Software Toolbox Technical Blog

In today’s fast-evolving oil and gas industry, accurate and reliable Electronic Flow Measurement (EFM) data is critical for custody transfer, regulatory compliance, and optimizing production. Yet accessing and managing that data, locked inside flow computers and RTUs can be a complex challenge.

In this blog, you’ll discover how Software Toolbox’s EFM Solutions simplify integration, ensure data reliability, and leverage open standards to seamlessly connect control systems, SCADA platforms, historians, accounting systems, and enterprise infrastructure, unlocking the full value of your flow measurement data.

On June 26, 2025, Software Toolbox hosted a live panel discussion that brought together three industry subject matter experts. They explored how organizations can unify data across legacy and modern systems, securely, efficiently, and without unnecessary disruption. In addition, they discussed in depth what it really takes to create a common data framework that’s not just effective, but scalable and future ready.

From Silos to Insights: What You Need to Know

This blog highlights the key takeaways, where the panel unpacked seven critical areas to focus on when closing data gaps across operations. You’ll discover the most common challenges companies face, why aligning technology with business goals is essential, and how open, standards-based solutions can bridge the gap between old and new, without the high costs and disruption of rip-and-replace approaches.

A major pharmaceutical company struggled with manual, error-prone data extraction for monthly compliance reporting within their utilities department. The team was reliant on fragile Excel macros pulling historical LGH file data from AVEVA InTouch HMI (formerly Wonderware InTouch) systems, which frequently broke due to Microsoft Office updates, causing costly delays and requiring repeated engineering intervention. 

To streamline their regulatory reporting process and ensure data accuracy and security, the pharmaceutical utilities group sought a robust, user-friendly solution to extract water and wastewater data efficiently without IT bottlenecks or operational downtime.

In the oil and gas industry, data drives everything—from production optimization to regulatory compliance and remote asset management. But in an environment with geographically dispersed assets, legacy equipment, and too often limited network bandwidth, secure data exchange is far from simple. 

To stay competitive and compliant, oil and gas operators must bridge the gap between edge devices to control and enterprise systems—safely, reliably, and in real time.

How a Common Data Infrastructure is Helping Amcor Meet its Net Zero Goals

We are celebrating World Earth Day all month long and recognize that sustainability is not just about using eco-friendly materials — it is about making smarter choices in how we connect, operate, optimize, and innovate. To kick things off, this first blog of this year's Earth Day Series explores how Amcor, a global leader in the packaging industry, is leveraging TOP Server to drive efficiency, improve productivity, and help support its sustainability goals. 

Oil and gas is a complex, high-risk, high-reward industry affected by factors like operational challenges, frequent system configuration change, buying/selling of field assets, environmental risks, technological integration, highly variable demand and market-based pricing, and safety concerns. It involves high capital investment, complex distribution networks, and diverse regulatory requirements. With the ongoing shift towards digital transformation strategies and smart manufacturing revolving around Industry 4.0, companies must adapt while ensuring efficiency, profitability, and compliance.

In this blog I’ll talk about the challenges our clients in this space tell us they face, how our solutions address them, and share resources including success stories to learn more.