Autodesk, Inc.

Since the release of AutoCAD in 1982, Autodesk has developed a range of digital prototyping solutions that allow architects, engineers, and designers to test their ideas before they are implemented. More than 9 million users worldwide use Autodesk's 2D and 3D technologies to visualize, model, and analyze the behavior of designs in the early stages of design. You can not only see the model on the screen, but also experience it. This saves time and money, improves quality, and creates innovative solutions.

The headquarters of the company is located in San Rafael (California, USA). In Russia and the CIS countries, Autodesk solutions sell, integrate and support 5 distributors, 140 partners, and more than 80 training centers. Autodesk's representative office in Russia and the CIS is located in Moscow.

Performance indicators

2021: Revenue - $3.79 billion, net profit - $1.21 billion

As a result of its work in fiscal 2021, Autodesk's revenue exceeded $3.79 billion against $3.27 billion a year earlier (an increase of 16%). Most of the turnover was occupied by sales of subscriptions for ON - $3.48 billion, while in 2020 the indicator was measured at $2.75 billion. Income from the provision of support services during this time decreased from $386.6 million to $183.3 million.

It follows from the reporting that sales from the Architecture, Engineering and Construction collection in 2021 in the financial year increased by 20% (the highest dynamics among all the manufacturer's products) and amounted to $1.65 billion. Sales of solutions AutoCAD increased by 16%, to $1.1 billion. The Autodesk Product Design and Manufacturing Collection, which develops solutions for the development and production of industrial products for various purposes, registered a 10% increase in revenues, up to $708.6 million.

Another line of business are Media & Entertainment Collection products, which include software for students and educators. Revenue from the sale of such Autodesk software in 2021 amounted to $219.4 million, which is 10% more than a year ago.

In 2021, Autodesk earned about $1.28 billion in revenue in the United States, which is 16% higher than a year ago. In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa), revenues grew by 13%, to $1.47 billion. Sales of the company in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 22% to $775.4 million.

Autodesk's net profit in fiscal 2021 increased almost sixfold compared to the previous year's profit and reached $1.21 billion.

By the end of January 2021, Autodesk's order volume exceeded $1.47 billion, down 1% from a year ago. Cash flows from core activities turned out to be $658 million, and free cash flow - $634 million.

Autodesk Financial Statements 2021

Autodesk in Russia and CIS

Main article: Autodesk CIS

History

2025:9% staff cut due to lack of money

Autodesk will cut 1,350 employees, 9% of the company's total workforce. The decision on mass layoffs was made on February 27, 2025 as part of a program to reduce costs and revise the operating model. The company explained that the measures are associated with a change in market conditions and the need to redistribute resources.

The press release states that the company is restructuring to maximize the use of changes in its sales model and remain competitive in the modern economy. Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost, in a memo to employees, noted that the company's promotion model has undergone significant changes from the transition to subscriptions and multi-year annual pay contracts to the adoption of self-service and direct payments.

Autodesk cuts 9% of state due to lack of money

In addition to reducing staff, the company plans to reduce office space, although the complete closure of any offices is not envisaged. Restructuring costs are estimated at $135-150 million before taxes. The decision to downsize is made as part of an overall trend in the tech industry, where many companies are optimizing spending amid economic uncertainty.

Autodesk management argues that transformation is needed to better meet the growing needs of customers and channel partners. Andrew Anagnost stressed that the company is committed to improving customer satisfaction and overall productivity while remaining competitive in a changing economic environment.

The decision to downsize Autodesk fits into the overall picture of cost optimization in the technology sector. In January 2025, Meta announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, and in early February Workday, which develops human resources and finance software, cut its workforce by 8.5%. Google also announced cuts in its human resources and cloud divisions.^[1]

2022: Buying Moxion Cloud's cloud platforms for filmmakers

In mid-January 2022, Autodesk acquired the creator of Moxion Cloud, a cloud platform for filmmakers. The financial component of the transaction of the company did not disclose. Read more here.

2021

Altium Software Developer Purchase Plans

In early June 2021, Altium management announced that Autodesk had received an offer to buy the company, it was ready to pay 38.5 Australian dollars (about $29.5) per share. In general, the transaction would have amounted to 5.05 billion Australian dollars (about $3.91 billion), but Altium refused the offer. Read more here.

