CDSS was Nigeria's first CADD-specific technology company. Here is how three and a half decades of engineering technology have changed, and what has stayed the same.
CDSS Editorial Team2 min readInsights
In 1989, most engineering drawings in Nigeria were still produced by hand. That year, a registered civil engineer set up a company to change it. Thirty-five years later, CDSS is still doing that work. The tools have changed a great deal; the mission has not.
Eng. Peter A. O. Fisher founded CDSS as a company dedicated to computer-aided design and drafting (CADD). It was the first of its kind in Nigeria. The company was incorporated in June 1989 and became an authorised AutoCAD reseller for Nigeria that December.
Because the founder was an engineer, he understood what design offices actually needed. They didn't just need software. They needed reliable systems, people trained to use them properly, and support they could count on when deadlines were close. That thinking still shapes how CDSS works today.
In 1992, CDSS installed Nigeria's first AutoCAD workstation, for Chevron. It was an early sign of how quickly computer-aided design would become the standard way to produce drawings, first in oil & gas and then across architecture, engineering and construction.
As the industry's needs grew, so did the portfolio. Today CDSS is an authorised partner for a broad range of software and hardware vendors, including:
Offering all of this through one partner means an engineering office can source design, analysis, scanning and archiving through a single relationship. It no longer has to manage five separate suppliers.
Every product line CDSS carries still comes with certified training and tiered technical support, not just a licence key. We run training from a dedicated in-house facility and online, and our support covers installation, commissioning and application support, with remote diagnosis when a site visit isn't needed.
The same values still guide the business: integrity in every client relationship, and partnership rather than one-off transactions. We also keep looking for technologies ahead of the market and bring them in together with the skills to use them.
The next stage of engineering technology is about connection. Design models feed simulation. Laser scans and photographs become reality models. Paper archives become searchable digital records. 2D CAD standards turn into shared BIM workflows. Through partnerships built over three decades, CDSS now works with clients well beyond Nigeria, in Kenya, Zambia, Angola, South Africa, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.
We will keep following the same approach that got us here: the right tools, properly taught and properly supported.
Engineers and specialists at CDSS (Nig.) Limited, Nigeria's first CADD technology company since 1989.
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