Autodesk Buys Revit - Frequently Asked Questions
The following was released to TenLinks.com from Autodesk on April 3, 2002
1. What is the status of the acquisition?
Autodesk announced on April 2, 2002, the completion of its acquisition of
Revit Technology Corporation, a Massachusetts-based privately held company that
provides a parametric building modeler, called Revit™, developed for the
architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Autodesk completed the
acquisition by purchasing Revit Technology Corporation for $133 million in
cash. The transaction closed on April 1, 2002.
2. Why did Autodesk acquire Revit Technology Corporation?
Autodesk has long held and articulated a vision that a model-based approach
is the way to create breakthrough efficiency throughout the process of building
design, construction and management. Model-based design helps building industry
professionals design, coordinate, and manage information by enhancing the value
of digital design data throughout the entire building lifecycle. Autodesk
Architectural Desktop (ADT) software moves our customers toward that vision by
incorporating intelligent objects within the familiar AutoCAD environment.
Revit offers customers the opportunity to work within an integrated
model-based approach, providing a holistic, project-based view of a
building’s design and definition. This creates a building model that
facilitates access to building information on a project-wide basis, enabling
tighter integration of downstream applications such as cost estimating,
bidding, and facility management.
Through the acquisition of Revit’s complementary technology, Autodesk sees
the opportunity to accelerate the market’s transition to the model-based
approach and to expand our solutions for specific industries, such as the
retail and hospitality segments, as well as fast-track and design-build
projects.
3. How many Revit employees will be joining Autodesk?
Approximately 70 employees from Revit will be joining Autodesk. These
employees have accepted positions in product development, client services,
marketing, administration, business development, applications engineering, and
sales.
4. Will any of Revit’s offices be closing?
Revit will maintain its office in Waltham, Massachusetts, which is in close
proximity to Autodesk’s Manchester, New Hampshire office. Revit’s United
Kingdom office in Thatcham will be closed. Employees joining Autodesk from that
office will be moved to Autodesk’s office in the United Kingdom.
5. How does Revit fit in with Autodesk’s current suite of building
industry products?
Revit software complements Autodesk’s current family of products and
services for the building industry, which have been developed to offer
customers greater efficiency through technology at any point of a building’s
lifecycle:
- Autodesk Architectural Studio for freehand conceptual design creation and
real-time multimedia design collaboration
- AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT for production drafting of 2D construction
documents
- Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Autodesk Building Mechanical, and Autodesk
Building Electrical for increased productivity in detailed design
development and construction documentation through an intelligent
object-oriented modeling approach within a familiar AutoCAD environment.
- Revit™ for process improvement through an integrated parametric building
model
- Autodesk VIZ for advanced visualization of design concepts at any stage in
the process.
- Autodesk Buzzsaw services for effectively managing all building project
information online in one secure location.
These products and services will continue to be sold as they are today.
Autodesk will continue to advance their power and capability as part of a total
building industry solution.
6. How does this acquisition affect the development of ADT?
Autodesk will continue to develop ADT to enhance the power and value of
intelligent object-oriented modeling. Autodesk Architectural Desktop is the
leading industry application for design development and construction
documentation of buildings used by over 230,000 architects and engineers
worldwide.
ADT and Revit are complementary solutions, accommodating different styles of
practice, work process, and project needs.
7. What if a customer just purchased ADT; should they proceed to
implement and deploy it within their company?
Yes, absolutely. If a customer has determined that ADT is the right choice
based on specific project requirements as well as their type of practice and
work process, it is still the right product to implement. Autodesk continues to
develop ADT to enhance the power and value of intelligent object-oriented
modeling and to assist customers in implementing its use.
8. What if a customer just began implementing Revit; should they proceed
to roll it out across their company?
Absolutely. If a customer has determined that Revit is the right choice
based on specific project requirements as well as their type of practice and
work process, it is still the right product to implement. Revit offers the
ability to develop an integrated building model with the process-based
improvements of parametric building technology. In the last two years, 11
releases of Revit have delivered a stream of new functionality, making
implementation easier and faster.
