Will Autodesk Know What to Do With Revit?
Autodesk has had an uneven history with acquisitions
Evan
Yares, Feb 25, 2002
Over the years, one of the frustrating things in this
industry has been that great ideas and great software have often
suffered because of the popularity of more run-of-the-mill fare.
This has been particularly true in the AEC market. AutoCAD and
MicroStation have been the market leaders for years—but
despite the fact that they’re both strong products, they both
also suffer from two decades of legacy. Even massive investment
in the products by their developers can’t change their basic
characteristic – that they started as drafting systems.
To be fair to Autodesk, it’s often their most dedicated
customers who hold their products back. Every time Autodesk
removes some obsolete functionality from AutoCAD, there are
cries of anguish among the users.
Revit, however, is a different story. It is a clean-sheet
design, incorporating the latest thoughts in creating digital
building models. And it’s not based on drafting software. So the
fact that Autodesk is planning to acquire Revit makes for some
interesting implications about the future.
Autodesk is offering a pretty good price for Revit. This is
not a fire sale. In anyone’s book, $133 million is “real
money.” But it’s a bargain if it gives Autodesk the future
product it needs for the AEC market.
Revit brings with it some very clean software, some
enthusiastic users, and a group of employees who are generally
recognized to be top-notch. In short, for its money, Autodesk
gets a going concern with a bright future. It also doesn’t
hurt that Revit’s revenue model is based on subscriptions,
rather than outright purchase. The stock market loves a regular
revenue stream.
What does Revit get out of the deal? Marketing muscle.
Channel. The exposure of being the “Inventor” of the AEC
market. And a chance to really make a difference to a lot more
folks than they could have as a standalone company.
Despite all the advantages to both companies, I still have
some concerns. The main one is that Autodesk has an uneven
history on acquisitions. In a similar situation, Autodesk
acquired Softdesk but the fruits of that acquisition have been
disappointing. Yes, some good products have come out of the
former Softdesk, but management shuffling and all too many
miscues ended up stunting the full potential of the deal. That
being said, the relative success of the Inventor group gives me
some hope that Revit will be given the freedom and support it
needs to really blossom.
So, while I want to be wildly enthusiastic about the
potential of this deal, I have to temper that a bit, and wait to
see the results.
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