demand more

Autodesk AEC customers demand better value

On July 27 2020, a substantial number of leading AEC firms wrote an open letter to Autodesk CEO, Andrew Anagnost, highlighting a range of concerns, but specifically pointing out years of price increases with a lack of development of Revit, a tool on which they have come to rely. Martyn Day explores the reasons why

In the thirty years we have been following the AEC technology market and the 18 years in which AEC Magazine has been dedicated to the BIM process, we have never seen the likes of this — an open letter from a community of national and international design practices venting their angst at a technology supplier. These are sizeable, mature BIM practices which include Zaha Hadid Architects, Grimshaw, Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners and many more.

The letter to Autodesk CEO, Andrew Anagnost succinctly details how they: Have had to negotiate their way through five different licence models in four years. Have seen a 70%+ increase in cost of ownership of Revit licences up to the end of 2019 (with more coming). Are perceiving low levels of product

Autodesk customer feedback survey July 2020

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 Strongly agree

Strongly disagree

Data collected from a community of national and international design practices including: AHMM Allies and Morrison Aukett Swanke BVN Architectural Services Corstorphine + Wright Fletcher Priest Architects Glenn Howells Architects Grimshaw PRP Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners Scott Brownrigg Sheppard Robson Simpson Haugh Stephen George + Partners TTSP Wilkinson Eyre Architects Zaha Hadid Architects 2.59

Q1

The Revit platform has seen major development investment in the last 5 years and warrants the substantial increase per head in licence costs and subscriptions 2.55

Q2

The Revit Platform is written to fully utilise the facilities available in today’s real and virtual PC workstations and laptops, such as multi-core processors and powerful GPUs 3.18

Q3

Despite being 20 years old Revit meets the industry needs now and for the foreseeable future. Current development initiatives are well communicated and are progressing successfully and are well resourced to meet future industry needs and should be realisedin the near future 2.77

Q4

Autodesk’s proactive support of International ISO standards and industry interoperability standards such as IFC is competitive and innovative and opens access to projects by complimentary technologies

development to the software most critical to their businesses, while experiencing negligible improvements in productivity. Have been forced to subscribe to ‘collections’ of non-integrated products, which are explained as high value, but in reality do not fit with the needs of their businesses. Have been frustrated with Revit’s geometry capabilities for manufacture and construction, forcing them to spend even more on third-party software to fill the gaps. Have seen poor commitment to open interoperability in a collaborative industry, which makes them feel trapped. Have no clarity on the roadmap for next generation BIM technology, and have lost trust in the annually repeated promises of significant new innovations. Have an urgent need for cost stability and flexibility in the troubled times ahead. The letter can be read in full on page 21.

Prior to writing the letter, the firms carried out a questionnaire on various aspects of Autodesk software development and business practices. There were nine questions in total, which the firms rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being strongly disagree and 10 being strongly agree - Net promoter score).

On average, each answer scored between two to three out of ten. The answers were used to define the letter and agreed at director level at all firms. Some firms that took part did not want to openly sign, for fear of ‘retribution from their software supplier’ expecting dreaded ‘licence audits’ – which in itself is a damning reflection of the relationships that Autodesk has managed to foster with some of its paying customer base.

From our experience of talking with customers, all the views raised here are widely held within the BIM community and have been bubbling away for years. Autodesk customers, even the closest of competitors, talk openly to one another in business forums and have taken collective action.

To fully understand what led these firms to take such drastic action, we have to take a step back and look at the history of Autodesk’s evolving business model and its BIM product evolution. We will see that this has been a long time coming and we are at a point where mature BIM users are frustrated.

Revit, collaboration & next generation Autodesk used to think the answer to all design problems could be found in applications based on its flagship AutoCAD drawing tool. The company developed model-based architectural design tools: Autodesk Architecture, then Architectural Desktop but these were soon eclipsed by a new kid on the block - a technology startup called Revit.