Purchase of Innovyze water management software developer for $1 billion

At the end of February 2021, Autodesk announced the purchase of water infrastructure software provider Innovyze for $1 billion. Read more here.

2020

Revenue growth by 27% to $3.27 billion

In fiscal 2020, which ended at the end of January 2020 calendar, Autodesk raised $3.27 billion, which is 27% more than a year earlier. Approximately 4 percentage points in this rise were contributed by companies acquired at the end of the 2019 financial year, indicated in the company's statements.

Repetitive Autodesk revenues in 2020 financial year amounted to 96% of the total against 95% in 2019. The number of all types of subscriptions to the software of the American vendor increased by 539 thousand units to 4.87 million. Annual cloud revenue increased 102% to $255 million.

The largest market for Autodesk products remains the United States. There, over the reporting year, the company earned $1.11 billion, which is 27% higher than a year ago. In the rest of the Americas, the software manufacturer's revenues reached $226.9 million, an increase of 29% compared to the previous year.

In the EMEA market, Autodesk sales in fiscal 2020 were equal to $1.3 billion, an increase of 26% compared to 2019. In the states of the Asia-Pacific region, turnover increased by 31% to $635 million.^[2]

In 2020 , Autodesk Architecture Engineering Construction products reached $1.38 billion, up 35% year-on-year. The implementation of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT solutions has increased by 30% during this time and exceeded $948.2 million.

In the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection solutions segment, an 18% increase in turnover was registered, which amounted to $726.1 million. Positive sales dynamics (+ 9%) also took place among Autodesk Media & Entertainment products (here the company earned $199.2 million for the year).

In terms of net income, Autodesk had $214.5 million in fiscal 2020, while a year earlier it had net losses of $80.8 million.

Pype Cloud Solutions Provider Agreement

On July 24, 2020, it became known that Autodesk signed an agreement to buy Pype, a provider of cloud solutions for automating construction project management. Read more here.

2019: Revenue growth 25% to $2.57 billion; losses - $80.8 million

In fiscal 2019, Autodesk raised $2.57 billion, up 25% from 2018. The volume of orders jumped by 22% and reached $2.71 billion.

During the reporting 12-month period, which ended on January 31, 2019 of the calendar year, Autodesk earned about $1.8 billion on subscriptions, which is about twice as much as a year earlier. Income from support services turned out to be equal to $635.1 million, decreasing from $989.6 million in 2018 to fiscal year.

The total number of subscriptions to the company's products by the end of January 2019 reached 4.33 million, an increase of 252 thousand in three months. The number of subscriptions to support services decreased by 166 thousand and amounted to 796 thousand. Approximately 452 thousand subscribers who used support services switched to subscription use of products in 2019.

Annual recurring revenues (ARRs), which more include subscriptions to products used by architects, engineers and artists, have reached $2.75 billion at Autodesk, up 34% year-on-year.

The fiscal year 2019 report also shows that more than 40% of revenue comes from the Americas. The share of EMEA states (Europe, Middle East, Africa) in the company's turnover also amounted to about 40%. The rest of the sales was taken by the markets of the Asia-Pacific region.

As for the products, Autodesk Architecture Engineering Construction Collection solutions are leading here, which accounted for almost 40% of sales in 2019. In second place is AutoCAD.

Autodesk has remained a loss-making company for 4 years in a row, but its net cash losses have decreased sevenfold - from $566.9 million in 2018 to $80.8 million a year later. The losses are related to restructuring, buying companies and an active transition to a business model focused on subscription sales at. ON^[3]

2018

Losses of $567 million

In March 2018, Autodesk published financial statements, from which it became known that the company remains unprofitable for three years due to a change in business model.

In the 2018 fiscal year, which ended at the end of January 2018 calendar, Autodesk's revenue reached $2.06 billion, which is slightly more than a year earlier. Losses amounted to $566.9 million against $582.1 million in cash losses recorded in fiscal 2017. 2016 was also a unprofitable year for the company, and in 2015 there was a profit.

Autodesk has switched to new accounting standards - ASC 606, so in the 2018 report, past financial results may differ slightly from those that TAdviser published earlier.

