Company Information
We provide software technology and consulting services for systems models and simulation. Our models are used for strategic planning and scenario analysis, as well as risk analysis, policy analysis and education.
Our three areas of business are:
Technology
We provide a complete, integrated software environment - the whatIf? Modelling Platform - for the development and use of simulation models. The Platform is built on the pillars of effective modelling, including transparent model design, scenario management, data visualization, collaborative multi-user access and extensibility.
Custom Modelling
We work with clients to design and implement models using the whatIf? Modelling Platform. We consult across a wide range of application areas including: energy analysis; urban and regional planning; natural resource management; demography; sustainable development; human resource planning; and financial simulation.
Application Products
We provide rapidly assembled models from pre-built model components. Application products leverage the collection of common modelling components we have developed for particular application areas, built up and refined over decades of custom modelling experience. We offer application products in the areas of energy analysis (CanESS), and urban and regional planning (PLUM).
History
The new company quickly established the reputation as a leader in creating computer-based simulation models for strategic planning and scenario analysis. Several modelling projects in urban and regional planning, transportation and economic sustainability were successfully completed.
One of the founding visions of the company was to advance the state of model building and simulation software. Early experience at Statistics Canada showed that large, complex models implemented in single-use code were problematic for a multitude of reasons: poor transparency, tedious validation and duplicated basic interface functionality, just to name a few. Several generations of software tools to support large-scale simulation modelling were developed, paving the way for what would become the whatIf? modelling platform. The platform empowered both model builders and model users with unprecedented transparency, flexibility and efficiency.
By the early 2000s, the substantial model library built over a decade of custom modelling, coupled with the powerful whatIf? modelling platform paved the way for a new offering - application products. These models were assembled from pre-built components, developed though repeatedly building models in the same application area and identifying common structures. Application products provide significant planning and analytical capacity without the level of investment required by custom modelling, and with faster implementation times. Application products have been released for Urban and Regional Planning and Energy Analysis.
In 2005 the company rebranded with a name change to whatIf? Technologies Inc., from Robbert Associates. This change leveraged the strong brand established by the whatIf? software platform, and aligned the company's three main business lines: Software Technology, Custom Modelling and Application Products.