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Transforming Graphical Visualisation

Adam Jull of IMSCAD and Simran Bagga of Omnix International discuss the recent partnership agreement between the two firms and the sectors they’ll be targeting in 2023 and beyond

Workstation special report

[EC MEA] Describe the nature of your services and the basis of the recent partnership announcement with Omnix Engineering?
[Jull] We are a UK based business and we have partnered with Omnix in this region, because they are the Autodesk distributor for the GCC region. That is the main driver behind the partnership We focus on Autodesk customers primarily, that use graphical applications and the traditional workstation environment. We offer an alternative to that, whether it is remote, VDI, or cloud. We work with Autodesk in the US and in Europe. We have been contracted to test Autodesk products for things like Citrix and VMware virtualisation platforms. We are quite a well-known company in this space in the US and Europe.
We see this region as a sort of untouched territory and, and see opportunity, particularly since the pandemic. Designers, architects and engineering companies, have users that are on traditional workstations in the office, wanting better, robust, remote, flexible working solutions. Basically, this means because it is graphics, it is a bit different to a normal kind of VDI type setup. It is quite a specialist job to get it right and to get performance. While we are a solution provider, we do not have our own cloud and we do not sell servers, or a physical environment, We are pretty much a consultancy, that focuses on graphical applications delivery. We have an engineering team that supports customers all over the world, that use graphical applications in a cloud or virtual environment. Our skills are the delivery of graphical workflows and applications through a remote access and we can offer any flavour of VDI or cloud.

(Left to right) Adam Jull, CEO and Founder, IMSCAD and Simran Bagga, Vice President of Omnix Engineering and Foundation Technologies.

 

[EC MEA] How does Omnix Engineering and its channel partners plan to leverage the partnership with IMSCAD?

 

This is just the start of our relationship with IMSCAD. We have been pioneers with the distribution network as a value-added distributor of Autodesk for the last three decades. What we found out was, when we started our dialogue with IMSCAD, that this solution fits in well with our channel partners, because it complements the Autodesk solution. Autodesk customers are looking for a well-integrated, virtual kind of environment, for CAD modelling, which is secure, scalable, dependable. That is when we said, we can add value to our existing Autodesk customers and partners by generating the value through IMSCAD solution. It is something very unique. We are all out to test the waters with them. We have an IMSCAD dedicated product manager who will be supporting partners to understand what are the customer challenges.

[EC MEA] Please describe your ecosystem of partners and market dynamics?

 

We are well recognised, because this is a specialists job to deploy for an Autodesk user, who has a lot of graphics, a lot of data, memory intensive applications. In this type of environment, it is not a simple thing. We partner with over 200 companies across the world. IT vendors and system integrators that do these sorts of projects, need our assistance to smooth the waters and get it done better and quicker. We have over 700 deployments of Autodesk customers with this type of virtual environment. We are built like a partner’s partner; I suppose that is a way of saying it. Because of our specialisation, people use as a consultant. We have been involved in some very big deployments, with various system integrators over the world in the US, particularly. It is amazing, we probably have 30% of our revenue as a business for troubleshooting bad setups. People that do it themselves, and companies that go off and do it themselves, they get stuck or the users are not happy and we generally get the call. And that is one way we engage with Autodesk directly because they tend to call us when there is a problem with the customer.

 

[EC MEA] What is the role being played by Omnix Engineering in the go-to market of IMSCAD?

We are actually the go to market kind of a partner for IMSCAD in the region. Traditionally, we have been always an Autodesk distributor. So, you know, we have been in this technology, for countries in Lower Gulf, which is UAE, Oman, Bahrain and even Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi. We have been there for almost three decades.