Autodesk suffers losses largely due to the refusal to sell perpetual licenses in favor of selling subscription software. The updated business model, launched in 2016, led to changes in the terms of transfer of funds by customers and the timing of profit accounting. Recurring revenues began accounting for 93% of the company's revenue, compared to 86% in fiscal 2017.

By the end of January 2018, 2.27 million users of Autodesk products were working under the subscription scheme, which is 371 thousand more than three months earlier. The total number of customers of the company increased by 127 thousand to 3.72 million. The number of subscriptions with perpetual network licenses increased to 1.45 million at the end of fiscal year 2018.

According to Wedbush Securities analyst Steve Koenig, it is very important for Autodesk to maintain a subscription customer base, as this increases the cost of support services and restrains the impact of competitors such as Dassault Systems on Autodesk customers in the manufacturing sector. Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost said that in the long term, the company will strive to conclude a small number of but profitable contracts for the sale of subscriptions.^[4]

BuildingConnected Construction Search and Tender Management Platform Purchase for $275M

On December 20, 2018, Autodesk announced the acquisition of building search and tender management platform BuildingConnected for $275 million. The buyer will transfer all this amount from his own funds without attracting his shares to the transaction. Read more here.

Purchase of a developer of software for joint work in the construction of PlanGrid for $875 million

On November 20, 2018, Autodesk announced the acquisition ON of construction PlanGrid a $875 million collaboration developer, double the market value of a construction and architect collaboration service in 2015. Then investors valued the company at $419 million. More. here

Purchase of Building Modeling Software Developer Assemble Systems

In July 2018, Autodesk announced the purchase of Assemble Systems. The company decided not to disclose the value of the transaction. It is only noted that the acquisition of Assemble Systems will not affect the financial performance of the second reporting quarter, which ended on July 31. Autodesk expected revenue in the range of $595 million to $605 million. Read more here.

Opening of a centre for advanced manufacturing technologies in the UK

Autodesk in February 2018 announced the opening of the Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF) in Birmingham. Great Britain The state-of-the-art technology center is a factory of the future, equipped with modern equipment from DMG Mori, Hermle, Steifelmeyer and Hamuel, ABB and KUKA Robotics robots, as well as Autodesk's own smart manufacturing technologies. Together with Autodesk, which invested millions of pounds in this factory, several companies worked on the project, including BMW GKN Additive. The center was also issued a AD9100D certificate to allow work on aerospace projects.

As noted, AMF in Birmingham became the first center of its kind in Europe and one of the six Autodesk technology centers worldwide. Autodesk customers and partners will be able to access future manufacturing technologies - generative design, additive and hybrid manufacturing, human-robot interaction, augmented and virtual reality, clay milling, and other technologies.

All manufacturing data in AMF is collected in Autodesk Fusion Production, a cloud-based tool that combines work planning, control, and monitoring of CNC machines into a single tool using the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). You can work with Fusion Production both in your browser and through your mobile device. Designers and manufacturers can receive information from the workshop in real time, regardless of their location. Fusion Production is built on the Autodesk Forge platform and allows you to easily build an interconnected production ecosystem. For example, you can automate the data transfer process from the PowerMill CAM solution and run the equipment directly from the application.

Autodesk's future plans to develop the center include cooperation with the educational community, including local universities and research centers, such as the Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) in Coventry. Autodesk's collaboration with the STEM Ambassador Network will also allow the center to host student competitions.

2017

20% drop in revenue due to new business model

In fiscal 2017, Autodesk's revenue shrank by nearly a quarter, which the company attributes to a change in business model. The manufacturer of computer-aided design (CAD) systems remains unprofitable, moreover, its monetary losses are growing.

According to the results of the 12-month reporting period, which ended on January 31, 2017, Autodesk sales amounted to $2 billion against $2.5 billion a year earlier. Net losses jumped from $326 million to $579.2 million.

One of the main reasons for the decrease in revenue is the transition to the implementation of subscription software instead of selling perpetual licenses, as a result of which the terms of payment and the timing of profit accounting have changed. If Autodesk previously received advance payments for products that could not be used by customers for long, now customers pay for a convenient period of operation of solutions, which allows them to save money.

