Ian Jacobs recently interviewed retiring Chevron executive Roger Cutler regarding Chevron’s use of semantic web technologies. Cutler stated, “In one project we sought to exploit the technical strengths of Semantic Web technology such as the expressiveness and reasoning achievable with OWL. While our efforts in that project have been a success as far as the technology goes, we have not yet seen a significant business benefit.”

Cutler continued, “A second effort focused on challenging integration problems that involve information about equipment in major capital projects such as an oil rig or platform. These capital projects involve tens of thousands of objects: flanges, pumps, blowout preventers, sub-assemblies, and so on. All the pieces of equipment come with documents (for safety and regulatory reasons, engineering drawings, etc.) and manufacturer’s specifications (e.g., temperatures at which the components function).” Read more

SemTechBiz is Less Than 2 Weeks Away

The Semantic Tech & Business Conference (SemTechBiz) is coming to San Francisco on June 3-7! Join us for case studies, innovative panels, tutorials, and keynotes that will provide you with practical advice, hands-on guidance, and breakthrough approaches to solving business problems with semantic technology. Passes go up $200 at the door. Sign up now and save !

The official attendance count for SemTech 2009 was 1170 individuals, from the following organizations (note many organizations were represented by multiple attendees).

Read more