Solving the Problem of Limited Access to Original CAD Software for Consulting Engineers in Nigeria and other Developing Countries: A Case for Software Renting/Subscription

Finance is a major obstacle to software ownership in Nigeria and indeed most developing countries. This paper advocates the adoption of software rental/subscription as a way of ameliorating the problem of Computer Aided Design (CAD) software ownership among engineers in Nigeria and other developing countries. A survey of 50 engineers in Nigeria found that 100% agreed that software improves their designs, while 96% of them do not have access to all their software needs. 100% of those who do not have access to all their software needs, identified finance as responsible for their inability to access all their software needs, while 95.74% advocated software subscription/rental as a solution to financial obstacles to software ownership. This study therefore recommends the adoption of software rental/subscription to all CAD software vendors to improve software ownership among engineers in Nigeria and other developing countries. This will be a boost to the design and development of critical infrastructures needed for industrialization, growth and economic development.