Revit was launched on April 5, 2000 and, with Autodesk’s competitors cir-

2.50

Q5

The consistent sales model that Autodesk continues to deploy is in the spirit of client and supplier partnership, consistently providing added value and includes the ability to effectively administer and visualise all forms of product licensing, installation, upgrades, user reallocation, uninstallation and enterprise deployments 2.95

Q6

Autodesk’s software collections are streamlined, fit for purpose and successfully interoperate across platforms adding sufficient value to justify today’s costs 3.09

Q7

The Revit platform natively supports all the required forms of geometry for computational design and the complex design forms required for manufacture and construction 2.64

Q8

Autodesk has a clear vision and roadmap for the future of its digital design platform built upon a culture of partnership with its customer base 2.95

Q9

Autodesk is a trusted partner that has empathy with our business dynamics and the need for the security of our intellectual property. We have no issues in utilising_Autodesk cloud tools for internal and external collaboration

of ownership for enterprises has gone up considerably. Development has not matched expectation of expert users and practices want a BIM tool that utilises the multi-core CPU workstations they have been buying for the last five years, to get better productivity, create bigger models, add more detail and require less workarounds. Collaboration in the AEC industry isn’t just important; it’s essential as there is not one product or platform that can do everything. Despite inventing the Industry Foundation Class (IFC) methodology for data interchange, which is now an open ISO standard, Revit’s coherence in IFC import/export is widely ridicling to buy it, Autodesk acquired the and September time frames Autodesk CEO Andrew culed. Customers are also fed company on 2002. While Revit got off to and the drip feed of features Anagnost at AU 2018 up with incompatibilities in a slow start, its message of BIM and coor- adds to the feeling that Revit setting out his vision for Architecture, Engineering data exchange within dinated 2D drawings eventually came to is in something akin to main- and Construction - AKA Autodesk’s own portfolio of dominate in architectural practices in tenance mode. Project Plasma products, as well as with other many geographies. The key point here is Revit important industry players.

Fast forward to 2020, and Revit is now should have had a fundamental bottom- The letter mentions lack of clarity on a over 20 years old. In the software indus- up rewrite a long time ago, either in stag- roadmap to deliver next generation tools. try, an application is deemed old at ten es (such as with products like In 2016 Autodesk did announce it was years and is usually rewritten to try and Nemetschek’s ArchiCAD) or as a whole developing a cloud-based BIM design make use of operating system and hard- new codebase. If any software firm were tool for the AEC industry, codenamed ware changes. to develop a BIM tool from scratch today, Project Quantum (tinyurl.com/quantum-

While Autodesk has certainly added to or even five years ago, it would not have aec) but that vanished and then reapthe product’s capability and fleshed it out the underlying software architecture of peared as Project Plasma in 2019 (tinyurl. over 18 years, its core engine still predomi- Revit - CPU, GPU optimisation or data- com/plasma-aec). However, nothing has nantly only uses a single CPU core. This is base structure. been heard of that publicly for over a an issue when modern day processors We don’t think Autodesk has been year. It does appear that Autodesk’s tend to boost performance by adding oblivious to this fact and in years gone by reluctance to invest in re-developing cores, not by increasing clock speed. we had conversations with Autodesk Revit’s core could be because a new genWhile a select group of more recently added features will utilise multiple ‘‘ The problem is that Autodesk’s short-term eration is in development. AEC magazine has championed the coverage cores and threads, the Revit engine has been showing its age for many business objectives have seemingly taken priority over the long-term software of this exciting development but there seems to have been significant years now. Similarly, in development of the AEC flagship tool, Revit delays and we aren’t 100% the world of graphics, basic features like occlusion culling were only added in 2017. team members about whether Autodesk’s ’’ convinced that the Revit team is actually doing the development work. We will return later

The main oxygen for Revit users is to next generation BIM tool would be based to this topic within the article. load up on as much RAM as possible and on Fusion 360 (Autodesk’s manufacturcut up models before they become too ing CAD tool) and cloud. Sales, prices and licences much of a drain on performance. At the time, and still true today, the The letter clearly lays out the pressures

