askSam and the askSam Electronic Publisher

By Paul Oman, Marketing/Computing Oil Patch Consultant

p.oman@ix.netcom.com

Originally Published in the Houston Geological Society Bulletin

 Reprinted with Permission

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The oil business, like other technology based industries, has always been extremely information intensive.  Success is more often than not simply a matter of seeing all the evidence in such a way that all data is utilized and ties together.  Millions of dollars have been spent to advance this idea of data management and visualization in the workstation arena.  For a lot less money, the same concept can be employed for all the scraps of information and data collected as a project develops.  That brings us to the askSam database and its optional Electronic Publisher software.

Windows-based askSam is a time-tested software product that has been constantly updated and improved since the early DOS days.  The hardest thing about askSam is describing what it is.  The vendor's own people refer to it as "The database for Information" and "Your Intelligent Guide Through the Sea of Information."  I would say it's 65% word processor and 35% database with extensive search capabilities and hypertext linking.  What does all this mean? Basically you enter all your information into askSam as either a document or as a form or formless database.  This is literally the place where every bit and scrap of information, ideas, suggestions, comments and hard numbers should be deposited.

askSam's worth comes in its all powerful search and search/report capabilities.  One can literally pull out paragraphs in a report format that include any reference to Exxon #2 Turner well or petroleum shows in the Frio formation no matter how structured or unstructured that information was originally formated.

Hypertext, as you may recall, is the ability to click or tag a reference to something in a document and be transferred to another file that expands upon that topic.  It is kind of a computerized footnote system.  A petroleum exploration example might be a mention of a certain well with a hypertext link to information about that well, such as formation tops, shows, core data, etc.  Much information already exists in hardcopy, so askSam has an optional OCR (optical character recognition) functionality as well.  Scanned in text documents are converted back into text, saving hours of retyping and data entry.  The cost for this option is $99.95.

Simply put, askSam provides for the organization and presentation of project information, in almost any format it is found in.  This sounds great, and it just keeps getting better.  askSam version 3.0 has just arrived.  Although I've yet to see this new version (having reviewed version 2.0), it sounds like a winner.  It introduces fuzzy searching (locating things that are close to your specific search terms); greater ability to insert, edit and compress graphics: and the ability to import, export and create Internet HTML documents (you are on the Internet, aren't you?). The Professional version of askSam version 3, improves upon search capabilities for very large documents such as might be found with a large exploration or development program.  The new Professional Version of askSam 3.0 is on my Christmas list and if you're serious about managing all the random information in your E&P operation, it should be on yours too.

Adding an entirely new dimension to askSam is its Electronic Publisher.  The Publisher is a runtime of askSam that can be distributed freely without royalty concerns.  Basically it is the askSam software in a read, search, and print only format.  This means askSam documents, such as complete exploration projects, or more mundane user manuals, employee handbooks, product catalogs, etc., can be distributed in a manner in which they were created.  Suddenly the askSam approach to information management and display extends not just to the actual core working group, but also beyond to clients, customers, field offices, etc.  This new ability to disperse askSam documents with an askSam viewer expands the use of this product from an internal data management tool into a companywide sales/marketing and information dissemination tool. Wow!

askSam for Windows Version 3.0 - $149.95

Professional Version - $395.00

Five User Network Standard $1495.00 - Professional $1995.00

Electronic Publisher - $1495.00

askSam Systems

Post Office Box 1428

Perry, FL 32348

Phone: 1-800-800-1997 or 850-584-6590

Fax: 850-548-7481

Email: info@askSam.com

http://www.asksam.com