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Autodesk 3.0 is a Rocket; Carl Bass is the Pilot
excerpted from
Full article
is available for a fee
Randall S. Newton, December 7, 2006
I first heard the term “Autodesk 3.0” not long
after Carl Bass took over as Autodesk president and CEO in May
2006. Employees would mention it in passing, then try to change
the subject when I inquired further. “Oh, it's an internal
thing,” they would say. So when I sat down with Bass at Autodesk
University last week, I asked him what it meant. “It is an
intentional name,” he said, “infused with a software buzz,” to
express a corporate internal theme of constant improvement.
Autodesk 1.0 would be the era that started with John Walker and
the 11 other founders. It was a time of wild-eyed fascination
with the unexpected smashing success of AutoCAD. Autodesk 2.0
is the Bartz era, a time of business realignment ad nauseum,
blockbuster acquisitions, and a disaster known as AutoCAD
Release 13. But the last six years of Autodesk 2.0 made the
roller coaster ride worthwhile. Following one last retrenchment
(read: large-scale layoffs), the new, leaner and meaner Autodesk
hit its stride. When the current fiscal year ends in January
2007, Autodesk annual revenue will have doubled in four years.
Initial guidance for fiscal 2008, if it comes true, has Autodesk
earning more than $2 billion; that's a revenue doubling in only
two years. Carl Bass may be at the helm, but he's guiding the
company on a trajectory he inherited from Bartz.
Autodesk 3.0 is the name Carl Bass gives to the vision he has
for the next Autodesk era. “Our strength is in serving design
and engineering customer,” Bass told me. “It is an exciting time
for core engineering applications.” Autodesk 3.0 means
continuous improvement and being nimble in both R&D and
business. Providing new technology is a key component of
Autodesk 3.0, whether it means build or buy. “We are always
looking for good companies to acquire,” Bass said.
“Opportunities are limited, but fair value is out there. Our
plans don't depend on acquisitions, though; we intend to be
opportunistic.” Bass points to two new
innovations as examples of Autodesk 3.0 in action.
The
full article is available for a fee at
CADCAMNet.
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