So, what’s the big deal? Weren’t all of Autodesk’s products subscription based anyway? Is this actually news?
You’re right—Autodesk’s products were all going to transition to a subscription model, but there was one little wrinkle preventing a full-scale avalanche into the subscription future that Autodesk had already pivoted toward. Namely, many of Autodesk’s customers chose to buy bundles of products that Autodesk named “Suites” rather than standalone products because it made sense financially. With these suites, customers had to also purchase maintenance packages that would allow them to upgrade their software annually in a perpetual license scheme.
For Autodesk, that meant that a lot their customer companies weren’t following its subscription lead.
Well, now Autodesk has decided to move its suites packages over to subscriptions as well. But just like its previous standalone move, companies and individuals won’t be forced to switch over, provided they never miss their scheduled maintenance renewal date.
So What Are Industry Collections?
When Autodesk first launched its Suites packages, they numbered seven in total and covered mechanical, architectural, media and other specialized spheres. Now, after surveying its suite offerings, Autodesk has condensed these varied options into three tightly woven bundles—the Industry Collections.
Today, Autodesk users have the option to choose from either the “Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection,” the “Product Design Collection” or the “Media Collection.” While each of these product groupings makes sense, it’s the Product Design Collection that has piqued my attention.
According to Autodesk, the Product Design Collection will contain Inventor Professional, AutoCAD, Navisworks Manage, Vault Basic, Factory Design Utilities, 3ds Max, Fusion 360, Recap 360 and other important, but more peripheral, pieces of software.
The total cost of this package will be $2,460 per year, making it a bargain if you consider that the total cost of a perpetual license for Inventor ($1,890/year), AutoCAD ($1,680/year) and Navisworks Manage ($3,280/year) dwarfs the cost of the entire Industry Collections.
To be clear, and Autodesk has been keen to stress this, any customer that would like to retain his or her perpetual maintenance license deals will be able to do so. Nobody will be booted into a subscription plan if they feel it’s not in their best interest.
When I asked Carl White of Autodesk how many people Autodesk believed would stick with its perpetual license scheme, he demurred a bit, not having concrete facts. However, as White mentioned, “As I read the blogs, there are two sides to the story. Some say it’s criminal, but we look at it as lowering the overall price of our software.”
I have to agree with White there. Who really thinks that sticking with a perpetual maintenance scheme makes financial sense? I can understand that a company might want to shy away from Autodesk’s hard sell for the cloud if it has sensitive IP, but in reality, it’s time for most companies to begin leveraging the cloud.
Still, I Have a Question About Autodesk’s New Scheme
A few weeks back, Autodesk announced that it would be folding in its product lifecycle management (PLM) software (PLM 360) and its Internet of Things (IoT) platform (SeeControl) with its cloud-based modeler/CAE/CAM tool, Fusion 360. This new amalgam, dubbed the “Fusion Platform,” has transformed itself, seemingly overnight, into an end-to-end product design solution.
For users of Fusion 360, this must have come as little surprise (Autodesk has been adding more functionality to the software for well over a year), but to finally see it arrive would have been wonderful. Autodesk was creating a seamless integration of modeling, simulation, CAM, PLM and IoT with the promise of better support for metal additive manufacturing and even the possibility for generative design. A one-stop shop for product design had finally arrived.
And that brings me to my many questions.
What exactly are these Industry Collections and where do they fit into the Autodesk ecosystem? Are they akin to the missing link in human evolution, bridging the (wide) gap between single-celled sea-dwelling organisms (standalone software) and Homo sapiens (Fusion Platform)?
Has Autodesk seen enough success with Fusion 360 and now the Fusion Platform to justify a pivot in the same direction for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) software and its media initiative?
Or, is Autodesk just playing out the natural clumsy progression that happens when a company shifts business models and begins to grow into its new form?
At the moment, I can’t answer those questions, and Autodesk’s reps certainly aren’t letting me in on any inside secrets. But, regardless, the real story behind these moves will out soon enough. I just hope Autodesk will do for AEC what it’s done for MCAD. It’s worked well.