CAD Outsourcing Follows IT Outsourcing Path to India

India has made giant strides in delivering quantity with quality and built a reliable reputation in the outsourcing industry.

In 2015, India’s piece of the pie in the $108 billion global IT-BPM (business process management) industry was as big as 56%, according to estimates by India’s NASSCOM, (National Association of Software & Services Companies), a sizeable helping. Though this percentage has decreased due to global political developments, India still accounts for the lion’s share. The Indian IT outsourcing industry, having placed its considerably big foot in the door of global outsourcing, has now created opportunities for other businesses to follow it, namely the growing phenomenon of CAD outsourcing, offering services such as architectural drafting, Revit architecture services and BIM modelling services.

India's Role in the CAD Outsourcing Industry

India’s key strength in the CAD outsourcing industry, as in other outsourcing fields, is its ability to adapt to changing requirements globally. Its customer service and efficiency are noticeably of a high standard, and this bodes well for the future too. When Western markets emphasise the importance of cost-reduction, greater productivity, skilled personnel, service quality and business process excellence, India is first choice. With its large and ever-growing bank of skilled technical staff, India will continue to be a preferred partner.

Indian outsourcing firms have shown particular skill in the field of CAD services. Using technology to design and draft objects and structures is a specific niche area where India is an emerging power. Pertinent factors include a vast selection of qualified engineers and architects, wide use and fluency in English and comparatively lower costs in manpower. Indian companies have delivered an array of CAD services globally, such as CAD conversion, CAD drafting, 3D modelling services, conversion of paper drawings to CAD, architectural drafting and now BIM.

BIM and CAD offers phenomenal advantages to real estate developers, architects, engineers, interior designers and other clients. Some of these are:

• Being cost-effective: It allows the designing and altering of building design effectively and without any physical representation. Thus, clients can walk through a virtual project and realistic interior views can be generated.
• CAD conversion: This converts paper architectural drawings into digital documents, which make it possible to make quick drawing changes.
• Data storing: CAD drafting can be easily saved electronically and can be accessed anywhere.
• 3D views: AutoCAD brings 3D models to life and facilitates visualisation.
• Revisions: CAD offers a variety of editing tools to undo, redo or delete actions or modify them with mirroring, stretching, rotating, scaling etc., thus simplifying the process.
• Speed: AutoCAD quickens the ease and pace of preparing bills of materials, reports, scaling, etc. As this software does away with repetitions, time is saved. With AutoCAD, when revisions are made to a specific part of the data, its feature of association ensures that the changes are automatically carried through everywhere that specific data exists.
• Accuracy: CAD provides several techniques to obtain, record and adjust exact dimensions.

Advantages of CAD Outsourcing to India

Some of the reasons why CAD outsourcing to India is beneficial:

• Compared to an in-house team, it becomes considerably less expensive to outsource architectural CAD drawings, shop drawingsand millwork detail drawings, for example. Since each project is unique in design and modification, the clients’ specifications, layering, standards, etc. are scrupulously adhered to by Indian outsourcing companies, thus maintaining quality control in construction drawing details for floor plans, enlarged plans, wall sections, ceiling plans, etc., which would otherwise be difficult and costly.

• Outsourcing to India can help companies benefit from professional services, reliability, and lower costs, with the advantage of reliable technical expertise, which then leads to enhanced overall performance.

• Structural designsare delivered faster, with fewer errors, and pre-visualisations of projects with different views provide an unparalleled perk.

• CAD drafting companies in India work on projects with clear guidelines, and so, international drafting standards for building services or MEP services can be followed.

Weathering a storm of controversies and changing global political dynamics, outsourcing is still thriving. CAD outsourcing in India is keeping up with innovations and developing at an impressive rate.

An Evolving Scenario

In many instances, CAD drawings alone may be insufficient for the varied requirements of a modern design process. This has primarily to do with the fact that the practice of analysis using models is fast catching on. This is where Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology steps in to bat. Revit Architecture software has been built specifically for BIM and it helps to understand and analyze design concepts and accurately maintain coordinated design data through documentation and construction. The ‘revise instantly’ central core of the software means that with Revit architecture models, all plans, sections, and elevations are intelligently connected to each another.

So, BIM modelling makes design information available in an integrated format. This way, design intent and modifications can be easily comprehended, monitored, tested and evaluated. BIM facilitates the immediate availability of documents (e.g., drawings, lists, tables and 3D renderings). BIM models are more accurate, coordinated and help drive an efficient process. Its provision for integrated information cuts down on re-checking, re-grouping and re-formatting information, thereby speeding up the process of sharing accurate information, reducing costs, automating the process and supporting maintenance and operations.

All relevant participants are able to participate in every aspect of the project in this approach. In conjunction with 2D drawings, owners are able to access a huge supply of information that can be modified to fit their changing requirements. They can participate in virtual walk-throughs, detailed equipment lists and accurate cost estimates. Indian companies’ drive to constantly upgrade themselves ensures that they are more than able to deliver projects involving BIM modelling.

Future Trends

As with all other trends, trends in CAD outsourcing to India are predicted to fluctuate in the next year.

1. Skill shortage. With increasing requirements and use of technology in business processes, there is a constant demand for tech specialists. Developed countries produce fewer IT graduates and those with CAD qualifications than the demands of the market. Outsourcing companies in India stand to gain from the lacuna.
2. Race for quality. Increasingly, it is quality that matters more than costs and is the real measure of success. Companies need to anticipate the needs of their clients and provide the best possible quality. Price is becoming less a key factor. Clients are willing to pay more if the price is rationalised and the quality is good, which stands Indian outsourcing companies in good stead.
3. Start-up boom. A considerable increase in architectural start-up firms is foreseen in developed nations and paves the way for a CAD outsourcing comeback to Indian shores. Budding organisations will be keen on checking costs, and a third-party contribution with a technologically sound background that doesn’t tax their pockets will be desirable. 
4. Niche positioning. With the increasing number of outsourcing companies burgeoning in the industry, clients will be choosier. Services will have to be near flawless. As it is practically challenging for single entities to excel in all fields, Indian outsourcing companies are honing into developing and perfecting specific skill sets, such as CAD drawings and conversions, BIM modelling and 3D MEP coordination, design and quality assurance, etc.
5. Outsourcing market climate. The United States continues to be the largest outsourcing services customer in the industry. Despite perceived slowdowns and shutdowns of CAD and other outsourcing practices, the trend is expected to continue and may even gain speed. India, with competitive pricing and superior technical expertise, is bound to remain a hot favourite.
6. Transparent policies. Increasing global concerns regarding business security makes it imperative that outsourcing companies practice more transparency. They cannot hide their prices or delay answers to their customers. Indian CAD outsourcing companies welcome visitors to offshore offices, and there is continuous high-level customer engagement with remote teams.
7. Popularity of IT staffing. CAD outsourcing companies are becoming more flexible and actively involve customers in the team management process. IT staffing in outsourcing companies follows the practice of hiring employees, and even teams, which come under the customer’s direct control in the process. Clients can oversee offshore personnel as an extension of the in-house team. With a large supply of CAD professionals, India can deliver such teams with ease.

The CAD outsourcing exodus to India is a global phenomenon that seems on track to endure for some time. Greater cooperation and collaboration across nations means that India needs to maintain best standards in every sphere of the business process to retain its most favoured nation status in the CAD outsourcing industry, which at the moment reigns virtually supreme.