Autodesk

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Autodesk, Inc.

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN US0527691069
founding 1982
Seat San Rafael , United States
management Andrew Anagnost, ( CEO and President)
Number of employees 8,800 (2018)
sales $ 3.27 billion (2019)
Branch Software manufacturer
Website www.autodesk.de
As of January 31, 2020

Autodesk [ ˈɒːtəʊˌdɛsk ] is an American software company for digital 2D and 3D design.

Products

Autodesk produces software for computer-aided design (CAD) and computer animation in the fields of architecture, building technology and civil engineering, automotive and transportation, mechanics and engineering, media and entertainment, and utilities and telecommunications. Since September 2015, Autodesk has also been offering CAD software for the medical sector for the first time. Customers use Autodesk technology to create digital models and processes for visualizing, simulating and analyzing their projects. This enables them to test and optimize their ideas and concepts under realistic conditions before they become reality.

Autodesk has been trying to reach end customers directly since 2010. Some programs, such as SketchBook Professional, are also sold through the Mac App Store . The Macintosh is available as a target platform more in the focus of Autodesk, since August 2011, with Motion FX a program exclusively for Mac OS X Lion available.

With Spark , Autodesk is planning an open and free software platform for 3D printing . The aim is to create uniform standards with developers of 3D software and 3D printer manufacturers in order to improve the usability of the devices. The company has also been selling its own 3D printer since 2015.

With Fusion 360 , Autodesk offers a cloud-based CAD / CAM / CAE solution. For test purposes, students, hobby users and start-ups, free licenses can be requested from Autodesk.

history

Autodesk was founded on April 26, 1982 by John Walker in Sausalito , California and is listed on the NASDAQ . In the early 1980s, graphics programs were only available on powerful, but expensive UNIX workstations. Right from the start, Autodesk supported the IBM PC, which was still weak at 4.77 MHz . UNIX derivatives were also supported, but the main focus was placed on the PC with DOS as the operating system. For this, Autodesk was ridiculed in the CAD industry in the first few years. In 1986 John Walker gave the chairmanship to Al Green, but remained on the board. The first European branch and software development department was founded in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel in May 1991. The German branch in Munich was also founded in 1991 .

Autodesk GmbH

On April 14, 1992, Carol Bartz was appointed CEO. Under her leadership, the porting and focus on Windows was pushed forward and Autodesk developed into the largest CAD software manufacturer in the world. 1994 left John Walker with a share package worth 45 million USD , the company.

Portfolio expansion through acquisitions

The best-known products from Autodesk are the CAD application AutoCAD , with many functions such as mechanical and architecture up to the geographic information system Map3D / Topobase and the parametric 3D construction system Autodesk Inventor . The software portfolio has been and is constantly being expanded through numerous acquisitions and consolidated through the discontinuation of support and sales of individual products.

On October 16, 1992, the takeover of Micro Engineering Solutions (MES) in Michigan, USA, marked the start of NURBS surface modeling. The further development of the CAM technology also acquired with MES has been discontinued. With the acquisition of an engineering application for Autocad the GENIUS Software GmbH in the Bavarian Amberg (not the company GENIUS) the area was Maschinenbau expanded. Autodesk acquired companies such as Discreet (professional video / film editing software ) in Montreal, Canada, and Alias (3D software) in Toronto, Canada, and has since been selling their software, including 3ds Max , Combustion and Maya in the field of modeling, animation and Film as Autodesk products. Further acquisitions are NavisWorks (Sheffield, UK) for the optimized creation of digital prototypes in civil engineering and plant construction, 3D Geo GmbH (Potsdam, Germany) for the creation of 3D city model solutions and Moldflow (Framingham, USA) for the Simulation of plastic injection molding processes in digital prototyping .

Acquisitions in German-speaking countries

The takeover of the software and development team from Genius CAD-Software GmbH from Amberg took place in 1998.

In 2005 it was announced that the Swiss company C-Plan AG , based in Muri near Bern , would be taken over by Autodesk. The company developed a GIS extension to AutoCAD called Topobase , and the software was first installed in 1998. With the takeover of the company by Autodesk on August 22, 2006, the extension gradually became part of AutoCAD Map 3D .

The above-mentioned acquisition of Potsdamer 3D Geo GmbH took place in 2008.

In 2012 Autodesk took over PI-VR GmbH in order to make their VRED product line their visualization solution in the automotive sector.

In 2015 Autodesk and FIT AG agreed a strategic partnership and the takeover of the software company netfabb for the production of objects using 3D printing processes.

In 2017 Autodesk took over the German company CadSoft, provider of the circuit board layout software EAGLE , which was previously a subsidiary of Premier Farnell.

criticism

Autodesk was sued in 2006 by a US citizen who wanted to put used but legally acquired products up for sale. This was prevented by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with reference to a corresponding EULA. In principle, such restrictions on resale are not permitted in the USA ( first-sale doctrine ). On September 10, 2010, the court ruled in favor of Autodesk. However, these restrictions do not apply to licenses placed on the market in the European Union, which is undisputed at the latest by the judgment of the European Court of Justice from 2012 on the admissibility of marketing used licenses for computer programs.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AUTODESK INC (ADSK) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Wednesday, January 31, 2018. (English).
  2. ↑ Autodesk, Inc. Announces Fiscal 2020 Fourth Quarter And Full-Year Results. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Motion FX enables sophisticated effects under Mac OS X.
  4. ↑ Fusion 360 In: autodesk.de , accessed on November 17, 2019.
  5. ↑ Fusion 360 free licenses In: autodesk.de , accessed on November 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Nytimes.com: Autodesk Founder Saddles Up and Leaves
  7. ^ Autodesk Graveyard. Retrieved November 26, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Autodesk acquires software and development team from Genius CAD-Software GmbH. Retrieved November 29, 2018 .
  9. ^ Autodesk Acquires c-plan AG. Retrieved October 15, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Autodesk signs contract to acquire c-plan. (No longer available online.) Autodesk May 3, 2005, archived from the original on December 20, 2011 ; Retrieved June 19, 2011 .
  11. ↑ Product overview: c-plan TOPOBASE TM . University of Rostock , Department of Geoinformatics.
  12. ↑ SHAB: C-Plan AG. moneyhouse commercial register and company data, accessed on June 19, 2011 .
  13. ↑ 3D Geo GmbH sold to Autodesk. Retrieved November 29, 2018 .
  14. ↑ blechnet: Autodesk, Inc. PI-VR. Retrieved February 14, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Professional Production: Autodesk complements its software portfolio in the field of additive manufacturing. Retrieved February 14, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Board layouts: Autodesk takes over the Eagle manufacturer CadSoft. Retrieved October 15, 2018 .
  17. ↑ arstechnica.com: Court smacks Autodesk, affirms right to sell used software
  18. ↑ http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/09/10/09-35969.pdf
  19. ↑ computerbase.de: Court forbids trading in used software
  20. ↑ rechtambild.de: Marketing of used licenses for download software permitted

Coordinates: 38 ° 0 ′ 20 ″  N , 122 ° 31 ′ 50 ″  W.