PDM: Is the emerging integrated platform from Paradigm to be a rival to OpenWorks and GeoFrame?
Weiss: We see it more as an alternative. Our scope is different. Whereas the majors may have greater coverage, our products are focused on the reservoir. While other talk about the Shared Earth Model, to us it is a reality, right now. In this crucial field we are able to offer a scaleable solution on both the PC and UNIX platforms as a truly integrated alternative to the more data-bus oriented offerings of our competitors.
PDM: What is Paradigm's relationship with POSC and other industry standard bodies in the field of the SEM?
Weiss: We are certainly tracking POSC's efforts, and the Open Spirit initiative, but we find that our clients requirements are for deliverable product now, rather than ongoing "work in progress". We can and will adapt as and when standards emerge. But our history has put us in the position of having realized the importance of the SEM early on, and we are now able to deploy a single, integrated reservoir model into which we embed our software.
PDM: You are talking of the EPOS product now, would you like to tell us about the origins of this data model.
Weiss: With Paradigms original product Geodepth, we discovered early on that a common centralized model (in depth of course) was essential to perform, for instance, true seismic inversion. Subsequent products fitted into this framework; first the Focus product line which developed our geophysical infrastructure, then VoxelGeo, which is intrinsically a 3D model based tool. We are now in the process of integrating Geolog into the EPOS SEM to provide a fully scoped interpretation suite.
PDM: Other SEM initiatives have been built around generic geometrical engines such as XoX Shapes and TSurf's GoCAD. Does EPOS use such bought-in core technology.
Weiss: We use similar technology, our SolidGeo is the equivalent of the XoX or GoCAD products, but as I said, EPOS has evolved naturally as a SEM, and we have always considered the 3D engine to be the heart of the modeling problem. SolidGeo, which is our own development is the heart of our software and we consider it to be a real production-strength tool.
PDM: One issue for software vendors in the current marketplace is the extent to which independent vendors can offer a competing framework to the majors. Do your customers really deploy the Paradigm SEM in a stand-alone environment, or do they 'piggy-back' OpenWorks and or GeoFrame?
Weiss: I must admit that today, the majority of our clients still use our products in conjunction with the major vendors' software suites. We will naturally continue to support this. However, a significant number are keen to see our offering develop into a fully fledged integrated platform, and that is very much where we are heading today.
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