Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: ADSK
NASDAQ-100 Component
S&P 500 Component
Industry Computer software
Founded January 30, 1982 (1982-01-30)
Mill Valley, California, U.S.
Founders John Walker, Dan Drake
Headquarters San Rafael, California, U.S.
Key people
 Crawford W. Beveridge
(Chairman)
Carl Bass
(CEO)
Products See text
Revenue
  • Increase US$2.512 billion (2014)[1]
  • Increase US$2.312 billion (2013)[1]
  • Decrease US$284.8 million (2014)[1]
  • Decrease US$305.9 million (2013)[1]
  • Decrease US$228.8 million (2014)[1]
  • Decrease US$247.4 million (2013)[1]
Total assets
  • Increase US$4.595 billion (2014)[2]
  • Increase US$4.308 billion (2013)[1]
Total equity
  • Increase US$2.261 billion (2014)[2]
  • Increase US$2.043 billion (2013)[1]
Number of employees
 9,000+ (2016)[3]
Website www.autodesk.com

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California, and features a gallery of its customers' work[4] in its San Francisco building. The company has offices worldwide, with U.S. locations in Northern California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas and in New England in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and Canada locations in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.

The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of AutoCAD, the company's flagship computer-aided design (CAD) software. Its AutoCAD and Revit software is primarily used by architects, engineers, and structural designers to design, draft, and model buildings and other structures. Autodesk software has been used in many fields, from the New York Freedom Tower[5] to Tesla electric cars.[6]

Autodesk became best known for AutoCAD but now develops a broad range of software for design, engineering, and entertainment as well as a line of software for consumers, including Sketchbook, Homestyler, and Pixlr. The company makes educational versions of its software available at no cost to qualified students and faculty through the Autodesk Education Community, and also as a donation to eligible nonprofits through TechSoup Global. Autodesk's digital prototyping software, including Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, and the Autodesk Product Design Suite, are used in the manufacturing industry to visualize, simulate, and analyze real-world performance using a digital model during the design process.[7] The company's Revit line of software for Building Information Modeling is designed to let users explore the planning, construction, and management of a building virtually before it is built.[8]

Autodesk's Media and Entertainment division creates software for visual effects, color grading, and editing as well as animation, game development, and design visualization.[9] 3ds Max and Maya are both 3D animation software used in film visual effects and game development.

Products

Platforms

A screenshot of AutoCAD, Autodesk's flagship product.

The Platform Solutions and Emerging Business (PSEB) division develops and manages the product foundation for most Autodesk offerings across multiple markets, including Autodesk's flagship product AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD for Mac, and AutoCAD 360. Autodesk Suites, Subscription and Web Services, which includes Autodesk Cloud, Autodesk Labs, and Global Engineering are also part of PSEB. In what was seen as an unusual step for a maker of high-end business software, Autodesk began offering AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac through the Apple Mac App Store.[10] Also part of PSEB is the Autodesk Consumer Product Group, which was created in November 2010 to generate interest in 3-D design and “foster a new wave of designers who hunger for sophisticated software”.[11] The products from the group include 123D, Fluid FX, Homestyler, Pixlr, and SketchBook. Users range from children, students and artists to makers and DIYers.[12]

Architecture, engineering and construction

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry group is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, in a LEED Platinum building[13] designed and built using Autodesk software.[14] Autodesk's architecture, engineering, and construction solutions include AutoCAD-based design and documentation software such as AutoCAD Architecture (formerly Architectural Desktop), AutoCAD MEP[15] (formerly Autodesk Building Systems), and AutoCAD Civil 3D. Their flagship product for relational Building information modeling is Revit. Revit is available as Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, Revit MEP or an all-in-one product. The AEC division also develops and manages software for the Construction industry, including Buzzsaw, Constructware, and the NavisWorks (acquired 2007) product tools; the Infrastructure industry, including AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Map3D, and AutoCAD MapGuide Enterprise; and the Plant industry, including AutoCAD P&ID and AutoCAD Plant 3D. Projects that have used software from the Autodesk AEC division include the NASA Ames building,[16] the San Francisco Bay Bridge,[17] the Shanghai Tower, and New York’s Freedom Tower.[18]

