Suspicious things are happening in the world of CAD drafting
software. A seasoned industry veteran sees curious goings-on in
his crystal ball.
~~~ About Autodesk and AutoCAD ~~~
For many years now, the CAD drafting software industry has been
dominated by the a single piece of outstanding software: AutoCAD.
AutoCAD is a CAD platform designed by Autodesk, Inc, and
arguably the most-used (and most respected) program of its kind.
AutoCAD is used to make a computer draw two and
three-dimensional technical drawings such as those used in
building construction and product manufacturing.
AutoCAD has been steadily evolving over the years to be
seamlessly compatible with the rest of the software universe.
For instance, in its latest version, drafting team members
scattered over the globe can collaborate effortlessly over the
Internet.
~~~ AutoCAD and Competition ~~~
In the domain of 2D and 3D drafting, AutoCAD is miles ahead of
any competition. Rival programs have less than 50% of its
drafting commands. Most importantly, competing platforms hang
when file size exceeds a few megabytes, often corrupting the
data file in the process.
For many years, Autodesk exploited the technical superiority of
AutoCAD by charging in excess of $3,000 for a single-seat
license. The product was so good that users are known to have
taken bank loans to purchase sufficient licenses.
~~~ Recent Events ~~~
Strange things have happened recently:
(1) Autodesk purchased Alias, a company specialized in, among
other things, high-end animation software, 'Maya' being its
flagship platform in that area (2) Autodesk crashed the price of
AutoCAD by EIGHTY PERCENT in Asia (3) AutoCAD has begun
downplaying AutoCAD 2D usage in its press releases
~~~ What do These Events Foretell? ~~~
We strongly believe that AutoCAD will lower the priority of its
2D CAD drafting software development. Instead, it will devote
more resources to animation software development.
Animation is used by two main market segments: their existing
architectural/engineering customer base and the
media/entertainment segment.
Our intuition tells us that Autodesk has got the heady scent of
cash wafting in from the future, and that the source of the
fragrance is the second segment: media/entertainment.
The potential profits from this area are likely to be several
times those from the first segment and Autodesk will, in effect,
soon be moving from downtown San Francisco to a premium spot in
heaven.
~~~ What Does This Imply For the Cad Drafting Marketplace? ~~~
Expect Autodesk to be less and less interested in 2D drafting
and to at one point make its sophisticated 2D drafting
application, AutoCAD-LT... AVAILABLE FOR FREE.
About the author:
Lucky Balaraman, who has a Masters degree in engineering, runs
the reputed CAD drafting services provider, The Magnum Group.
Learn more about him and the Company at:
http://cad-drafting-servi
ces.com
