RISA Tech. Working in India with Long-term Vision
How do you look at the current market for sophisticated software products and services as related to construction and civil engineering aspects in India and how the market is set to grow with the boom in infrastructure activity as being witnessed today?
Actually, there is no end of developing any software, specifically for any engineering discipline like Civil and Structural Design. Everything depends on the requirement and usability of the software. Now it seems, there are huge numbers of domestic and abroad based structural design projects with all major design houses from Power, Building, Civil and Infrastructure, Environmental Pollution Control, Cement, Steel- Plant etc. So, all the software developers in this field are very much enthusiastic in investing funds to capture this boom market. India is one of the main focus of the Engineering Software vendors because apart from the Indian projects most of the Indian Design Firms and EOU's are filled with foreign design and drawing jobs with them. So, this is the golden time of the Indian Structural Designers to work with the Indian projects as well as foreign projects. There is also lot of foreign investment in Power, Hydrocarbon, Process, Oil, Hospitals, Airports, and Shipyard and of course in retails chain, so most of these projects are based on basic structural analysis and designs. And, the company like RISA Technologies has come forward to develop the most sophisticated software products in terms of analysis engine as well as graphic user interface in structural design domain.
Tell us something about RISA Technologies Inc, its global operations, software products and services, competitive strength to introduce more efficient product lines, and value added products & services for its clients across the globe.
RISA Technologies has been an established leader in structural analysis and design software since 1987 with its flagship software RISA-3D. RISA Technologies' toprated software tools have helped structural engineers in United States in improving their productivity and work more efficiently.
A report generated by an independent survey conducted last year in United States it clearly shows that RISA is climbing up to become the Number 1 software of choice!
Firstly, User friendliness is what makes this software #1 in US and different from other software available in this segment.
Secondly, price what has been offered in India is very competitive and affordable, comparing to the other software available in this segment. Thirdly, it covers most of the features, which can be covered by any single software of this kind and all the International Design Codes like IND, US, BS, EURO, CAN, AUS, NZ without any extra cost for the additional design codes. Fourthly, at present, RISA is providing the analysis and design link to AutoDesk's premier building modeling package: REVIT Structure. In addition to this, RISA also has the ability to import and export DXF, STAAD, DESCON and Structural Desktop files.
RISA-3D, the flagship software of RISA Technologies, is so popular among structural engineers for 3D structural analysis and design for one simple reason: ease-of-use. It has also been well customized for the Indian codes like IS- 800:1984(re-affirmed in 1998), IS- 456:2000, IS-1893: 2002 (Static & Response Spectrum methods), IS- 875 Part-III, Auto Load Combinations as per Indian Codes as well as user define auto load combinations and many more. Apart from this, RISA Technologies provides RISAFloor, RISATower, RISAFoundation, RISABase, RISAFoot, RISASection, and RISAMasonry for serving the different component design and analysis of the structures.
RISAFloor software is another software provided by RISA for the design of Floor Systems especially in Building Design. This is the next Generation Building Design Software.
Working on one model, RISAFloor integrates seamlessly with RISA-3D, allowing great freedom in designing both simple and complex systems. Move freely between RISAFloor and RISA-3D to make changes and see how they carry through your project.
Tell us something about RISA Technologies Indian operations, its software range available to serve the India's construction and civil engineering requirements. How are these softwares being re-oriented to serve the Indian market?
RISA Technologies puts feet in India with a long-term vision. Once it has got the popularity and strong hold in US market, it started spreading in India and Mexico. We have already incorporated Indian design codes for steel and concrete, like IS-800: 1984(reaffirmed in 1998), IS-456: 2000, IS-1893: 2002 (Static & Response Spectrum methods), IS-875 Part-III, Auto Load Combinations as per Indian Codes as well as user define auto load combinations. We are also constantly interacting with clients for producing better software for the Indian users. We are going to come out with RISAFoundation for Indian design codes too which will be primarily a complete foundation solution for all types of spread footings, combined footings and mat foundations using FEA. We have already started operating from Kolkata–being our head office, Delhi, Chennai, Gujarat, and adding Delhi and Mumbai office to serve the entire nation better.
What has been the response of Indian market towards RISA software product range? What are the major projects where RISA Technologies product range has been deployed and what have been the most challenges assignment(s) executed?
We have got a tremendous response after our software was launched in Indian market. In last one and half year of our operation in India, more than 250 licenses have been sold.
We are proud to claim that within a short span of time RISA becomes so popular that it has been gladly accepted and extensively used by the major design consultants in India like:
M N Dastur & Co.(80 Seats), Siemens-VAI, Tata, Sail-cet, MECON, L&T, Technip-KTI, Fluor, Bechtel, Jacobs, ABB, Parsons, Aker Kvaerner, Foster Wheeler, Black & Veatch, Alstom, NeilSoft, United Conveyor, GE Technologies, Hi-Tech Export, Mehro Consultants, Unity India, Cethar Vessels, Kiran Consulting Engineers etc.
Developing software solutions and their successful application in the projects depends upon the expertise of the users and their continuous training. What are various training programmes at your end to upgrade the software handling expertise of the users?
That is the most important point whether the software is used properly. We are very cautious on that. We provide full phase of technical training along with the software sales. Our Technical Support team is also very popular in World for their prompt and specific support to the practicing engineers. We do have 2 days 3 days training program as well as the training programs provided by our Authorized Training Centers.
How do you look at the current pace of indigenization in the development of software products and services as related to civil engineering in India? Are these developments keeping pace with those abroad and how can RISA Technologies help promoting these developments through its presence in India?
Actually, there is no end of developing any software, specifically for any engineering discipline like Civil and Structural Design. In future, everything starting from planning, drawing, rendering, designing, estimation, BOM & detailing will be done through a simple workflow from BIM software to Design software and vise versa like RISA-3D/Floor link with BIM software Revit Structure. This link offers complete round-trip ability between RISA and REVIT Structure for a successful accomplishment of a complete project easily.
NBM&CW March 2008