Manufacturing

Autodesk's manufacturing industry group is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The company's manufacturing software is used in various manufacturing segments, including industrial machinery, electro-mechanical, tool and die, industrial equipment, automotive components, and consumer products. Products include Fusion 360, the Autodesk Product Design Suite, Autodesk Factory Design Suite, Autodesk Inventor Suite, Autodesk Inventor Professional Suite, AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Vault, Alias Products, Simulation Mechanical, CFD, and Moldflow.

Media and entertainment

Autodesk Media and Entertainment products are designed for digital media creation, management, and delivery, from film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization. Autodesk’s Media and Entertainment Division is based in Montreal, Quebec. It was established in 1999 after Autodesk, Inc. acquired Discreet Logic, Inc. and merged its operations with Kinetix. In January 2006, Autodesk acquired Alias, a developer of 3D graphics technology. In October 2008, Autodesk acquired the Softimage brand from Avid. The principal product offerings from the Media and Entertainment Division are the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites, which include Maya, Softimage, 3ds Max, Mudbox, Smoke, Flame, and Lustre. Films created with Autodesk products have won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for 16 consecutive years.[19]

Much of Avatar's visual effects were created with Autodesk media and entertainment software. Autodesk software enabled Avatar director James Cameron to aim a camera at actors wearing motion-capture suits in a studio and see them as characters in the fictional world of Pandora in the film.[20] Autodesk software also played a role in the visual effects of Alice in Wonderland, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Inception, Iron Man 2, King Kong, Gladiator, Titanic, and other films.[21]

In 2011, Autodesk acquired a cloud-based set of image tools and utilities called Pixlr.[22]

Renderers

Autodesk develops and purchased many specific-purpose renderers but many Autodesk products are bundled with third-party renderers such as NVIDIA MentalRay or Iray.

Discontinued products

Some of Autodesk's "retired" products are listed here:

Maintenance-mode products

History

Autodesk's first notable product was AutoCAD, a computer-aided design application designed to run on the systems known as "microcomputers" at the time, including those running the 8-bit CP/M operating system and two of the new 16-bit systems, the Victor 9000 and the IBM Personal Computer (PC). This tool allowed users to create detailed technical drawings, and was affordable to many smaller design, engineering, and architecture companies.

Release 2.1 of AutoCAD, released in 1986, included AutoLISP, a built-in Lisp programming language interpreter initially based on XLISP.[34] This opened the door for third party developers to extend AutoCAD's functionality, to address a wide range of vertical markets, strengthening AutoCAD's market penetration.

Subsequent to AutoCAD Release 13, the company stopped supporting the Unix environment and the Apple Macintosh platform. After AutoCAD Release 14 (R13 was last DOS & Unix release), first shipped in 1997, Autodesk discontinued development under MS-DOS, and focused exclusively on Microsoft Windows.

AutoCAD has grown to become the most widely used CAD program for 2D non-specialized applications.[35] The native file formats written by AutoCAD, DXF and DWG, are also widely used for CAD data interoperability.

In the 1990s, with the purchase of Softdesk in 1997, Autodesk started to develop specialty versions of AutoCAD, targeted to broad industry segments, including architecture, civil engineering, and manufacturing. Since the late 1990s, the company has added a number of significant non-AutoCAD-based products, including Revit, a parametric building modeling application (acquired in 2002, from Massachusetts-based Revit Technologies for $133 million), and Inventor, an internally developed parametric mechanical design CAD application.