By the end of January 2017, Autodesk software had 3.11 million subscribers, which is 154 thousand more customers than a year earlier. The number of users working under the new payment scheme increased by 227 thousand to 1.09 million.

We made extraordinary progress in our transition to a new business model in FY2017 and successfully switched to a subscription model only. We are in a good position for the next phase of the transition, when we will offer customer support a simplified and cost-effective path to product subscription, "said Autodesk Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Anagnost, who also holds the position of one of the company's chief executive officers.

For a long time, North and South America remain the largest market for Autodesk. In fiscal 2017, the company earned $872 million there, while in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) - $800 million, in the Asia-Pacific region - $359 million.

In emerging markets, to which Autodesk refers to Russia, the vendor's revenue fell by 4%, which the company blames on the Russian and Brazilian markets. The share of developing regions in Autodesk's turnover remained at 15%.

Annual revenue from software sales AutoCAD amounted to $326.7 million, which is 45% less than a year earlier. In the segment ON for the design and construction of industrial civilian facilities, revenue decreased by 7% to $880.9 million.

Sales of tools for the design of industrial products and production decreased by 14% to $625.8 million. Software for creativity and creating virtual reality provided the company with revenues of $138.9 million, which is 13% less than a year ago.^[5]

Reduction of 13% of the state

On November 28, 2017, Autodesk announced another mass layoffs. After reporting on them, the shares of the American company collapsed.

The company is cutting 1,150 jobs, roughly 13% of the state, according to a statement from Autodesk. Which units will be affected by this personnel purge, as well as in what time frame it will be carried out, is not specified.

We are still working on the details, so we are currently unable to share data on the impact of the cuts on any local offices, Autodesk said in response to a request from the San Francisco Chronicle for comment on the layoffs.

By the end of November 2017, Autodesk employs a total of 9 thousand people, of which 2 thousand are in offices in San Francisco and San Rafael (USA). In 2016, the number of vendor personnel was cut by 10%.

Autodesk is laying off employees in a restructuring process that divests itself of traditional software licenses in favor of subscriptions. The new model is more flexible for customers, since it allows them to use the software only as needed and not spend money on the "eternal" purchase of software products.

As we enter the growth phase of our transition model, we need to reallocate investment to focus on our strategic priorities. This involves abandoning some areas and increasing our investment in others, "said Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost, who led the company in mid-2017.

After Autodesk announced a staff reduction, the company's shares fell 10.4% in additional trading after the exchange closed on November 28, 2017.^[6]

Collaboration with Esri

On November 23, 2017, Autodesk and Esri announced a collaboration aimed at combining data from facility information models (BIM) and geoinformation systems (GIS). This will allow you to use the data for design and construction in the context of a real environment.

According to the partners' idea, the interaction of software for BIM and GIS will allow owners of infrastructure facilities, both public and private, to optimize the processes of planning, design, construction and operation, while saving time and money. Improving integration between Esri and Autodesk can reduce the time spent on workflows. Read more here.

Andrew Anagnost is the new CEO of Autodesk

In June 2017, Andrew Anagnost was appointed President and CEO of Autodesk. He will also join Autodesk's board of directors. Read more here.

Resignation of CEO Karl Bass

February 7, 2017 it became known about the departure of Karl Bass from the post of CEO of Autodesk. Read more here.

2016

Losses due to restructuring

On February 25, 2016, Autodesk published a financial statement that reported major losses associated with restructuring in the context of the transition to a subscription software sales model.

At the end of the fiscal year, closed on January 31, 2016, Autodesk's net loss amounted to $326 million against $81.8 million in profit a year earlier. The company's revenue remained almost unchanged - about $2.5 billion. Excluding fluctuations in exchange rates, sales rose 4%, and the volume of orders - by 11%.

As noted by MarketWatch, Autodesk's cash losses are due to restructuring costs, in which in early February 2016 the company announced a 10% reduction in jobs and spending up to $95 million for these purposes.

The vendor transforms its business in the process of abandoning perpetual licenses in favor of distributing software by subscription. Since February 1, 2016, almost all Autodesk products have been switched to the new sales model.

