SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sep 5, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

New Release Provides Improved Communication and Visualization Tools to Optimize Product Development Process

Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced the availability of Autodesk Streamline 4, the latest version of the company's online project collaboration service built for the manufacturing industry to help customers improve communication, automate processes, reduce mistakes, and shorten time to market. With each new release, the Autodesk Streamline service continues to attract leading manufacturers. WMH Tool Group, a major player in the tool industry with annual sales of more than $250 million, recently integrated Autodesk Streamline to instantly share design data through a single source and to become more competitive and improve efficiencies across the entire product development process.

    WMH Improves Efficiencies with Autodesk Streamline

WMH Tool Group, a leading manufacturer of hand tools and industrial machinery headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, recently incorporated the Autodesk Streamline project collaboration service to ensure members of its design team are able to access the most up-to-date information at any time, regardless of their location or technical ability. Using Autodesk Streamline, members of this dispersed design team -- located throughout the United States, China, and Europe -- can collaborate online, keeping the product development cycle moving at a fast pace and reducing the errors associated with keeping track of files saved on a server.

"One of the best things about (Autodesk) Streamline is how easy it is for all the team members to access the design information they need to get their jobs done, regardless of whether they are a designer, engineer, purchaser, or marketer, and the service is so easy to use, there is virtually no downtime or learning curve," said Bill McCann, technical publications editor, Engineering Department, WMH Tool Group. "With our design team spread among several locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia working on more than 50 active projects together, it's crucial to have the information organized and accessible by everyone. The (Autodesk) Streamline service helps us do just that and deliver products on time and within our budget."

    Autodesk Streamline 4 Incorporates Technology Enhancements

Autodesk Streamline 4 offers customers a new robust technology platform, better access to AutoCAD data, enhanced communication tools for project collaboration, and more powerful visualization tools. Features new to the Autodesk Streamline 4 service include the following:

        --  New technology platform -- Autodesk Streamline 4 is the
            first release to be powered by the company's collaboration
            platform, Autodesk ProjectPoint. This proven technology
            provides a stable, powerful, and secure infrastructure for
            customers, while remaining flexible enough to allow for
            continual and speedy technology upgrades.
        --  Access to legacy data -- In addition to Autodesk
            Mechanical Desktop and Autodesk Inventor data, Autodesk
            Streamline 4 users can now publish directly from AutoCAD
            software, including attributes in blocks such as a drawing
            title block, to take advantage of their rich legacy data.
        --  Communication tools -- New to the Autodesk Streamline 4
            service are self-contained project environments. These
            online workspaces help teams keep track of all information
            related to one design by holding it in one container. This
            includes design data, discussion threads, markups, and new
            versions. Additionally, communication is made easier with
            tools that let users publish and retrieve properties or
            attributes, which are used to uniquely identify each
            drawing or sheet. By accessing these properties, users can
            put context to the drawings they are viewing and access
            only the relevant sheet.
        --  Powerful visualization tools -- Improved design intent
            support and visualization tools in the Autodesk Streamline
            4 service help users collaborate more effectively than
            ever before on conceptual design work. Texture maps let
            users clearly identify part materials, including textures
            and colors, as well as distinguish between finished and
            unfinished surfaces. New highlighting capability helps
            users identify features that may be somewhat obscured with
            basic shading methods and lets them clearly identify
            features by their crisp, distinct edges.
    Collaboration Is Fundamental to Success

Sharing information across the value chain, both inside and outside the enterprise, is fundamental to the success of a productive manufacturing team. Eighty-five percent of respondents to Bear, Sterns' annual electronics manufacturing outsourcing survey (July 2001) said they plan to increase their outsourcing of manufacturing over the next year. Of those manufacturers that plan to outsource, 40 percent said they expect to outsource 90 to 100 percent of their final product. In addition, according to a joint study by Dun & Bradstreet and the Outsourcing Institute (released in 2000), manufacturing outsourcing represents 24 percent of the total amount spent on manufacturing.

"No other company can offer their customers the resources and expertise to help them unlock the value of digital design information for users inside and outside the design department," said Brenda Discher, business director of Manufacturing Collaboration Services at Autodesk. "Unlike typical large enterprise systems, the Autodesk Streamline project collaboration service is easy to implement, low cost, and provides instant return on investment for our customers."

    About Autodesk

Founded in 1982, Autodesk, Inc., is the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. The company serves a diverse portfolio of markets, including building design, geographic information systems, manufacturing, digital media, and wireless data services. By delivering tools that foster innovation and creativity, Autodesk helps customers throughout the value chain leverage digital design data to work better, faster, and smarter. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Note to Editors: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Streamline, Mechanical Desktop, and ProjectPoint are either registered trademarks or 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:          Autodesk, Inc., San Rafael
                  Cindi Goodsell, 415-507-8452 (Press)
                  cindi.goodsell@autodesk.com

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