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Autodesk University 2011, Part 1: Surfing the Waves of Disruption

At the annual user conference, attendees learn about the powerful trends reshaping Autodesk and the CAD industry, from infinite computing to digital fabrication.

A tide of technological change is sweeping across the CAD landscape. Mobile computing, the cloud, the maker movement — you can't run from developments of this magnitude. The only question is, will you get hammered by these monster waves, or ride them to new opportunities? At Autodesk University 2011 (AU), held November 29–December 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company's leaders strongly urged the latter.

During a preshow media briefing, Senior Vice-President and CMO Chris Bradshaw explained that Autodesk's customers are dealing with a time of unprecedented change. As one example, he shared the projection that ten billion mobile devices will be in use by the end of the decade — far more than the number of people on the planet. "It's a little bit scary," he acknowledged, "[but] at the same time it's a huge opportunity."

Steve Blum, senior vice-president of worldwide sales and services, quoted a prediction from IT market advisory firm IDC: By 2014, 46% of all professionals will be "mobile only." That trend will profoundly alter workflows, software development, and even the traditionally centralized IT environment as users become IT consumers — selecting and purchasing their own iPads, for example. "The cloud and mobile are changing the way people are thinking about getting their jobs done," said Blum.

Blum explained that an expanding consumer design market, supported by social media networks, is changing the competitive landscape. With the help of new marketing and funding resources such as Kickstarter, tiny startups are able to go head-to-head with well-established firms. "Ecosystems that didn't exist in the past are changing the game and leveling the playing field," he noted.

Emerging economies are another source of industry-rattling change. As populations around the world enter the middle class, Blum observed, countries such as India that were previously viewed as hubs of cheap manufacturing are becoming design oriented — and globally competitive in that arena. At the same time, as cities swell with those increasingly urban populations, the demand on AEC providers will grow in parallel. "Everywhere in the world, infrastructure is undergoing massive upgrades," noted Amar Hanspal, senior vice-president of platform solutions and emerging business.

Hanspal noted that the rise of the cloud and powerful mobile devices — the latest iPhone has more processing power than the first Space Shuttle — presents an opportunity to get technology in the hands of everyone, not just businesses. "It's the beginning of a vector that there is no turning back from ... it's not that it's in front of us, we are smack in the middle of it."

Up, Up, and Away

These days, no event seems complete without a discussion of cloud-based software and services, and AU 2011 was no exception. On the first day of the conference, Autodesk showcased Autodesk 360 for BIM, a building information modeling (BIM) solution designed to improve how AEC project team members connect, collaborate, and communicate on building projects. The solution is designed to handle multidiscipline models, thousands of drawings, and other project information, the company reported. It comprises the currently available Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC on-premise data-management solution; Autodesk Buzzsaw, a cloud-based project collaboration tool for secure data exchange with external partners and distributed teams; and Autodesk 360 Nexus, a cloud-based lifecycle management solution introduced earlier in the day for the manufacturing industry that is also planned to support configurable AEC workflow and business process–management needs.

The following day, Autodesk announced its agreement to acquire Horizontal Systems, a developer of solutions for collaboration, data management, and lifecycle management, which the company plans to use to extend its existing cloud-based BIM tools.

The Autodesk Cloud Lounge at AU was devoted to showcasing the company’s range of web-based features, products, and services related to rendering, energy analysis, design optimization, and mobility and collaboration. Autodesk Cloud Documents and the Autodesk Design Review mobile app are available to all customers (1 GB storage [3 GB for subscription customers] is free); for more information, see Cloud Benefits for All Subscribers on the Autodesk web site.

With three million downloads of cloud-based CAD-editing app AutoCAD WS and one million users of Autodesk cloud and mobile apps per day, it may seem that the company feels compelled to move everything cloudward. Hanspal explained, however, that Autodesk is not interested in "cloud for cloud's sake," but will pursue that path only at the times when it makes sense.

And when is that, exactly? Hanspal believes that the cloud excels in four areas:

• Connecting devices and people. The cloud can provide a bridge between multiple users, or can connect one user to his or her data privately, across multiple devices.
• Delivering content. The cloud offers access to an infinite amount of data and can make searching for content a seamless experience for users; with the cloud, providers can aggregate data from multiple sources and present it at the point of use — for example, a cloud-based Help system accessible from inside a software platform.
• Infinite computing. A provider can scale up the experience for the software user by tapping into cloud-based servers to perform compute-intensive tasks such as rendering and simulation.
• Design for everyone. Hanspal opined that cloud-based tools make technology more accessible and affordable, enabling everyone to participate in design. He presented Autodesk's free, cloud-based 123D software offerings as an example of "democratizing design." When you combine free and low-cost software with the increasing affordability of equipment such as laser cutters and 3D printers — as well as resources such as TechShop, a low-cost design and manufacturing workshop for hobbyists — "the age of empowerment is already under way in a big way," said Hanspal. (The "Autodesk 2011 TechShop Tour" video provides an overview of the TechShop exhibit at the show.)

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