In the past, releases that have managed cloud was seen as the future. One practices are currently experiencing. to give more performance, have quickly Autodesk exec explained to us several Since the move to subscription, Autodesk been eaten up with larger models, or years ago that the idea of writing a Mac has been ratcheting up the cost of ownermore detail. Here, in this letter, the most version would be very short lived, as any ship considerably. In the last five years, mature and BIM-capable practices are future rewrite would leverage the cloud the signatories of the letter have assessed expressing what we see as industry-wide and if it worked in a browser, it would run that a seat of Revit has gone up 70%+ and frustration in the lack of an underlying on any operating system or machine. But with Autodesk’s planned licence changes modern software architecture. five/six years on, that cloud version is not this year will increase further.

In moving from big ‘R’ releases to bi- yet available, and the reality is, that This move to a pure subscription busiannual subscription feature updates, mature users continue to push Revit to its ness has been inevitable since 2013 Autodesk has also not helped itself by limits and are spending time and effort when Autodesk offered its first subdissipating the delivery of its develop- working around its inherent limitations. scription alternative after it had long ment work. Updates appear in the March The letter highlights the fact that cost admired Adobe’s move to online sub-

Open letter

To: Andrew Anagnost, President and Chief Executive Officer, Autodesk

Subject: An open letter that reflects customer perspectives on Autodesk in 2020.

Industry Context The RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Chartered Practice Benchmarking Report highlights the increasing cost of ownership of design-based software as part of the overall growth in costs that the design industry is facing. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic costs were under significant scrutiny and the value added by software vendors is now being questioned as never before.

It is in this context that a number of practices, who represent a revenue stream for Autodesk of over $22m over the last 5 years and thousands of users have come together to express their concerns in a survey which was carried out in June 2020. Their concerns relate to the increasing cost of ownership and the operation of Autodesk’s Revit software and fundamentally its lack of development.

In the period between 2015 and 2019 most practices who participated in the survey have had at least 5 different licence models in play, moving from individual product licences, to suites, through to collections and now, in 2020 to individual user licences. Overall, those surveyed have seen costs increase up to 70% and beyond to the end of 2019.

Practices would be less worried by these cost increases if they were mirrored by productivity improvements and a progressive software development program.

Where once Autodesk Revit was the industry enabler to smarter working, it increasingly finds itself a constraint and bottleneck. Practices find that they are paying more but using Revit less because of its constraints.

Computing Context Every day digital design leaders around the world wrestle with software which at its core is twenty years old and incapable of the potential of multi core computing and graphics power designed to process within today’s real and virtual workstations. Project productivity in architectural and engineering practices is hit daily because of the lack of scalability and product performance, which then require sophisticated and practice specific ‘work arounds’.

(Question 2). Most practices think that the platform is not meeting current industry requirements.

(Question 3) Autodesk has tabled a variety of initiatives for the next generation of tool(s) to replace Revit but failed to prioritise investment and failed to communicate the roadmap for the delivery of a viable platform to users.

(Question 8) Cost increases on existing software portfolios continue but little value is added to create improved productivity in the core product for design practices in the industry.

Project design outcomes thrive on ever-increasing collaboration between different design disciplines requiring many forms of data interoperability between software platforms as well as compliance to international data standards.

Greater collaboration on interoperability between software platforms and providers could lead to a larger market for all, given the industry is on the cusp of a ‘design for manufacturing’ revolution. (see McKinsey & Company “The next normal in construction - How disruption is reshaping the world’s largest ecosystem”). Organisational Context Microsoft’s reinvigoration under Satya Nadella and his focus on a growth mindset and cultural change is exemplified by this quotation:

“First we needed to obsess about our customers. At the core of our business must be the curiosity and desire to meet a customers unarticulated and unmet needs with great technology. There is no way to do that unless we absorb with deeper insight and empathy what they need.”

(Satya Nadella - Hit Refresh - The quest to rediscover Microsoft’s soul and imagine a better future for everyone. page 101).

This approach would be hugely appreciated by the design community. However, there does appear to be a lack of trust and empathy from practices regarding the use of Autodesk’s cloud services.

