Director of Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS), Lucy Quist, has underscored the importance of using ICT to drive sustainability, development and resource maximisation in the Oil and Gas sector. Speaking to industry players at the Pan African Oil and Gas Conference in Accra, she explained how ICT can be used to manage remote sites and connect offshore activities to other locations. She gave examples of how VBS has empowered thousands of businesses in Ghana to grow, cut cost, increase efficiency and improve profits by offering innovative market-led products such as the Fleet Manager, Hosted Virtual PBX and Broadband Telephony. “The Hosted Virtual PBX which combines landlines and mobiles into a single platform to manage and receive calls. This product has an auto attendant facility and an office manager portal, which among others saves the corporate user up to 80% phone bills per month.” She explained the Broadband Telephony also leverages on broadband networks to deliver comprehensive fixed line communication, giving users a great ability to receive emails, retrieve messages and notify the users of messages received. She mentioned the VBS fleet manager as the current leading product on the market in terms of mobile asset management. “It has features such as fuel sensors for monitoring fuel consumption; magnetic locks for extra security and coded log-in features for knowing the identity of the drivers; digital cameras for taking pictures around the vehicle; and audio voice recognition for communication with the driver. She emphasised that VBS fleet manager improves productivity, reduce accidents and improve safety of passengers as it serves as a check on driver idling, over-speeding, hijacking, fuel and car theft and safety of passengers and property. VBS is a specialist business unit within Vodafone Ghana that provides network based IT and communication solutions to businesses and government agencies.