In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., Autodesk was sued in 2007 by Timothy Vernor, who alleged that he was entitled to sell on eBay "used" copies of AutoCAD software he had obtained at an office liquidation sale from an Autodesk licensee.[36] A federal district judge in Washington state denied Autodesk's initial motion to dismiss in early 2008. In February and March 2009, both sides filed motions for summary judgment addressing the issue whether the First Sale Doctrine applies to previously licensed software.[37] The Court ruled in Vernor's favor, holding that when the transfer of software to the purchaser materially resembled a sale (non-recurring price, right to perpetual possession of copy) it was, in fact, a "sale with restrictions on use"[38] giving rise to a right to resell the copy under the first-sale doctrine. As such, Autodesk could not pursue an action for copyright infringement against Vernor, who sought to resell used versions of its software on eBay. The decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which reversed the lower court ruling, denying Vernor the right to resale Autodesk software on eBay due to Autodesk's nontransferable licensing restrictions.[39] In October 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.[40]

Autodesk introduced its current logo at the TED conference in Long Beach, California on February 26, 2013.[41][42][43]

Corporate acquisitions

Sustainability

Autodesk solutions for Digital Prototyping allow designers, manufacturers and engineers to design more sustainably by reducing the amount of physical prototypes required for a project, or eliminating the need for them entirely.

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) capabilities of Autodesk software help the architect, engineering and construction (AEC) industry create more sustainable buildings and optimize building performance. Autodesk took Graphisoft's ArchiCAD's earlier Virtual Building concept from 1987 and has continued to develop it as Building Information Modelling since around 2003. Widespread BIM adoption is a more recent phenomenon.[86]

Autodesk's Simulation CFD includes a range of CFD modeling and thermal modeling tools for architectural and MEP applications. Common applications for environmental sustainable design include mechanical ventilation, external flow (wind loading), natural ventilation, and occupant comfort. Other energy applications include analysis for building energy, solar load, advanced energy and heating and cooling.[87][88]

The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides design and engineering software to early-stage clean technology companies in North America and Europe, helping to accelerate development of solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Each year, Autodesk gives hundreds of clean tech companies $150,000 worth of software to cut start-up costs. For example, Pi Mobility is a clean tech partner of Autodesk’s. Using digital prototyping software to build the company’s production bicycle, Autodesk software realized one of the frame components could be cut by a half-inch, saving Pi Mobility more than $300,000 in production costs.[89]

The Autodesk Sustainability Workshop is a free on-line tutorial that covers sustainable design concepts such as light-weighting and whole systems thinking. These videos instruct viewers how to make sustainable design decisions early in the design process. It is aimed at students, “giving them easy access to free digital content that can supplement traditional engineering education”.[90]

Autodesk introduced C-FACT, an open-source, science-driven approach to setting greenhouse gas reduction targets, which calls for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions to be made in proportion to a company’s gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other carbon accounting methods, Autodesk’s C-FACT measures carbon dioxide emissions that are proportional to a company’s global GDP contribution.[91] Autodesk will derive its own targets using this approach through 2020.

Through the use of telepresence, Autodesk has reduced its travel by 16 percent in three years as part of its overall carbon emissions reduction strategy.[92]