(Question 9). Cloud services must be an area of potential future expansion for design businesses as well as for Autodesk as a provider. However, trust, empathy and respect need to be at the core of any such future business relationship.

The protection of intellectual property will be at the centre of the debate for cloud based common data environments. Users want to know what any data that resides in the Autodesk cloud is going to be used for beyond individual project collaboration. Further the robustness and performance of the Autodesk cloud platform remain a cause for concern.

It is important to note that not all practices felt comfortable adding their name to the list of signatories to this letter for the fear of commercial reprisals but have added their revenues and user count as support for this initiative. Fear, real or perceived in what should be a positive relationship with a key software provider illustrates that there are issues that need to be addressed in Autodesk’s powerful relationship with the industry and the industry’s relationship with Autodesk’s sales structure and processes.

(Question 5) It should be noted that most organisations record a positive relationship with the technical and product support teams in Autodesk.

The Future The practices involved in this initiative seek from Autodesk a transparent action plan that is customer centric, non-adversarial, innovative, progressive, and deliverable that includes:

A vision, roadmap and investment strategy that targets adding value and performance for design based organisations that prioritises the replacement of Revit from the ground up to reflect the functionality needed for a 21st century digital industry.

A commitment to continuously improving application, and industry interoperability (including IFC) as well as expanding geometry support and alignment to international data standards. Engagement to build a cultural partnership with all customers based on trust, empathy and respect. A proposal for cost stability. Research and development commitment that is, focused on the needs of the global design community.

From A community of national and international design practices including: AHMM | Allies and Morrison | Aukett Swanke | BVN Architectural Services | Corstorphine + Wright | Fletcher Priest Architects | Glenn Howells Architects | Grimshaw | PRP | Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners | Scott Brownrigg | Sheppard Robson | Simpson Haugh | Stephen George + Partners | TTSP | Wilkinson Eyre Architects | Zaha Hadid Architects

If you feel you would like to add your practice to this letter and be included in the response from Autodesk. Please Contact - enquiries@godwinconsulting.net

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scription, removing distribution and channel margin, and connecting directly to each customer.

With the move to pure subscription, in 2016 Autodesk stopped selling perpetual licences. Over the last three years Autodesk has been increasing the cost of maintenance to perpetual user base - 5%, 10% and then 20% per annum with incentives to switch to subscription. Now in 2020 Autodesk is delivering a coup de grâce beyond price coercion to drive companies away from their perpetual licences, stopping maintenance support completely for perpetual software.

While not withdrawing their right to use the software in perpetuity, as per the EULA (End user Licence Agreement), it is looking to render their licences useless in the long term with no future updates or patches. In August 2020, the company will also be removing network sharable licences and insisting on firms having a copy per user (named user), culling multi-year discounts and putting an additional price on CAD manager-level insights to user metrics.

We have heard repeated stories of aggressive Enterprise Business Agreement (EBA) sales, which harness the fact that Revit is a de facto standard in many countries, is a proprietary format, and is not backwards compatible between releases. Autodesk is also confident that the barrier to move to one of the few other BIM tools is high. The open letter states in order to renew their licence

When firms move onto EBAs that practices find that for another year. After that, they give up their perpetual they are paying more, but using Revit less, Autodesk will not renew the licences, making it impossible because of its inherent maintenance and customers to go back. After being encour- constraints are faced with buying a new aged into an EBA, possibly on a subscription for every user at three year discount, the customer has a normal prices or use the software withlot less negotiating capability next time out any future maintenance. This is cleararound, as all the seats would need to be ly a way to force more subscription seats repurchased (re-subscribed) at fixed non- into customers and there appears to be discounted prices. Some firms like HOK no obvious benefit to customers in the walked away from their EBA renewal. removal of network licences.

