Study Finds That Engineers and Designers Realize Bottom-Line Value From Design and Documentation Activities

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 9, 2009 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced the results of a new study that found productivity gains of up to 63 percent when engineers and designers use AutoCAD 2010 software for common design and documentation tasks. The study, conducted by Cambashi Limited, an independent consulting and analyst firm, compares the time it takes to complete specific tasks using AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD 2007 software.

The report concludes that “using AutoCAD 2010 can bring considerable performance improvements to the average user. As well as reducing the time to undertake different tasks, the new features of AutoCAD 2010 -- particularly the enhanced PDF handling -- extend the reach of the AutoCAD user and make collaboration simpler.” These findings illustrate how new capabilities in AutoCAD 2010 can help users realize a rapid return on investment in the latest release of one of the world's leading design and documentation platforms.

AutoCAD 2010 Features Directly Correlate to Productivity Gains, Study Finds

The Cambashi study demonstrated how individual feature improvements in AutoCAD 2010, when used during typical design lifecycle activities, can minimize repetitive tasks and eliminate steps required to document and communicate design ideas. Average performance improvements documented in the study include the following:

• The PDF publishing feature in AutoCAD 2010 provides better visual quality with smaller file sizes and the ability to attach PDF files to a drawing as an underlay. These features helped users achieve a 63 percent productivity increase.
• AutoCAD 2010 features new free-form design tools that enable users to create almost any shape imaginable by simply pushing and pulling faces, edges and vertices. Such free-form modeling capabilities enhanced productivity 62 percent.
• Designers can use dynamic block modeling in AutoCAD 2010 to build multiple alterations using previously stored block geometry. By not having to create new geometries for each variation, designers experienced a 44 percent productivity increase.
• New PDF import, underlay and enhanced publishing features in AutoCAD 2010 can facilitate two-way communication with the extended design team, creating a 43 percent productivity improvement.
• AutoCAD 2010 introduced parametric drawing tools that enable designers to define persistent relationships between objects. These tools helped users experience a 35 percent productivity increase in 3D drawing productivity.

“Economic conditions have reinforced the need for businesses to do more with less. Today, more than 27 years after Autodesk first released AutoCAD, we continue to add innovative new features to the product so designers and engineers can design and document their projects more quickly without compromising their high standards of quality and accuracy,” said Guri Stark, Autodesk vice president, AutoCAD and Platform Products. “As this study demonstrates, each new feature in AutoCAD 2010 is helping designers minimize time spent on rote activities, freeing them to perform more valuable work.”

About the Study

Autodesk commissioned Cambashi Limited, an independent consulting and analyst firm, to conduct a productivity study to investigate the benefits of AutoCAD 2010. Taking a task-oriented approach, Cambashi compared the time taken by architects using AutoCAD 2010 to those using AutoCAD 2007 as they completed a design exercise for a single-story building. The project was chosen as a typical example of architectural work. The full study is available for download at www.autodesk.com/autocadpower

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies — as well as the last 14 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 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.