9. Will Revit be interoperable with other Autodesk products?
Autodesk promotes interoperability among its products used within the
building industry to resolve customer problems and serve project needs, and
this same approach will guide interoperability as applied to Revit. Currently,
Revit has the ability to read and write AutoCAD .DWG files and to incorporate
drawings created in AutoCAD into its model.
10. How does this announcement affect AutoCAD?
AutoCAD is the premier general 2D drafting software. Drafting will continue
to be an integral part of the design and production process in many industries,
including the building industry, for a long time to come. We continually
enhance AutoCAD to bring additional value, power and capabilities to our
general design customers.
This acquisition is about advancing our strategy for the global building
industry, which involves moving technologically progressive building industry
professionals beyond drafting to the exchange of intelligent building design
information throughout the building process.
11. What happens to current Revit customer subscriptions?
Autodesk will honor the terms of all Revit subscription agreements in place
at the time of the acquisition close. Autodesk has recently launched its own
subscription program worldwide and over time will determine how to best
integrate the two models.
12. How will current orders be processed for Revit 4.1?
There will be no change in how orders are currently processed. Autodesk will
fulfill all orders.
13. How may customers purchase Revit from Autodesk?
Customers can purchase a subscription to Revit through a Revit solutions
provider or online at www.revit.com, where
they may either download the software or request a CD. For general information
or questions, email info@revit.com or call
1-866-GO-REVIT (US or Canada) from M - F 8am - 8pm (EDT) or 1-781-839-5300 from
other parts of the world.
14. Will any special promotional offers be available for Autodesk
customers who wish to purchase Revit software or for Revit customers who wish
to purchase Autodesk software?
No, not at this time. As always, Autodesk will continue to evaluate the
possibility of future promotional offerings.
15. Will Autodesk Architecture and Building Design (ABD) authorized
resellers be authorized to sell Revit?
Yes, but not immediately. Autodesk is finalizing plans for future software
delivery and distribution options, including the programs and procedures for
authorizing Autodesk ABD resellers to sell Revit.
16. How will the acquisition affect the Autodesk Developer Network?
We anticipate that the acquisition will ultimately increase opportunities
for Autodesk Developer Network partners as Autodesk’s product line expands.
17. How will the acquisition affect existing Autodesk Developer Network
business related to Autodesk Architectural Desktop and AutoCAD?
We do not envision a change in developer business related to Autodesk
Architectural Desktop and AutoCAD. With over 230,000 copies sold, Autodesk
Architectural Desktop is the leading object-oriented tool for detailed design
development and construction documentation of buildings. With over 2.6 million
users, AutoCAD remains the tool of choice for production drafting. For the
near- and mid-term, customers will continue to use these products as
appropriate on design projects.
ObjectARX and the Object Modeling Framework (OMF) will continue to play an
important role in the development of easy to learn and use applications built
on ADT and AutoCAD.
18. Will there be a separate developer program for Revit?
Revit does not have a separate developer program at this time. Revit does
not currently have programmable APIs or other mechanisms to enable independent
application development in the way Autodesk has traditionally supported.
However, Revit does offer access to building model information via standard
mechanisms, such as ODBC, that enable customers and independent application
developers to capitalize on the rich digital design data created in the
building design process. Over time, we will offer additional capabilities to
increase the level of access offered to the parametric building model. With
these enhanced capabilities, we believe that Revit will offer developers new
opportunities and a fresh approach to designing applications for use throughout
the building lifecycle. As we move forward, Autodesk will continue to offer a
single Autodesk Developer Network program.
19. Will the acquisition result in any changes to Autodesk’s current
Building Industry Division product development road map?
Since Revit is complementary to Autodesk Architectural Studio, Autodesk
Architectural Desktop, Autodesk Building Mechanical, Autodesk Building
Electrical, and Autodesk VIZ, the current product roadmap will remain the same.
As time goes on, the roadmap will evolve to reflect the expanded opportunities
that Revit offers
CAD Digest Related Articles
|
