Oil and gas companies are turning to digital technologies to lower costs and improve efficiency as the industry struggles with low energy prices. Information technology budgets have decreased by 10% or more at oil and gas companies during the slump, according to IDC. Analysts say companies still are strategically spending in areas such as analytics, mobile, and cloud that can lower costs and, in some cases, help improve well production. Oil prices started to fall after a peak of $114.81 a barrel on June 20, 2014. The global Brent benchmark on the ICE Futures Europe exchange has dropped 61.2% over the last 22 months to $44.53 on April 21. During the same period average gas prices in the U.S. fell to $2.09 a gallon from about $3.70 a gallon. Plunging oil and gas has spurred cutbacks with 84,000 jobs lost in Texas, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy […]