In a conversation with TechGraph, Nirmalya Chatterjee, Country Vice President and Managing Director of Nemetschek Group for the Indian Subcontinent, discussed the company’s layered approach to driving digital adoption across India’s construction sector, where solutions are being deployed differently in metro and non-metro regions, supported by local training and regional customization.
Chatterjee also highlighted Nemetschek’s growing role in public infrastructure, with its technology helping government agencies and EPC firms meet CPWD norms, NBC codes, and evolving BIM standards, while embedding sustainability from the early stages of project planning.
Read the interview in detail:
TechGraph: Nemetschek’s global expertise is well established, but India’s AEC market is a different beast altogether. How have you localized your bundling strategy to serve both high-growth Tier-1 cities and emerging Tier-2 markets where construction practices may still be largely manual or fragmented?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: India’s AEC sector is indeed unique, while Tier-1 cities are quickly adopting digital transformation, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities still rely on traditional processes. Our strategy has been to craft an adaptable bundling model based on an in-depth understanding of local customs and digital maturity. In Tier-1 markets, we provide end-to-end, lifecycle-driven solutions that fully utilize the complete range of BIM, simulation, and collaboration tools.
In Tier-2 & 3 markets, we adopt a more modular strategy, rolling out easy-to-adopt, ROI-driven tools that address key pain points while setting the stage for deeper digital adoption. Localized training, support, and implementation teams ensure that these solutions are relevant, usable, and effective across various market sizes. We have established wide channel partner networks across India to make sure we are able to work closely with our customers.
TechGraph: While OPEN BIM promotes interoperability, the Indian construction space often deals with siloed workflows and fragmented subcontracting. What practical steps are you taking to bridge this disconnect on the ground?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: Interoperability is the core of the Nemetschek philosophy, and OPEN BIM is our strongest tool for targeting India’s siloed economy, particularly for the construction segment. In practical terms, our approach is threefold. Firstly, we actively engage with value chain stakeholders’ designers, contractors, and consultants to raise awareness and illustrate the real-world benefits of OPEN BIM through pilot projects. Secondly, we simplify integration by offering plug-and-play solutions that allow different stakeholders to operate on a shared platform without giving up their preferred tools.
Thirdly, we engage in capacity building through training initiatives, knowledge sharing, and industry partnerships that help demystify collaborative workflows. We are completely against the monopolistic approach, and we make our technology platform open to integrate with any other third-party solutions. This ensures our customers’ existing investment in any technology is not wasted; rather, they find value by adopting our solutions to enhance their productivity.
For example, our collaboration tool Solibri can bring in any 3D BIM project model for BIM quality check, and at the same time, our Architectural solution Vectorworks makes a bidirectional link with Revit or Sketchup, thereby allowing any customer to use best in class AI driven technology from Nemetschek but same time their ongoing project on other software platform are having continuity journey.
TechGraph: With infrastructure being a major national priority, especially under programs like Gati Shakti and the Smart Cities Mission, how are your solutions being positioned to align with large-scale public and PPP projects in India?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: National programs such as Gati Shakti and the Smart Cities Mission are transforming the way India designs and implements infrastructure. Nemetschek’s offerings closely align with these initiatives. Our products provide strong support for planning, coordinating design, and delivering data-managed projects at the infrastructure level. For PPP projects, transparency and accountability are critical, and our solutions ensure a single source of truth throughout the project cycle.
We are increasingly collaborating with public sector organizations and EPC companies to customize our solutions to meet tender specifications, facilitating compliance with government standards such as CPWD norms, NBC codes, and future BIM requirements. Our solutions help towards green building & sustainability aspects. Our infrastructure-specific technology, Allplan, helps any infrastructure project from the concept stage to the execution stage, and at the same time allows a cloud-based, free collaboration among project stakeholders to bring transparency.
TechGraph: You offer lifecycle-based bundles tailored to different players in the ecosystem. Can you explain how these bundles differ for, say, a design consultancy versus a full EPC contractor, and how you assess the maturity level of your customer before recommending a solution?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: We follow a consultative bundling philosophy. For design consultancies, we focus on early-stage ideation, design calculation, simulation, and seamless collaboration capabilities that fuel creativity, reduce rework, and support multidisciplinary coordination. We offer them our “Engineering BIM” package.
For EPC contractors, our solutions delve deeper into BOQ & cost estimating, project collaboration, BIM workflow & detail rebar modelling, along with asset management, we offer them a Construction-BIM” package.
We evaluate digital maturity based on a tailored framework that analyzes a customer’s existing workflows, the use of digital tools, skill sets, and openness to change. This allows us to customize bundles according to their value chain role and potential for adoption and scaling.
TechGraph: Sustainability is no longer just a trend in India, especially with the rise in demand for green-certified buildings. How are your tools helping firms integrate sustainability metrics and performance modeling from the early stages of design itself?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: Sustainability is no longer an afterthought; it has become a business necessity. At Nemetschek, we assist companies in incorporating sustainability at the design stage. We support early performance modeling of energy, daylight, thermal comfort, and embodied carbon calculations. Our integration with certification schemes such as IGBC, LEED, and GRIHA facilitates automatic compliance tracking.
We also provide digital workflows that help architects and engineers simulate various design iterations based on intelligent AI assistance, visualize environmental impacts in real time, and make data-driven decisions that align with ESG objectives from day one.
Government-level incentive programs are in place to promote green building by offering extra FSI We have also taken initiatives to encourage more and more Architects and real-estate developers to opt for green building by introducing a subsidized rate under our “Green-Building Package,” which comprises our architectural solutions like Vectorworks, rule-based checking tool Solibri & drawing review tool Bluebeam. These combined solutions will help anyone to achieve their green building norms validation much faster and plan appropriately.
TechGraph: We are seeing a surge in ConTech and PropTech innovation through startups in India. Is Nemetschek exploring collaboration opportunities with these early-stage players, either through integrations or co-development models?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: Absolutely. We view the startup community not as competitors, but as a source of innovation and agility. Our open architecture and OPEN BIM enable startups to more easily connect with our ecosystem. This allows our customers to leverage innovation and gives startups access to Nemetschek’s international presence and reputation. We also have a global VC pool to invest in the right kind of start-up, and we always look for the right kind of opportunity in that space in India.
TechGraph: Digital twin adoption is growing globally, but is still finding its feet in India. Do you see Indian firms ready to move beyond BIM into real-time digital twins, and how is Nemetschek preparing to support that transition in this market?
Nirmalya Chatterjee: The interest in digital twins is growing, particularly in sectors like heritage buildings, airports, metros, smart campuses, and large real estate developments. However, adoption is still in its early days. The real use and benefit of digital will arrive when we can think beyond just making a 3D model from a point cloud file; rather, it will be a more data-driven approach where predictive analysis & sustainability factors can be measured easily, which will help improve the decision-making process.
Indian firms are asking the right questions about ROI, data governance, and integration. We are positioning Nemetschek as both a technology partner and an enabler.
Our digital twin offerings under the brand name “dTwin” build on BIM workflows and integrate IoT, AI, and real-time data for operations and maintenance. We are platform agnostic. We are also investing in educating the market through pilots, demonstrating the value proposition, and ease of collaborations with tech-forward clients ready to lead this transition.