Autodesk Launches Rebate Program
21 Aug, 2008The company's Efficiency Stimulus Program targets small businesses.
If you're buying a new seat of AutoCAD between mid-August and mid-October, you may be eligible for a $400 rebate. The same discount may also be applicable to your purchase of Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD Map, and a number of other products. They're part of Autodesk's Efficiency Stimulus Program (ESP), launched without an official announcement last week. Just like the Federal Government's Economic Stimulus checks aimed at encouraging consumer spending, Autodesk's offer is designed to increase technology investment during uncertain economic times.
How To Qualify
According to the terms posted at the ESP rebate page, you need to "order and receive your eligible products between August 18, 2008, and October 17, 2008 (dates inclusive)." To complete the online form, you need the product bar code and "a clear, legible copy of your original invoice or sales receipt" proving your transaction falls within the ESP time frame. Only the end user can apply; resellers and purchasing agents cannot complete the form on behalf of the buyer. The offer is valid only for commercial licenses bought in the United States. The rebate could be applied to as many as five licenses, as much as $2,000. (To read the complete terms, go to Autodesk's ESP page.)
The Presidential Touch
For large architecture and manufacturing firms, the offer might be negligible, but Autodesk hopes the rebate will attract small businesses postponing their software purchases till better times. "Our [channel] partners are telling us they see lots of activities but it's taking longer for customers to make purchase decisions," said Steve Blum, Autodesk's senior vice-president of Americas sales. "So we thought we'd partner with our value-added resellers (VARs) to help our smaller customers make purchasing decisions now so they can become more efficient."
One Autodesk VAR, Advanced Solutions, helps advance the message with an advertisement that resembles a government-issued stimulus check. Michael W. Golway, the company's president and CEO, poses before a desk adorned with a small American flag for the advertising campaign. He sweetens Autodesk's offer by throwing in up to $300 off scheduled three- and four-day training classes and the possibility of 0% financing.
Autodesk's Blum explained that the rebate offer "would allow customers to make investment now so they can benefit from it when the economy improves."
