Autodesk offers rent option for software

By ADAM GIFFORD

Design and architecture software maker Autodesk is to make its software available for rent.

Regional director Andre Pravaz said it was an option which was likely to appeal to large engineering and architecture firms who worked on a project basis.

"If you've got a big project which needs 50 seats for a limited time, you previously would have to already have unused capacity or buy more seats," said Mr Pravaz.

"It's very hard to justify to a customer why they should pay for what's seen as a capital expense, whereas if you rent you can build it into your costs."

The software is configured so it will cease working unless the rent is paid up.

Mr Pravaz said there were no immediate plans for Autodesk spin-off company Buzzsaw.com, which provides online collaboration for all partners involved in construction projects, to set up in this part of the world.

While people here can run projects through Buzzsaw.com, downloading Autodesk-generated drawings of the type usually used by the application requires more bandwidth than is generally available here.

Buzzsaw.com is also struggling to deal with the 30,000 new projects signing up each month. "It's adding 2 gigabytes of disc every day just to handle demand," Mr Pravaz said.

Autodesk demonstrated the latest version of its Architectural Desktop software at a seminar in Auckland last week.

Architectural Desktop Release 3 is the core AutoCAD 2000i platform with a series of specialised tools built in, and is one of a series of products developed by the San Rafael, California-based company for specific industry verticals.

Local reseller Salesoft said Architectural Desktop costs $8990 plus gst, compared with $8450 for a basic version of AutoCAD.

An upgrade from Release 2.1 will cost $490, while adding the functionality to AutoCAD 2000i will cost $1690.

Application specialist Andrew Schep said that unlike CAD (computer aided design), which merely automated manual drawing, Architectural Desktop is built using object-oriented technology which allows intelligence to be built in.

"It allows you to create intelligent building objects which know their form, fit and function," Mr Schep said.

For example, instead of drawing lines and then indicating they are a wall, Architectural Desktop will know the object it is dealing with is a wall, and the architect can specify what qualities that wall has.

When a door or window needs to be inserted, the program user can create an object or go through a menu of prebuilt objects. Any joins between objects are self-healing, eliminating repetitive drudge-work.

Architectural Desktop also allows users to generate 3D models as they go.

Mr Schep said there had already been a significant uptake of Release 2 of the software since its launch in 1999, with more than 1000 users in Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Pravaz said Autodesk was continuing to grow while competitors faltered because its platform spanned the design disciplines, and because it allowed users to embrace the internet to bring together design projects.

The Asia Pacific region, which includes New Zealand, contributes between 20 and 25 per cent of Autodesk revenues, which were $936 million, up 10 per cent, for the year to January.