The 12-month reporting period ended January 31, 2016 saw a 94% increase in Autodesk product users using the new subscription model compared to a year ago. The contribution of such customers to the growth of the total number of subscribers is measured at 60%.

By the end of January 2016, the number of Autodesk subscribers reached 2.58 million, an increase of 345 thousand on an annualized basis.

Most of Autodesk's revenue comes from North and South America, where the company earned $973 million for the fiscal year. Sales in EMEA countries (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and the Asia-Pacific region amounted to $935 million and $597 million, respectively.

At the end of the fiscal year, which ends in January 2017, Autodesk predicts an adjusted loss of 60-85 cents per share on revenue of $1.95-2.05 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predict a loss and sales of 67 cents per share and $2.09 billion, respectively.^[7]

Reduction of 10% of the state

In early February 2016, Autodesk announced the dismissal of one in ten of its employees as part of a restructuring plan aimed at moving the company to subscription-only distribution of software.

The company will cut 925 jobs, matching 10% of its workforce, according to a Feb. 3, 2016 statement from Autodesk. The vendor hopes that the restructuring, on which it is planned to spend from $85 to $95 million, will begin to bring economic benefits in the 2017 fiscal year, which began in February 2016 calendar.

As we transition to a new business model, we continue to explore our company from different angles to see where we can be more efficient and productive, says Autodesk CEO Carl Bass. - In order to maximize the benefits of our customers and shareholders and in addition to the cost-cutting measures previously discussed, we are restructuring to focus resources on areas that will accelerate the company's movement to the cloud and transition to a subscription business model.

Since February 1, 2016, Autodesk has dropped sales of perpetual licenses for most of its products, switching to subscription software. Such a scheme, as the manufacturer notes, involves more flexible payment terms, the ability to use products anywhere, access to the latest versions, add-ons and the same cloud services as when using perpetual network licenses with a subscription (Maintenance Subscription).

According to the results of the third quarter of fiscal year 2016 (August-October 2016 calendar year), the share of subscription software sales in total Autodesk revenue amounted to 53%.

As Wedbush Securities analyst Steve Koenig noted to Reuters, the restructuring of Autodesk was announced after the entry of investor activists Eminence Capital and Sachem Head Capital into the company's shareholders and subsequent statements from them about plans to participate in its affairs, including related to management, operations, cost structure and strategic plans.^[8]

Autodesk and Trimble Compatibility Agreement

Autodesk and Trimble announced in the summer of 2016 that they had signed an agreement on the compatibility of their solutions. Read more in Trimble Buildings article.

2015

Autodesk transitions to temporary licenses

On February 5, 2015, Autodesk announced a gradual transition to temporary licenses as the main way to purchase the company's products. Starting February 1, 2016, new commercial versions of a number of products will be available only as temporary licenses (Desktop Subscription). This method of software ownership gives Autodesk customers the ability to reduce initial software costs and pay only for the software they need at the moment, as well as simplify product management and add new tools to the workflow.

Temporary licenses in Russia and the CIS countries are available for 3 or 12 months. Software provided in the form of temporary licenses does not differ in the supply, installation and storage method from permanent licenses, everything is installed and stored on the user's PC. Users of temporary licenses always receive the latest version of the product with the maximum number of features and current functionality.

Autodesk customers who have purchased permanent licenses before February 1, 2016 will be able to continue using these licenses. Customers using the Maintenance Subscription option will continue to enjoy all of its benefits throughout the duration of this option and will be able to renew the subscription as before. Autodesk will also continue to offer Cloud Service Subscription services to its customers.

"Russian Autodesk customers have been familiar with the subscription for more than 10 years," says Julia Maksimova, head of marketing at Autodesk in Russia and the CIS. - In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the popularity of this method of owning Autodesk software, and temporary licenses are a new step in this licensing model. Therefore, we are confident that the decision to switch to this model will create additional benefits for our customers, and the year allotted for the transition is enough time to adapt to new conditions. "

In September 2015, Autodesk announced that after July 31, 2016, new commercial licenses for most of the company's software systems and individual software products will become available only by subscription.

