suite allows the products to work together to facilitate straight through processing of the full energy value chain.