Another contributing factor to the writ- Licensing is probably an article in ing of this letter would have undoubtedly itself. It’s a convoluted mess. Perpetual, been recent changes to future licensing. subscription, Suites, Collections, single Autodesk is removing the multi-user net- user, network, named, maintenance, work (concurrent) licences and instituting Token Flex, and crossgrades. The indinamed licences. Every user must have vidual circumstances of any Autodesk their own license, and sharing is not customer will be a licensing voyage in its allowed under the EULA. So, you cannot own right, together with Autodesk’s polihave a single machine running a licence cies in seemingly never-ending evolution. that a number of people might use Customers are currently running serial throughout the day or week. licences and named licenses as Autodesk

Autodesk believes networked licences again implements another transition. are typically shared between two users – This makes licensing difficult to manage but from talking to AEC firms we feel the for any large practice. Indeed, in the Q4 reality might be more like four users to FY 2019/20 call to investors, Autodesk one licence. CEO, Andrew Anagnost admitted,

If a user chooses to trade in their net- “They’re [customers are] living in what work licence in Autodesk’s time frame, we’ve affectionately call [sic] hybrid hell they get two licences for the price of one inside the company where they’re trying under subscription for eight years. to manage two types of different system However, if a customer decides to not [licence systems].” trade in their network licence, they have Autodesk customers will be more than to pay an additional 20% in maintenance aware that Autodesk is hot on anti-piracy

and has a team devoted to ‘non-compli- 2017. Prior to the CEO role, Anagnost Revit still had a long way to go in terms of ance’, yet the products themselves come was instrumental in developing and roll- possible development and that Quantum with very little in the way of management ing out the move from perpetual to sub- (next generation collaborative BIM) was tools to help firms be in complete control scription model and was a core executive in the same continuum. He agreed that across an extended enterprise. team member in Autodesk’s Oregon the maintenance base was struggling

The Autodesk software audit is feared mechanical CAD team. with pricing, explaining that users were amongst both software pirates and the IT In changing the business model, asking “what’s going on?” and “where is directors of paying customers. A whole Autodesk has gone from a typical stock the value?” industry has grown up around licence price of $40 to $60 per share under pre- “I talk to them and I even call the onemanagement tools to try and maintain vious CEOs to around an incredible $240 man shops, as well as the big guys, and I control and protect firms from aggressive a share (62% up from March 2020, at the say this consistently: I understand and I audits from their software providers. time of writing this article) a move that want you to give us a year to prove to you

In fact, some firms told us that they has taken the company from $2 billion in that we are delivering value, don’t leave chose not to sign the letter for fear of ‘com- annual revenues to almost $3.3 billion. us,” he said. mercial reprisals’, namely audits looking Under Carl Bass (Autodesk CEO, 2006 In the interview, Anagnost conflated for infringements and associated fines. We – 2017) Autodesk had somewhat of a the AEC industry with happy customers would suggest that Autodesk in its valid ‘Cretaceous period’ with lots of new from the manufacturing (MCAD) indussearch for true piracy has damaged cus- product development and code streams. try, especially those using the new code tomer relationships in the process. On taking over in 2017, Anagnost imme- stream product Fusion. However, at the

The forthcoming changes to licensing, diately started culling a lot of software time Fusion was a $50 per month wani.e. the move to individual named licenc- development that was not core to the nabe product which aimed to compete es, which come with basic management business or was not making money. with the market leader Solidworks, after tools are all coming this year (the ‘Pro’ Autodesk’s product development was Autodesk had failed to dominate with level named licence analytics are avail- streamlined by priority, to software that Inventor. In contrast, Autodesk was able for an additional fee per seat). was currently selling and mature (e.g. dominant in AEC and BIM but customAutodesk states that this will help sort Revit, Inventor), emerging software (e.g. ers had their data in Autodesk’s proprieout the ‘hybrid hell’ which they created Fusion 360 and BIM 360), and then next tary BIM formats. for customers. However, In 2018, following conall of this comes at additional cost, which the letter points out is already an issue, plus a loss of net‘‘ Kicking Revit’s re-development into the long grass and focussing on spending a vast sum on tinued conversations with readers, we used the Autodesk University press conference to call work licencing. cloud for building contractors seems somewhat out the unhappiness with-