In addition, when this decision takes effect, the company will provide new options for acquiring the software through the subscription system. They provide the ability to work with several products at once, as is happening now, and at the same time provide all the advantages of purchasing software through a subscription: a lower initial investment and the ability to pay based on current needs. As a result, companies will be able to vary their software investments in a constantly changing business environment without unnecessary labor and investment.

In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new licensing model, Autodesk will offer a choice of simplified acquisition options that are optimal for individual users, medium and small businesses, and large companies. Users will have access to individual products or an entire portfolio of solutions with the ability to purchase local or network licenses.

Customers of the company who bought perpetual licenses of software complexes and individual products affected by the changes until July 31, 2016 will continue to have full user rights to these licenses, and users of the Maintenance Subscription option will continue to enjoy all its benefits until they renew it.

Autodesk Software Products and cloud solutions can be purchased in Russia in the form of multi-year, annual or quarterly licenses. Until October 23, 2015, on the territory of the Russian Federation, a 50% discount is valid for annual and multi-year licenses.

On July 12, 2016, it became known that Bentley Systems it had begun a license renewal program. Autodesk Due to the fact that the company stops selling perpetual licenses for individual products, Autodesk owners may lose their investments. Bentley Systems will provide such customers with "permanent use" updated perpetual licenses based on Bentley. These licenses are not depreciated because the annual Bentley SELECT portfolio allows exchange between solutions within a comprehensive suite of applications.

Takeover of IoT developer SeeControl

In September 2015, Autodesk signed an agreement to acquire SeeControl , the developer of a corporate cloud platform for the implementation Internet of things technology (,). Internet of Things IoT

Beating Chinese rival ZWSoft

In November 2015, a truce between ZWSoft and Autodesk was announced. The latter managed to ban the sale of a competing product due to violation of intellectual property rights.

As follows from the message of ZWSoft, the company entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement with Autodesk and recognized the use of the American company's technologies in its ZWCAD + product as illegal. As a result, it was withdrawn from sale in all countries. In addition, the Chinese software manufacturer paid monetary compensation, the amount of which was not disclosed.

2014

Annual revenue growth of 10%

On February 26, 2015, Autodesk reported results for fiscal year 2015. Thanks to the transition to a subscription model of software distribution, the company increased revenue by 10%, but profit decreased almost three times due to increased costs.^[9]

At the end of the 12-month reporting period ended January 31, 2015, Autodesk's revenue was $2.51 billion against $2.27 billion a year earlier. In this case, we are talking about a 10% rise, and without taking into account fluctuations in exchange rates, the sales indicator rose by 12%. The Delcam acquisition added approximately $48 million to Autodesk's annual revenue, the vendor said in a statement.

Autodesk's net income for the same period fell from $228.8 million to $81.8 million. This decrease is due to the fact that the company has increased operating costs - from $1.71 billion in fiscal 2014 to $2 billion a year later. Most of the costs ($998 million) were taken up by investments in marketing and sales organization. Research and development accounted for about $725.2 million. The amount of general administrative expenses reached $283.3 million.

Subscription Model Delivers 10% Revenue Growth for Autodesk

Autodesk's revenue growth has led to a gradual transition to temporary licenses when distributing desktop software. At the end of fiscal 2015, the number of subscriptions (Maintenance, Cloud Service and Desktop Subscription) to the company's products increased by 385 thousand, while the vendor predicted growth at 325-375 thousand. By January 31, 2015, the number of subscribers to Autodesk products reached 2.23 million.

During 2015-2016, the company will shift most of its business to a subscription model, according to Autodesk President and CEO Carl Bass.

In fiscal 2015, the company earned $1.2 billion from the sale of subscriptions, while a year earlier it recorded an indicator of $1 billion. The sale of licenses and other sources of income brought the manufacturer a turnover of $1.34 billion, which is $87 million higher than a year ago.

At the end of fiscal year 2016, Autodesk predicts revenue growth of 3-5% and an increase in the number of subscribers by 375-425 thousand.

Autodesk invests $100 million in 3D printing

On October 30, 2014, Autodesk announced its intention to invest $100 million in the development of 3D printing technologies. For this, a special investment fund called Spark Investment Fund has been created - the first in the 3D printer market, the company said.