In 2006 Autodesk sponsored a PBS program named e² Design,[93] which focused on going green in building designs around the world. Narrated by Brad Pitt, viewers learn about the leaders and technologies driving sustainable design.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Autodesk's Yearly Sales Growth 5 Years" (XBRL). csimarket. January 31, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "AUTODESK INC 2015 Q1 Quarterly Report Form (10-Q)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. June 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Autodesk LinkedIn Page". LinkedIn.
  4. ↑ "Autodesk Gallery - Autodesk". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "BIM and the Freedom Tower 2 (AEC Magazine)".
  6. ↑ Brown, Steven E.F. (September 20, 2010). "Tesla shows off sedan at Autodesk gallery (San Francisco Business Times)".
  7. ↑ "Autodesk – Digital Prototyping". Autodesk. 2008.
  8. ↑ "Autodesk Revit Architecture". Autodesk. 2011.
  9. ↑ "Autodesk – Media & Entertainment". Autodesk. 2008.
  10. ↑ Clark, Don (August 16, 2011). "Autodesk Adopts Apple App Store for Mac Software (Wall Street Journal Digits Blog)". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ↑ Vance, Ashlee (May 7, 2010). "Autodesk for the People (The New York Times Bits Blog)".
  12. ↑ Gustin, Sam (May 3, 2011). "Democratizing Design: Autodesk's CEO Carl Bass Announces 123D)". Wired.
  13. ↑ "LEED Platinum Certified Buildings (M. Landman Communications & Consulting)".
  14. ↑ "Autodesk to Open New AEC Headquarters in Waltham, MA, Seeks LEED Gold Certification for Core and Shell, Platinum LEED for Commercial Interior (Autodesk)".
  15. ↑ "AutoCAD MEP product page". Autodesk. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "NASA Building and Bloom Laptop Show Future of Smart Green Design at Autodesk (Treehugger)".
  17. ↑ Levitin, Michael (June 17, 2011). "Autodesk crunches numbers for green designs (San Francisco Business Times)".
  18. ↑ "Autodesk AEC Technology Day 2011 (AECbytes)".
  19. ↑ "Autodesk Tools Build Pipelines for Oscar Winners and Nominees (Digital Media World)".
  20. ↑ "Fiction Film Technology to Shine at Academy Awards (7 News)".
  21. ↑ "Autodesk: The Secret Star Behind Oscar-Winning Visual Effects (Fast Company)".
  22. ↑ "Tech Crunch".
  23. ↑ Template-Based Workflows in Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Archived July 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. P.42 Autodesk
  24. ↑ From Virtual to Reality - How high fidelity visualization based on Autodesk Rapid RT technology is accelerating product design decisions Archived July 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Intel 2013
  25. ↑ Unbundled Flame shines at NAB Archived June 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. GraphicSpeak May 5, 2016
  26. ↑ Opticore Opus Real Time Ray Tracing (Opus RTRT) P.3 Opticore
  27. ↑ July 11, 2013 Archived August 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. NUMENUS GmbH
  28. ↑ "Mastering Autodesk VIZ 2008" P.579 Jon McFarland ISBN 978-0470144824
  29. ↑ NAB: RAViX III makes Maya 5 Flash export possible Archived January 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Mac World April 8, 2003
  30. ↑ Autodesk Acquires Pi-VR, Distributes Pinhole Glasses to Prevent Eyeball Melting Archived May 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. SolidSmack January 8, 2013
  31. ↑ "Inventor Fusion SUPPORT WILL BE ... - Autodesk Community". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  32. ↑ "SketchBook Designer - Concept Design & Illustration Software - Autodesk". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  33. ↑ "Re: showcase exist in 2016? - Autodesk Community".
  34. ↑ "AutoCAD Major Feature Release History". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "Cimmetry Releases Autovue 17.1 Service Pack 4s". 2004-04-07. Retrieved 2004-04-07.
  36. ↑ "Autodesk sued for $10 million after invoking DMCA to stop eBay resales". Ars Technica. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "Court smacks Autodesk, affirms right to sell used software". Ars Technica. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  38. ↑ United States v. Wise, 550 F.2d 1180 Archived February 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (9th Cir. 1977).
  39. ↑ "Autodesk wins copyright appeal (Reuters)". September 10, 2010.
  40. ↑ Faille, Christopher. "Supreme Court Decides Software Law By Not Deciding (Forbes)".
  41. ↑ Autodesk Unveils New Brand Archived April 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.. Cadalyst. February 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  42. ↑ Autodesk unveils new logo as part of in-house rebrand Archived March 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.. Digital Arts. March 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  43. ↑ Not Your Father’s Autodesk Archived April 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.. In the Fold. February 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  44. ↑ "Press Release". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  45. ↑ Solution 3000 Micro Engineering Story.wmv. YouTube. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  46. ↑ Micro Engineering Solutions, Inc.
  47. ↑ "It was twenty years ago today... - It is Alive in the Lab". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  48. ↑ "Autodesk fired him - now he's the CEO". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  49. ↑ "Autodesk to buy Softdesk, via CNET".