The additional upside of a parochial retrograde vision for a future in Autodesk’s enterprise for Autodesk is that named user licencing also gives Autodesk access where a model-centric BIM could drive digital manufacturing and off-site processes AEC customers. Anagnost jokingly replied “Fake News”. directly to the names and desktops of every user, in every company, and information about generation technology such as Project ’’ We then had a meeting in which Anagnost explained that some customers were how they use the software. Quantum. This changed the company’s unhappy because it had not been properR&D dynamics and we saw a huge invest- ly explained that big discounts had been Data ownership and cloud ment in cloud and construction. applied to their previous three year deals Good faith is important between a client When Anagnost got the CEO role, AEC because they had surrendered their perand a customer. It’s even more important Magazine interviewed him at Autodesk petual licences for subscription licences. in subscription and SaaS models. When University London in June 2017 over a We relayed that firms were telling us of business practices that include price- video link (tinyurl.com/anagnost-AEC). We sales meetings with Autodesk in which coerced licensing upgrades and cross- pointed out that with Autodesk subscrip- no negotiation on price was being entergrades result in rapidly increased cost of tions, there is an issue. Products like tained, consultancy inclusion was manownership, IT directors feel helpless. In Revit have not met the expectation of dated and they were warned that not addition, when all project data is held in a companies that have invested in them. signing the EBA would involve firms proprietary format, on servers owned by a With the announcement that Autodesk having to subscribe all the licenses at the company with a poor record of open stan- was no longer selling perpetual licences market rate. dards, epic levels of trust are required. and was requiring enterprise customers In 2019, things had not progressed and

The letter also highlights the fear of to exchange them for multi-year we raised the issue again in a direct comwhat will happen to customers’ data and Enterprise Business Agreements (EBAs) munication with Anagnost. In our IP when on Autodesk’s cloud, as well as we suggested that Autodesk was asking exchange, Anagnost explained that Revit’s some general concerns on performance customers to pay more for something development was still ongoing and that and reliability of BIM 360. they were already unhappy with the MEP and generative design will be key value of. “The price hikes have been so development areas (this came to pass in Anagnost, Vision and R&D big that they (customers) can’t quite the recent Revit 2021 release which The open letter is addressed to Andrew believe it,” we said. included generative design (although only Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk since June In response, Anagnost explained that for subscribers of the AEC Collection).

Anagnost admitted that the company’s Instead they just want development to viders exactly how you feel about develinvestment in development had shifted focus on their core BIM tool Revit. This opment and costs on any visits, gives a from ‘A’ (Architecture) to ‘E’ November, it will have been four years false impression. If a company is using (Engineering), ‘C’ (Construction) and ‘M’ since the idea of Quantum was originally the business language of ‘partnership’ in (Manufacturing), with the majority of the shared publicly, and the deployment of a its marketing, explain what reciprocal money going to the “C” and the “M”. full next-gen BIM tool is still seemingly a effort is required on their behalf.

In 2018, Autodesk spent $875m on number of years away. The reality is that when Anagnost was Plangrid, $275m on BuildingConnected, promoted to the position of CEO, Revit as well as an undisclosed amount on Conclusion was already overdue significant rework. Assemble Systems (amongst others). It In the world of business, looking at the The transition to cloud in AEC has also was the biggest acquisition year in current Autodesk share price and the not been as straightforward as anyone in Autodesk’s history. In the last two increase in revenues (up 61% FY 2017 to the software industry had originally months, Autodesk has acquired India- FY 2020), Anagnost is a great CEO. envisaged. based Pype, which uses AI to automate There will not be an unhappy investor on Kicking Revit’s re-development into construction project management work- the planet with those kinds of returns. the long grass and focussing on spending flows, as well as a $7m investment into Sales up, income per user up, margins a vast sum on cloud for building contracBridgit, a workforce planning software up, with an aggressive laser-focussed tors seems somewhat of a parochial retfirm. (tinyurl.com/bridgit-A). acquisition strategy for organic growth. rograde vision for a future where a mod-

