The Introduction of AutoCAD 2005 and Family of Products Paves the Way For
Autodesk Customers Across All Industries to Realize Maximum Productivity
Gains During Design Creation, Management and Collaboration
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Today's introduction of AutoCAD 2005 software and the AutoCAD 2005 family of
products, by Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design
software and digital content company, delivers improved design creation,
management and collaboration solutions for its customers in the building,
infrastructure (GIS and civil engineering) and manufacturing industries. The
core of this release is AutoCAD 2005, a product optimized to save time and
money by improving efficiencies in the digital workflow process for drafting
and design professionals. AutoCAD 2005 provides enhanced capabilities that
allow users to better manage and publish sheet sets and communicate project
information for mark-up and review. These new features enable customers
worldwide to improve their on-time, on-budget project delivery.
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"AutoCAD 2005 demonstrates Autodesk's increased commitment to its
customers' growing business needs, and what the industry requires for
integrated workflow and collaboration," said Gisela Wilson, Director of
Product Lifecycle Management at IDC.
Lifecycle Management (the effective management and tracking of complex
project data throughout the entire length of a project) is a critical success
factor for Autodesk customers working in the building, infrastructure and
manufacturing industries. The portfolio of products built from the new
features in AutoCAD 2005 delivers the functionality needed for efficient
workflow processes. Users now have the ability to create and manage
coordinated sets of drawings and project teams can review and mark-up the sets
of drawings for more effective communication.
AutoCAD 2005 Tailored for Industry Sectors
Setting the new standard in CAD productivity, AutoCAD 2005 is optimized to
meet specific industry needs so all customers can reduce costs and improve
efficiencies throughout their project lifecycles. Productivity has always been
a cornerstone in the profitability and viability of any industry that creates,
manages, and shares complex data and design information. Whether creating
sophisticated 2D and 3D design and drafting, complex data driven analysis and
mapping, or object-based modeling; Autodesk industry solutions help increase
productivity, improve team collaboration and reduce cycle times.
"The fact that all the infrastructure products are seamlessly integrated
to share data back and forth will be a great improvement on our system," said
Ed Williams, senior analyst, Southern Company. "We will now have the
capability to share data more efficiently than we have in the past."
One Consistent Set of Drawings
This release has evolved AutoCAD software from single-page drawing to the
creation and management of entire sets of related drawings, directly inside
the application. There can be hundreds of pages within a complete set of
drawings (or sheets) that is ultimately delivered to a customer. But it is the
complete "sheet set" that encompasses all the information including
annotations and other critical design data used to complete the project.
Customers use information contained in the sheet set to communicate
effectively and ensure the consistency and the highest quality over the
project lifecycle.
Today, most organizations manage sheet sets using a file and folder
structure on local disk drives and network servers. This manual method is
labor intensive and susceptible to error. The new "Sheet Set Manager" feature
provides an easy way to collate drawing sheets into logical sets and subsets
that users can define by company, project or other industry standards. The
user can quickly assemble sheet sets using existing drawings, propagate sheet
standards over multiple projects, and provide simultaneous access to sheet
sets within their local area network. Sheets can be easily added or removed
from a full set or any subset by using the Sheet Set Manager tool palette or
the context-sensitive menu.
"The newest version of AutoCAD solves some of the key workflow issues that
I have been trying to resolve," said Darren Myles, CAD/IT Manager at LHT
Limited, a leading New Zealand-based engineering and design firm. "The new
sheet set manager, fields and tables will improve the consistency and accuracy
of our drawings."
Integrated Collaboration Platform for Effective Communication
Another critical element to design lifecycle management is the ability to
review drawings and communicate across entire project teams. The design review
process has always been time-consuming and expensive because of multiple
rounds of printing, mark-ups, and delivery. Autodesk Design Web Format(TM)
(DWF(TM)) for publishing is integrated into AutoCAD 2005 for an easy and
cost-effective way to distribute and communicate digital design data
throughout all project lifecycles. Saving sheet sets in DWF enables designers,
engineers, and their colleagues to quickly and easily communicate design
information electronically to anyone needing to view, mark-up, review, or
print the design information. Customers can review and mark-up the drawings
with Autodesk DWF Composer a new advanced collaboration tool that integrates
the comments back into AutoCAD 2005 to complete the design review process.
Customers can also use Autodesk DWF Viewer, a free, lightweight application
that allows anyone on the project team to easily view and print DWF drawings.
"We expect AutoCAD 2005 to set a new industry standard because of the
productivity and efficiency gains our customers can experience," said
John Sanders, vice president of Autodesk's Platform Technology Division. "This
release will prove to be critical in helping our customers across all
industries achieve their business objectives."
Autodesk AutoCAD 2005 Family of Products
The AutoCAD(R) software product family includes 11 enhanced design
application releases optimized for the building, infrastructure, and
manufacturing markets. The following applications will be available with the
AutoCAD(R) 2005 release: AutoCAD LT(R) 2005, Autodesk(R) Architectural Desktop
2005, Autodesk(R) Building Systems 2005, Autodesk Map(TM) 3D, Autodesk(R) Land
Desktop 2005, Autodesk(R) Civil Design 2005, Autodesk(R) Survey 2005, and
Autodesk(R) Raster Design 2005. AutoCAD 2005 will also serve as the foundation
for future versions of AutoCAD(R) Mechanical, and AutoCAD(R) Electrical and
Autodesk(R) MapGuide software applications. In addition, Autodesk(R) Revit(R)
6 software, the latest release of Autodesk's purpose-built building
information modeling platform, is compatible with the new AutoCAD 2005 family
of products.
Purchasing and Consulting Information
Many of the new products from the Autodesk software family will be
available next month through Autodesk Authorized Resellers
(http://www.autodesk.com/reseller). The easiest way to keep Autodesk design tools
up-to-date is through the Autodesk(R) Subscription Program including Support
Services. 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. Customers can also access Autodesk Consulting and
Training services to maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk
technology. For more information about the Autodesk Subscription Program,
visit http://www.autodesk.com/subscription. For more information on the AutoCAD,
please visit http://www.autodesk.com/preview2005.
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 http://www.autodesk.com.
NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Design Web Format, and DWF are either registered
trademarks of 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.
In the text of this press announcement, we may make forward-looking
statements regarding future events and the future performance of the Company.
These forward looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, which are discussed in documents we file from time to time with
the SEC and specifically in our Annual Report and 10-K filed for the year
ended January 31, 2003, and our 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2003.
These documents contain and identify important factors that may cause the
actual results to differ from those contained in our forward looking
statements.
Additionally, 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.
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: Gabrielle Friedly of Autodesk, Inc., +1-507-5000, or
gabrielle.friedly@autodesk.com.
SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
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http://www.autodesk.com
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CONTACT:
Gabrielle Friedly of Autodesk, Inc.,
+1-507-5000, or gabrielle.friedly@autodesk.com
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