At the DVMA’s inaugural breakfast last month, I had the opportunity to speak with Marty Michael, CEO of Miria Systems, a local Philadelphia company that is developing new products to help the drilling companies tackle the issue of water management and other business challenges at drilling sites.

Miria Systems has been in business for 25 years, providing Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions and energy/utilities domain expertise to businesses all over the country. The company helps large utilities document their processes and keep track of a wide range of information that flows through the enterprise, whether that information is in electronic or paper form. It is widely regarded as a Philadelphia-area success story, and has won acclaim as one of the Philadelphia 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies.

Now, Miria is funding a startup within its company called Miria Energy Systems. Miria Energy Systems will adapt the company’s technology and expertise to help drillers manage information and data to ensure regulatory compliance and improved business efficiency. It has targeted the immediate problem of managing water used in the hydraulic fracturing process.

This is a great need in the Marcellus. Because of the intense focus on water safety, drillers are required to account for every gallon of water that is used in the drilling process. If four million gallons goes into the ground, it must document and report to regulators where every single gallon has gone. It’s a big challenge – and an important objective.

According to Marty Michael, Miria is able to improve the management of this process and bring the data to the mobile computing platform so that the information is available to drilling company managers in the field, on the fly, and in real time. By addressing the problem similar to comparable challenges in the manufacturing industry, Miria’s experience provides a foundation for this new product development.

To me, the Miria story is firsthand evidence that the economic benefit of the Marcellus is spreading throughout the Pennsylvania economy. A tech industry stalwart in the Delaware Valley is putting on its entrepreneurial hat anew to tackle a new business opportunity that is uniquely Marcellus-driven. Miria has invested capital and staffed up to bring its products and services to the Marcellus.

This amplifies the benefits of the Marcellus. Not only does natural gas that’s right in our backyard hold the promise of energy independence for our nation, but mature companies in our region are making additional investments to support an industry that will be a mainstay of the Pennsylvania economy for generations to come. They’re creating new businesses and new jobs that will enhance opportunities for everyone. This is the “ripple effect” being played out right here in the Delaware Valley.