The construction space and cloud (SaaS) In many ways, in terms of business el-centric BIM could drive digital manuhave become an obsession for Autodesk as execution, it’s back to the days of Carol facturing and off-site processes. it fights ProCore, Trimble, Oracle and Bartz (Autodesk CEO 1992 - 2006) who Increasingly, leading BIM-based archiseemingly Uncle Tom Cobley for the right put shareholder value at the top of the tectural design firms are seeing Revit as a to be the data platform for (initially) the line and grew the company to its first $ painful way to get 2D drawings. It’s not the US construction sector. Anagnost billion, although that was somewhat front-end conceptual design tool of choice told AEC Magazine that architecture painful with AutoCAD R13 happening for complex geometry projects, just part of development was not being ignored but soon after she joined. the documentation process. When they ask had been pushed out to a multi-year devel- The problem is that Autodesk’s short- for new features or specific capabilities opment effort. The next generation of BIM tool, Project Quantum, was ‘‘ Autodesk is undoubtedly ‘squeezing the many of these firms are tired of hearing, ‘use [computational design software] Dynamo to announced in 2016 by the then senior VP of products at Autodesk, Amar Hanspal. It lemon’ hard for its mature BIM customers and in this new subscription world, positive develop it yourself’. Autodesk is much more likely to add in capabilities to was renamed Project Plasma ongoing customer relationships are key please all users, than cater to in 2018, and now has a third unknown name. Anagnost was obviously a big fan of term business objectives have seemingly ’’ the needs of architectural practices that are really pushing the boundaries of form and Quantum, having highlighted the con- taken priority over the long-term soft- looking towards digital manufacturing. cept in his keynotes at Autodesk ware development of the AEC flagship The open letter is certainly born out of University in 2017 and 2018. But, in tool, Revit, while customers have seen frustration, from firms that have invested terms of development, he told AEC significant increases in their cost per seat so much time, energy and money into Magazine last year that it was most cer- for little productivity benefit. Revit and Autodesk products but now tainly not where he wanted it to be. With almost annual coercion to move feel limited by these tools. These firms Anagnost explained that he found out it some element of their licences to please should be the key cheerleaders/fan boys had been announced before Autodesk Autodesk’s business model, large cus- and marketing partners to promote had a defined and functioning data layer. tomers are fed up with being herded industry change to model-based design From the Autodesk Q1 FY 2020/21 inves- around and feel like hostages in a and onto digital fabrication. tor call, it now looks like we might see Kafkaesque relationship. It will be interesting to see how something more solid at the virtual Autodesk is undoubtedly ‘squeezing Autodesk reacts and if it makes any culAutodesk University in November 2020. the lemon’ hard for its mature BIM cus- tural changes to address its now vocal, The letter might not come as too much tomers and in this new subscription frustrated, advanced BIM user base. We of a shock to Anagnost, as he has openly world, positive ongoing customer rela- are certainly seeing much more experiadmitted that architecture development tionships are key. The letter states it mentation with other CAD and BIM has seen a reduction in investment, and clearly: customers want price stability, authoring tools such as ArchiCAD, Catia, has been stretched out over a number of licence model stability, significant devel- BricsCAD, Rhino/Grasshopper, Rhino years on his watch. opment of their core tool and they don’t Inside, BlenderBIM and others, driven by

However, the cost of Revit ownership to want to feel like hostages. a number of factors. Practices are seeking Autodesk’s AEC base has seen a 70%+ Audits make them feel like software better value for money and not just as price increase per seat in five years, for pirates and non-compliance is a growth alternatives to Revit but also to advance limited development. In our discussions division for Autodesk revenue. There is their digital design and fabrication workwith Autodesk customers, they feel the also a lesson here for customers, especial- flows. Mature BIM practices want to progCollections (Suites) are stuffed with ly those at board level, in that not telling ress onwards and not feel like they have applications they don’t want or use. visiting VPs and CEOs of software pro- gone into a BIM technology cul-de-sac.