  50. ↑ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20552517.html[]
  51. 1 2 3 "Google Answers: Acquisitions of companies by Autodesk since 1996". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  52. ↑ "Autodesk - Investor Relations - News Release". 24 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  53. ↑ "Autodesk & Alias". 2006-03-12. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  54. ↑ "Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Skymatter, Makers of Mudbox 3D Brush-based Modeling Software.". Autodesk. 6 August 2007.
  55. ↑ "Autodesk Completes Acquisition of NavisWorks". 2007-08-09. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  56. ↑ "Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Opticore AB". 2007-08-20. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  57. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires PlassoTech". Taume News. 28 August 2007.
  58. ↑ "Autodesk Announces Intent to Acquire Robobat". Autodesk. 25 November 2007.
  59. ↑ "Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Robobat". Autodesk. 15 January 2008.
  60. ↑ "Autodesk Announces Intent to Acquire Moldflow". 2008-05-01. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  61. ↑ "Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Kynogon SA". 2008-05-07. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  62. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Assets of REALVIZ, Developer of Image-Based Content Creation Software". 2008-05-07. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  63. ↑ "Autodesk Enhances Sustainable Design Capabilities With Acquisitions of Ecotect and Green Building Studio Analysis Tools". 2008-06-26. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  64. ↑ "Autodesk Signs Agreement With Avid Technology to Acquire Softimage". 2008-10-23. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  65. ↑ "Autodesk to Acquire ALGOR, Inc.". 2008-12-17. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  66. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Sequoia-Backed Software Design Startup PlanPlatform". 2009-12-17.
  67. ↑ "Autodesk - Newsroom - Autodesk Acquires Illuminate Labs – Maker of Lighting Technology for Games". 21 July 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  68. ↑ "Autodesk Agrees to Acquire Blue Ridge Numerics, Inc.". 17 February 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  69. ↑ "Game Development Software - Game Developer Tools - Autodesk Gameware". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  70. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Pixlr". 19 July 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  71. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires DIY Community Instructables (TechCrunch)".
  72. ↑ Hughes, Kerrie (2011-08-30). "Autodesk aquires [sic] Numenus raytracing technology". 3D World. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  73. ↑ Berkow, Jameson (2011-11-07). "Autodesk acquires Montreal's Grip Entertainment (Financial Post)". Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  74. ↑ "Autodesk completes acquisition of Horizontal Systems, Inc.".
  75. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Qontext Social Collaboration Platform".
  76. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Firehole Composites". Composites Today. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  77. ↑ Backman, Kai (18 May 2013). "Tinkercad has found a new home at Autodesk". tinkercad.com. TinkerCAD. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  78. ↑ Herrman, John. "How to Get Started 3D Modeling and Printing". PopularMechanics.com. Hearst Communication. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  79. ↑ "Autodesk Signs Agreement to Acquire Structural Fabrication and Detailing Technology from Graitec".
  80. ↑ "Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Delcam". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  81. ↑ "Building the World's Marketplace for Design.". Creative Market. Creative Market. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  82. ↑ Terry, Wohlers (26 October 2014). "Autodesk Tools for 3D Printing". Wohlers Talk.
  83. ↑ "Blastoff!". shotgunsoftware.com. Shotgun Software. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  84. ↑ "Autodesk Signs Agreement to Acquire SeeControl | Autodesk - Newsroom - Press Releases". news.autodesk.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  85. ↑ "Autodesk Acquires Eagle from Cadsoft".
  86. ↑ Dolan, Kerry A. (September 27, 2010). "Building A Hospital Out Of Bits And Bricks (Forbes)".
  87. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  88. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  89. ↑ "Autodesk woos cleantech start-ups with design software "grants" (ZDNet)".
  90. ↑ "Autodesk Sustainability Workshop: The Principles of Sustainable Design Using Digital Prototyping". Dexigner.
  91. ↑ "Autodesk Offers Free Carbon Management Tool for Businesses (Fast Company)".
  92. ↑ "I'll Have My Robots Talk to Your Robots (Bloomberg Businessweek)".
  93. ↑ "e² - design - PBS". Retrieved 25 September 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Autodesk.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.