Autodesk Products and Industry Solutions Help Customers Realize Their Ideas to Compete and Win

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), today announced new versions of its software portfolio, including more than 25 products that help its customers create, manage and share digital assets most effectively, to compete and win. These products provide best-in-class solutions for 2D design, basic conceptual design to advanced 3D modeling, animation, visualization, data management and collaboration. With across-the-board focus on productivity improvements, the latest suite of products and solutions enable customers in the manufacturing, building, infrastructure and media and entertainment industries to turn ideas into reality faster than ever before.

Strongest Product Portfolio Ever

Autodesk is introducing innovative, industry-specific solutions that surpass all competitive offerings. In addition, the company is releasing the 20th version of AutoCAD, the de facto standard in 2D design and drafting for engineers and designers.

"The Autodesk 2006 suite of products offers quick implementation and ease of use, enabling our customers to realize new efficiencies quickly and enjoy a fast return on investment," said Carol Bartz, chairman, president and CEO of Autodesk. "Delivering the strongest product portfolio in our company's history is no small order, so I'd like to personally thank all of the product teams who have continued to execute flawlessly in helping our customers realize ideas for competitive advantage."

Autodesk's major new product releases include:

• Autodesk Inventor 10, the world's best-selling 3D design software for the fourth consecutive year. Inventor 10 introduces comprehensive functional design features that effectively prevent "over-engineering" and save time and money on projects.
• Autodesk Civil 3D 2006, the industry's only 3D civil engineering design program that features a dynamic engineering model to complete projects faster and more accurately.
• Autodesk Map 3D 2006, which connects CAD and GIS data with unique geospatial tools. These tools create and manage map books that combine building and infrastructure details with precision location.
• Autodesk Revit Building 8, incorporating state-of-the-art building information modeling (BIM) capabilities that let architects, designers and engineers work together on a single holistic representation of a building project, to save time and money in the design process.
• AutoCAD 2006, the world's leading customizable and extendable CAD software for 2D and basic conceptual design, detailing and design documentation
• Autodesk(R) Buzzsaw(R) service which has been enhanced with project portfolio monitoring features and workflow improvements so that project teams can communicate, share, and track project information throughout the lifecycle of the project to keep on schedule and within budget
• Autodesk(R) DWF(TM) Composer and DWF(TM) Viewer, which enable design professionals to share and revise digital design documents with great accuracy and speed, while ensuring the integrity of all underlying information. Using this digital process, project teams reduce costs and eliminate the typical 2-3 day lag associated with traditional methods and incompatible formats.

Autodesk's approach to product design is simple: help customers realize their ideas -- and realize them quickly and easily. More than simply creating programs that run faster and take maximum advantage of advancements in computing, Autodesk works closely with its community to understand how they work. As a result of this collaboration, all of Autodesk's new products save time by reducing the number of steps in a given task or by making a process more intuitive. Whether being used to design a skyscraper, a bridge, a complex manufacturing machine, or a tiny consumer product, Autodesk's design solutions are purpose-built for their users.

AutoCAD 2006: 20th Release of Industry Standard Underscores Legacy of Relentless Innovation

Since the first release of AutoCAD brought professional computerized design tools to the desktops of PC users, AutoCAD has been the industry standard. A constant stream of innovations has created a product with additional features and functions that make drafters and designers more productive and more efficient, while enabling them to share design data easily with others in the design process.

That effort has culminated in the release of AutoCAD 2006, the 20th release of the program, which incorporates improvements to its interface for easier data input; annotation enhancements that speed changes to text, hatching and table calculations; and single-click conversion to Autodesk DWF format, allowing instant sharing of designs and related information with anyone through a free downloadable reader.

Broad Partner and Training Support for New Product Portfolio

Thirty members of Autodesk's Developer Network (ADN) are already shipping products or add-on applications compatible with Autodesk's 2006 product line. ADN was created by Autodesk to supply commercial and individual software developers with the resources needed to build specialized software applications that meet the needs of a wide variety of customers, in a broad range of industries. To view the continually-growing list of AutoCAD 2006- compatible applications, visit www.autodesk.com/partnerproducts.

Autodesk Gives You More

Autodesk Consulting, including integrated consulting and training, helps customers worldwide maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk technology. For more information about Autodesk Consulting, see www.autodesk.com/consulting.

About Autodesk Subscription

Autodesk(R) Subscription is the easiest way to keep design tools and learning up to date. For an annual fee, customers benefit from the latest versions of their licensed Autodesk software, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a broad range of other technology and business benefits. For more information, contact your Autodesk Authorized Reseller or visit www.autodesk.com/subscription

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 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, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Streamline, Discreet, DWF, Productstream, Revit, and 3ds max are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc./Autodesk Canada Co. 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.

We may make statements regarding planned or future development efforts for our existing or new products and services. These statements are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services or features but merely reflect our current plans, which may change. Purchasing decisions should not be made based upon reliance on these statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist or change after the date on which they were made.

Contact: Nicole Pack, 415-507-6282

Email: nicole.pack@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
03/15/2005
CONTACT: Nicole Pack of Autodesk, +1-415-507-6282, or nicole.pack@autodesk.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com