Special Promotion Provides 0% Financing on Industry-Leading AutoCAD and Building Information Modeling Solution

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) announced today the immediate availability of Autodesk(R) AutoCAD(R) Revit Series 7, a powerful solution that combines Autodesk(R) Revit(R) 7, the latest version of Autodesk's industry-leading building information modeling application, with AutoCAD(R) 2005, the world's leading customizable and extendable CAD drafting software. The AutoCAD Revit Series 7 provides architects and interior designers with an easier transition to the productivity benefits of building information modeling, while preserving the value of their investments in AutoCAD, training, and content. AutoCAD Revit Series 7 is available now, and, for a limited time, customers in certain locations who purchase new seats or crossgrade to AutoCAD Revit Series 7 can take advantage of a special promotion that provides zero percent financing for 12 months.

AutoCAD Revit Series 7 combines the most widely used CAD technology and state-of-the-art building information modeling in a single product. It enables architects and building industry professionals to create, manage and share design information, which is a key step to incorporating building information modeling into their practices. This results in higher-quality model designs and documents, more productive collaboration, more effective design coordination and helps firms achieve greater profitability, stronger client relationships, and an edge in winning new business. Building industry professionals using the AutoCAD Revit Series 7 also benefit from the increased flexibility to use the appropriate personnel and resources required to meet the specific design and construction documentation needs for each project.

Customers in certain locations who purchase a new seat or who crossgrade to AutoCAD Revit Series 7 before January 21, 2005, may be eligible to receive zero percent financing for 12 months.* This is the ideal opportunity for customers using certain AutoCAD based products to crossgrade to AutoCAD Revit Series 7 before the January 15, 2005 retirement deadline, and gain the productivity benefits of incorporating building information modeling into their design processes.

Autodesk Revit 7 for Building Design -- A Better Way of Working

Based on parametric modeling technology, Autodesk Revit 7 -- included in AutoCAD Revit Series 7 -- incorporates new features that support the creative process and deliver greater levels of productivity, including dramatic advances in conceptual design modeling. The latest version of the software includes:

-- Autodesk Revit Building Maker: A powerful conceptual modeling and design environment that captures both design intent and building detail at the moment of conceptualization. Conceptual building forms are mapped to real- world building elements by the designer as the design progresses, for the best possible understanding of the relationship between expressive and built form

-- Enhanced Parametric Components: An open, graphical system for design thinking and form-making now includes more powerful capabilities for parametric modular design, so elements such as hotel rooms or residential units can be altered and replicated quickly and easily throughout the design model

-- Tools to streamline core drawing tasks: From revision tables and legends for tracking changes in construction documents to vectorial shadows in elevation views, new tools in Autodesk Revit 7 help project teams validate design concepts and create compelling and intuitive presentations for clients

AutoCAD 2005 - An Industry Standard in CAD Productivity

AutoCAD is the world's leading customizable and extendable CAD drafting software. The latest version -- included in AutoCAD Revit Series 7 -- has been shown to raise productivity up to 60 percent,** and enables customers to further increase the efficiency of otherwise tedious tasks. Key features of AutoCAD 2005 include the Sheet Set Manager, which allows users to efficiently create, manage, and share entire sets of related drawings from a single location as well as the ability to instantly create data tables with a single command. In addition, users can easily plot and print a complete set of drawings or publish them to a DWF(TM) file with ease and without any interruption to design work in the AutoCAD program.

Product Availability and Purchasing Options

AutoCAD Revit Series 7, which consists of one seat of Autodesk Revit 7, and one seat of AutoCAD 2005, is available today worldwide and can be purchased through Autodesk Authorized Resellers (www.autodesk.com/reseller). For additional information about the promotion, visit www.autodesk.com/retirement. The easiest way for customers to keep Autodesk design tools up to date is through the Autodesk(R) Subscription Program, which is required in the first year for AutoCAD Revit Series 7, and optional upon renewal.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With six million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage, and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency, and maximizing profits. Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, Revit, AutoCAD, DWF, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

* Qualifying customers must spend at least $15,000 on Autodesk software and consulting services to be eligible to receive 12 months of zero percent financing. Additional information is available at www.autodesk.com/retirement.

** Survey, conducted by Design Practice Group of the College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, on behalf of Autodesk. Study examined the productivity improvements that users can expect when working with AutoCAD 2005 software as compared to AutoCAD 2002 and involved the evaluation of a series of tasks designed to simulate the day-to- day production drafting environment, and the time required to complete those tasks. As with all performance tests, individual results may vary.

Contact: Jennifer Giles, 415-547-2458

Email: Jennifer.giles@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
01/04/2005
CONTACT: Jennifer Giles of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-547-2458, or Jennifer.giles@autodesk.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com