Some engaging Autodesk folks asked me, “What core things did you take away from the events today?”. I don’t think that was too difficult to put together
Product Enhancement
The product lines across the board have been enhanced for stability and updated to accommodate the end user. Revit saw numerous improvements as well as Plant, Civil 3D and Navisworks. I was sitting and chatting with Armundo “the Body Guard” Darling at the hotel this evening. Well, to be honest, you don’t sit and chat with Armundo; you dynamically move back and forth as he gestures, while you try to hang on to his exuberance. That is one outspoken guy. The only way to get you a better picture is to see him for yourself. If you don’t come away excited about something, they’ll be fitting you for a pine box real soon.
Anyway, the conversation continued as we looked up into the ductwork and piping in the hotel ceiling. “Do you see that ‘Y’, and that joint ?”. “Last year we couldn’t do that”. “Do you see how that ductwork transitions? we couldn’t do that either". With a big grin, he says, “We can now”. That is kind of the story across the AEC platform in 2011. There is a genuine feeling of accomplishment that the user has been reached out to, and their needs have been met in a very large way.
Division wide Product cohesion goal
We have seen this in numerous ways, such as the Ribbon. Visualization is now being enhanced, and the company wide Materials Library are examples of this releases’ enhancements. Users often see these enhancements, but don’t understand why they are included here, or at this time. The thing is that most end users don’t see the big picture, and how can they? It’s not actually conveyed, and I don’t think that the people involved can convey much of the future plans for security reasons. I can live with that. But I think that some additional non fluff PR could do some good. Leadership and a sense of direction are fundamental basis for morale.
The portion that I can say is that Autodesk has an initiative that focuses all of it’s products on a future cohesive goal. Carl Bass has his eye on that goal, and every decision, development and enhancement is funneled in that direction. Jay Bhatt, the VP of AEC division, made it very clear that that direction and focused goal of cohesiveness was an utmost priority, and that the future will see a product line that seamlessly operates and integrates functionality like never before. Which brings us to:
Collaboration
Without a doubt the most discussed component in the event. The ‘I’ in BIM as they say. The ability to seamlessly share design information from one part of the design and construction process to another. As the focused energy of the future releases continue, you can expect to see more and more enhancement and stability in the information sharing between products throughout the AEC division.