We understand the psyche, requirements, KPIs, goals and objectives of how is the customer going to measure the performance of an Autodesk software. What we are trying to do is really extend, that outreach that we have with Autodesk technology. That was one of the reasons why IMSCAD chose to work with Omnix, because we understand quite a piece of the business. We have the partner outreach and we have the customers. We have almost 2,000+ customers that we can reach out to. We have a network of 50+ active resellers and solution providers in this region that we want to train and enable them on this technology. Our job is really to go and market this product. There is a lot of heavy lifting initially, because Autodesk customers or partners really do not want to change the way they think. And this is a transformation journey with IMSCAD. When will we start seeing the results, maybe in the next three to six months. Once we enable our partners and get them ready for this new generation of solutions, how do we transform and translate this into the customer environment, is the next challenge. This where the Omnix sales engines and marketing engines fit in with IMSCAD.

[EC MEA] Please describe the systems architecture for delivery of the remotely managed graphical workstation?

 

There is on-premises VDI and we buy servers and put them in the office or datacentre. We will set them up for the client and manage that for them. Then there is private cloud setup and locally, we work with BIOS Middle East in the region who have six datacentres, and they offer us infrastructure for a per user per month model. And for cloud we use Microsoft Azure that has delivery with graphical instances. So, there are three flavours effectively and there are different versions of how you do it. As IMSCAD we are like an advisor, and obviously we will say to the client, look, these are all your options. Which one do you prefer? Which one suits you best? What are you trying to solve? Which problems are you trying to fix in your business? And then we will recommend the best way to go with that solution.

 

[EC MEA] How is the graphical and visualisation experienced managed through virtualisation?

NVIDIA is a key plyer in this space. NVIDIA produces GPUs and graphics cards and they have something called V-GPU. This is a virtual GPU and is a solution they offer.

We can put a couple of very high-density graphics cards in a server, and then cut it up to suit the workflow that is required with maybe 20-30 users on a server. It could be any server, HP, Dell, Cisco, it does not matter. We would just help the customers to write out the specifications from end to end.

That is how we work and that is why we are more of a consultancy in a services business. We do not sell the hardware, we do not sell the software, we just advise the customer on how to do it.

 

 

We understand the psyche, requirements, KPIs, goals and objectives of how is the customer going to measure the performance of an Autodesk software. What we are trying to do is really extend, that outreach that we have with Autodesk technology. That was one of the reasons why IMSCAD chose to work with Omnix, because we understand quite a piece of the business. We have the partner outreach and we have the customers. We have almost 2,000+ customers that we can reach out to. We have a network of 50+ active resellers and solution providers in this region that we want to train and enable them on this technology. Our job is really to go and market this product. There is a lot of heavy lifting initially, because Autodesk customers or partners really do not want to change the way they think. And this is a transformation journey with IMSCAD. When will we start seeing the results, maybe in the next three to six months. Once we enable our partners and get them ready for this new generation of solutions, how do we transform and translate this into the customer environment, is the next challenge. This where the Omnix sales engines and marketing engines fit in with IMSCAD.

[EC MEA] Please describe the virtualisation setup and management process?

 

Inside the software stack, there is hundred things you have got to get right to get it to perform for these end users. These end users are high maintenance and they like their workstations in their way. So, there is a bit of a culture shift you have to deal with as well within their enterprise, to get them on board and move them across. This also helps to give them better home working with a more robust solution, which gives them a benefit.
A lot of enterprises have design teams across the region, and a lot of them have teams in India. You have to provide an infrastructure for those teams. And if you can do it in a centralised hosted VDI set up, or cloud setup, then it is a much more attractive way to do it, than the traditional way of shipping workstations everywhere. The traditional VPN type technology disappears with our setup and our solution. Users can now have more of a flexible environment to work in. When you do normal VDI and normal desktops, you run them out of a private server and that is very straightforward. Lots of companies offer that and it is not a new thing. There’s no real difficulty in doing that.
When you bring a CAD programme into it, like Autodesk, it is not just Autodesk. These users use various different tools from different ISVs. So, they have maybe 20 different core applications that you use in their process. To bring all that into a VDI environment or a cloud desktop, you have got a lot of moving parts, and you need have to have Windows 10 experience, otherwise, it just will not work. What we do at IMSCAD, we have got a load of optimisation experience and we have learnt the hard way. How you run the applications properly and how you size the environment, that sort of thing

 

[EC MEA] How do you configure the VDI environment to support the high compute demands of graphical visualisation?