Money from it will be directed to companies, startups and researchers who develop and promote 3D printing tools. By investing in these technologies, Autodesk expects to "expand the boundaries of their application and accelerate the new industrial revolution."^[10]

Autodesk has been designing hardware and software designed to reproduce 3D models for several years. In May 2014, the company introduced the Spark open source software platform for 3D printers, which simplifies the printing and control of 3D objects. Spark is designed to provide close unified integration of software and equipment, minimize the number of inaccuracies and errors.

Native Autodesk 3D printer positioned as reference hardware for Spark

Drawing attention to this platform is the main goal of the launched investment fund. Spark Investment Fund recipients automatically become Spark members and access marketing and other services that develop Autodesk and its partners in this project.

"Through a unique combination of strategic investment and valuable collaboration that Autodesk is committed to expanding and advancing in the Spark ecosystem, innovation is being driven to advance 3D printing technologies," Autodesk said in an October 30, 2014, release.

Spark will be offered to third-party manufacturers, developers and designers under a free license in source codes. In the future, this platform is expected to be compatible with any equipment and materials used to create volumetric structures.

Analysts Canalys predict an increase in sales of 3D printers to $1.3 billion 2014 year, which is 79% more than a year earlier.

2013: Autodesk to stop selling software updates

Since February 2015, Autodesk plans to prevent customers from purchasing individual updates for their products. This was announced in October 2013 in his report to investors by Autodesk Senior Vice President Andrew Anagnost.

From the moment of innovation, it will be possible to update to new versions of products by subscribing to Autodesk (Maintenance Subscription). In addition to downloading new versions of products, it also involves access to a number of the company's cloud services and standard technical support, including expert advice online. As part of the subscription, customers are offered a flexible product licensing system that allows them to work with their previous versions.

During a report to investors, Andrew Anagnost called the refusal to sell individual updates and the transition to the model of receiving them exclusively by subscription "a logical change" on the part of Autodesk.

"We've

prepared customers for this over the years by communicating to them that signing up is the best way to have our newest technologies at our disposal. Therefore, from February 1, 2015, they will no longer be able to buy updates, "he

said.

Autodesk plans to stop selling individual upgrades as part of a business model transformation strategy that will increase the number of subscribers among users of the company's products. According to Andrew Anagnost, in 2014 Autodesk plans to encourage customers to move to the subscriber pool.

It is worth noting that the company's revenues from subscribers are growing steadily year-on-year. So, according to the results of the 2012 fiscal year, according to the annual report of Autodesk, subscription revenue grew by about 10%. According to the results of 2013, it is expected to grow by 8%. The number of Autodesk subscribers in 2012 increased from 2.9 million to 3.2 million users.

The bulk of subscriptions are contracts for a period of one year, but it is possible to subscribe for two to three years, as well as for up to five years, according to the 2012 Autodesk annual report.

2012: Restructuring and staff reductions

Autodesk, following AMD, Sony, Panasonic and others, has officially announced its intention to cut some of its employees to reduce costs as part of the company's restructuring, Autodesk said in a statement.

The number of employees being cut is not reported.

The company's revenues for the 2 quarter of the 2013 financial year increased by 4% to 569 million. dollars Earnings per share were $0.28, up from $0.30 a year earlier.

The company believes that the reason for the decline in profitability is unsuccessful operational management and external economic factors. The company tightened control over expenses to stabilize the situation and to improve the margin of operating activities.

As part of restructuring and updating the company's strategy, Autodesk is increasingly focusing on cloud computing and mobile platforms. According to Autodesk President and CEO Claude Bass, re-structuring is just about moving to more innovative technologies such as cloud computing and mobile platforms.

Despite the staff reduction, Autodesk does not intend to abandon the development of investments in previously launched projects.

"Despite external economic factors, our market position is strong and we hope to show steady growth by the end of fiscal year 2015," said Claude Bass.

2011: Purchase of Blue Ridge Numerics

In February 2011, Autodesk announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Blue Ridge Numerics. The transaction under the usual conditions will be concluded approximately in the first quarter of Autodesk's fiscal year 2012, which will end on April 30, 2011. The transaction will cost about $39 million.

1982: Founding of the company

Autodesk was founded in 1982 by John Walker and twelve other co-founders.

Notes