MENUAt Tecplot, our mission has always been to help engineers and scientists spend less time wrestling with their data and more time making discoveries. One of the ways we do that is by making sure our customers get the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
That’s why we have made a deliberate shift in several regions. Instead of working only through third party distributors in other countries, we now offer direct Tecplot sales and support in Europe, Western Asia, and Japan. In 2018, we acquired our European and Western Asian distributor, Genias Graphics, which now operates as Tecplot Europe. The success of this integration provided a framework for our recent expansion in Japan.
So, what difference does direct support and sales make for our customers? A lot, actually.
Support Straight From the Source
While the Tecplot Europe team had always handled support and communication locally, the transition meant that the users they supported could now work directly with Tecplot’s developers. This shift opened new channels for feedback and made things more transparent on all sides.
Lothar Lippert, Tecplot Europe’s Business Manager who led the transition shares, “One of the biggest differences is how directly customer input now reaches the Tecplot team. As we became much more connected to both the product and people using it, our customer’s feedback goes straight to developers, and in some cases, it’s influenced how priorities were set. It also means that Tecplot and FieldView users in our region now get technical support directly from the experts.”
While our partners always did a great job providing support, having a direct Tecplot team means you are now getting answers straight from the experts who work with the software every day. It shortens the feedback loop and makes troubleshooting more efficient.
Flexible Licensing Options
Another benefit of going direct is that we can offer more flexible licensing options. For teams that scale up and down with projects, or for companies with time limited needs, this flexibility has been extremely convenient.
“Our customers really appreciate having access to more suitable and tailored license models giving them far more flexibility and helping them reduce their cost”, Lothar shares.
We have been able to offer custom site licenses to our enterprise customers, paid partner licenses to consulting firms, special discounts for pre-revenue start-ups, and free sponsorship licenses to association workshops and student clubs.
It’s Worth the Adjustment
Shifting to a direct support and sales business model requires some adjustment, both internally and for our users, but it’s worth it. Our customers gain faster support, closer contact with our developers, and solutions that better reflect their needs.
The experience with Tecplot Europe showed us the value of being closer to our customers. Now, with Tecplot Japan, we are seeing those same benefits unfold. For us, direct means more than handling sales and support internally. It means listening carefully, responding quickly, and making sure our customers’ voices are heard.