If you imagine the traditional workstation environment, they probably have a local workstation that they do their work on, with 8GB of graphics and very fast processors to run the apps. When you go into a VDI environment, or cloud environment, you do not have to size that appropriately. What you are trying to do is get to the lowest common denominator to keep the costs at the right level.

Someone who has got an 8GB graphics card in a local machine might not need 8GB. In reality, they might only need 4GB because they are running, AutoCAD or Revit. Therefore, you may need three different flavours of VDI. There might be some very high-end users who want to do visualisation and rendering. And then there are others that do not need 3D, maybe just 2D users.

And this is where it gets interesting about how you work with customers to understand user groups. It is quite an intricate job and as I say, unless you know about the applications and the workflows, it is very difficult to do this. And this is why lots of people fall over and make mistakes

[EC MEA] Is there a definitive line of competencies delivered by IMSCAD into the regional market?

We do not expect Omnix’s partners to know this stuff. There are so many moving parts that need to be addressed normally. We support all our customers remotely, and our team are in the UK supports our customers in the US.
We have a network operating centre and we can remotely manage any server cluster, any cloud environment, and fix things whenever that needs to happen. And that will continue in this region. For us, it is just a continuation of what we have done in the US and Europe

SNAPSHOT OF IMSCAD

Since being founded in 2008, IMSCAD have been focused on the deployment of graphical applications for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI and is a Graphical Application specialist. IMSCAD has evolved to become an NVIDIA specialists focusing on vGPU desktop deployments and Omniverse and enterprise AI solutions. IMSCAD offers pre-sales consultation and professional services to assist with scoping complex solutions.
The experience gained has come from working with clients from differing industry verticals with varying existing IT infrastructure, all using a variety of third party applications, plugins and add-ons. To ensure the success of any NVIDIA solution whether vGPU, Omniverse or AI project, there are a variety of factors that must be considered during the consultation phase, including complexities of the individual applications themselves.
NVIDIA’s virtual GPU or vGPU software enables GPU performance for workloads ranging from graphicsrich virtual workstations to data science and AI. It enables IT to leverage the management and security benefits of virtualization as well as the performance of NVIDIA GPUs required for modern workloads. Installed on a physical GPU in a cloud or enterprise data center server, NVIDIA vGPU software creates virtual GPUs that can be shared across multiple virtual machines, accessed by any device, anywhere. Not all organisations are the same, but for most, this will encompass a variety of legacy hardware and network infrastructure from different manufacturers aa well as a mix of applications, addons and plugins from numerous software vendors, some of which will usually be upwards of three to five years in age. It is also essential to fully understand the existing user workflows and their locations as well as the file and model sizes typically being worked on.
Only after consultation and consideration of the above factors can an effective proposal be drafted. For any organisation a proposed deployment will be based around a solution that caters for the needs of each individual user, something that has become paramount for all organisations in the wake of the pandemic. Remote work, most likely in the form of a hybrid work model is here to stay and customers are looking at implementing VDI solutions, to not only enable employees to work and collaborate more productively from anywhere but also centralise resources, reduce operating and management costs, while improving security and control.
IMSCAD is a specialist consulting partner for NVIDIA solutions, with a focus on using Citrix, VMware or HP Anyware. IMSCAD offers a full range of support when deploying solutions, with Citrix, VMware or HP Anyware and NVIDIA vGPU as well as Omniverse and AI projects.

 

OMNIXGO-TOMARKET

Simran Bagga, Vice President
of Omnix Engineering and
Foundation Technologies.

 

  • We can add value to our existing Autodesk customers and partners by generating the value through IMSCAD’s solution.
  • We have an IMSCAD dedicated product manager who will be supporting partners to understand what are customer challenges.
  • We have always been an Autodesk distributor for UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi for almost three decades.
  • We understand the psyche, requirements, KPIs, goals and objectives of how is the customer going to measure performance of an Autodesk software.
  • What we are trying to do is really extend that outreach that we have with Autodesk technology. l We have a network of active resellers and solution providers in this region that we want to train and enable them on this technology.
 

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