Integrated 2D and 3D Design and Data Management Capabilities Are Unparalleled for Leveraging Design Data Throughout Today's Complex Manufacturing Processes

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that Autodesk Inventor(R) Series continues its reign as the world's #1 selling 3D mechanical design software. In the last year, the company sold more seats of its Autodesk Inventor Series software than its closest competitor, SolidWorks, cementing Autodesk's market leadership position in 3D design for a third year.

"The 3D mechanical CAD market will continue to steadily grow over the next five years, as companies look for ways to design products more efficiently and cost effectively," said Gisela Wilson, director of product lifecycle management at market research firm IDC. "Autodesk Inventor Series enables customers to migrate from 2D to 3D systems at their own pace, which is particularly important to the small and medium business (SMB) market. Undoubtedly, Autodesk will play an important role in driving adoption of 3D mechanical design software over the next few years."

Customers consistently praise Autodesk Inventor Series as being the most complete 3D mechanical design software. The product's integrated 2D and 3D design and built-in data management capabilities help manufacturers design better-quality products and bring them to market faster.

"Because Autodesk Inventor Series offers the only 2D and 3D design and documentation package, it provides a flexible and risk-free path to 3D. In addition, its integrated data management capabilities help synchronize design efforts across multiple teams while reducing errors and time spent searching for data, which are important benefits for our customers," said Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Solutions Division at Autodesk.

Getting to Market Faster Equals Competitive Advantage

Customer response to Autodesk Inventor Series has been overwhelmingly positive, with higher performance and ease of use cited as its latest advantages, allowing engineers to create designs faster.

"We were able to create the front, top and section views of an assembly 94 percent faster with Autodesk Inventor Series 8," said Michael Quinn, data manager at Dew Engineering and Development Ltd., a defense and aerospace engineering firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. "In our competitive market, this makes the difference between winning and losing an important project bid."

"The drawing performance increase of Autodesk Inventor Series is outstanding. With the ability to open the intended 3D model from a drawing, operating efficiency will definitely increase," said Mr. Tatsuaki Uratani, president of Uratani Engineering and author of "How to Use Inventor Passed on by the Professional," published by Softbank.

A Comprehensive Portfolio of Manufacturing Solutions

Delivering on its strategy to help customers create, manage, and share their digital design data and solve critical business challenges, Autodesk offers the most comprehensive portfolio of integrated 2D and 3D design and data management solutions available -- helping customers design better quality products, accelerate time to market, and achieve maximum project visibility and collaboration. Unlike other offerings on the market today, these solutions are easy to deploy and use, and help companies easily transition from 2D to 3D design. Autodesk's manufacturing solutions include Autodesk Inventor Series, the #1 selling 3D mechanical design software, and Autodesk Inventor(R) Professional -- both with Autodesk(R) Vault data management functionality built in; AutoCAD(R) Mechanical and AutoCAD(R) Electrical software; and the Autodesk Streamline(R) collaboration service. In addition, customers can take advantage of widely available third-party applications purpose-built for Autodesk software.

The easiest way to keep Autodesk design tools up-to-date is through Autodesk(R) Subscription, a complete technology, training and support program. For an annual fee, the program provides the latest versions of licensed Autodesk software, offering a budget-conscious way to stay current with the latest technology. For products like Autodesk Inventor Series and Autodesk Inventor Professional, the program provides a timely cycle of new releases with rich new content as soon as it becomes available. For more information about the Autodesk Subscription Program, visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Source: 2001-2003 publicly announced new unit sales of 3D mechanical design software

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, and Autodesk Streamline are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Contact: Sarah Singleton, 415-318-4160

Email: singlets@Fleishman.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc. -0- 03/04/2004 /CONTACT: Sarah Singleton of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-318-4160, or singlets@Fleishman.com/ /Web site: http://www.autodesk.com / (ADSK) CO: Autodesk, Inc. ST: California IN: CPR STW MLM SU: SVY MP-MW -- SFTH036 -- 6373 03/04/2004 08:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com