The Hindu Business Line : Autodesk to focus more on India, China

Autodesk, the $1.5-billion US-based design software solutions provider, is increasing its focus on India and China. To concentrate more on these two countries, the company has split the Asia-Pacific region and formed the Asia-Pacific Emerging Geography consisting of India and China, according to Mr Rajiv Nair, Regional Director, India and SAARC region.

The company's expansion in India includes increasing the channel partner network and authorised training centres. The company has 57 channel partners (small and medium size companies specialising in Autodesk solutions), and will ask some of them to expand in places where the company is not present. If this does not work out, Autodesk will appoint new partners to cover the entire country, especially in tier two cities, he told Business Line without disclosing any financial details.

Design group expansion

Autodesk will expand the number of employees in its design solution group in India to 30 from nine in the next few months, he said.

It has also initiated the process of transitioning the Indian market from 2D to 3D model-based design. This transition is not only driven by the company, but also by users. A 3D solution enables users to reuse the components many times.

For example, while designing a multi-storey building using 3D, if a change is made on the door in the first floor, a similar effect could be done in all the floors at the touch of a button. This, Mr Nair said, was not possible using a 2D solution.

The company's training centres will also see a transition, with trainers getting trained in 3D solutions, he said.

Major update

Autodesk has announced a major update to its software portfolio, including advanced versions of more than 25 products across its focus verticals, such as manufacturing, infrastructure, building and media and entertainment. Most of the Indian companies in these verticals use Autodesk's design solution, he said.

The new offerings will facilitate designers, manufacturers, engineers and architects in India create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively.

The launch is part of Autodesk's global initiative to transition the market from 2D to 3D model-based design, he said.