Autodesk rebrands to signal consumer and cloud-computing focus

The rebranding, which includes a new identity and a new suite of products, will see the company expand its consumer offerings and move toward more cloud- and mobile-centred platforms in Asia, according to the company.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk was once known only to users of its AutoCAD 3D drafting tool, which found use in the engineering, manufacturing, architecture, construction and entertainment industries. The brand boasts more than 12 million professional users. However, today the company's offerings include not only software tools but also cloud services, mobile apps and online communities, and it has more than 115 million consumer users.

“Over the past three decades we have successfully transformed our business from being a pioneer in the computer-aided design industry to creating products and services for consumers, expanding our product suite, improving the overall Autodesk customer experience and finally moving the company and its considerable offerings to the cloud,” VR Srivatsan (pictured below), managing director for ASEAN at Autodesk, told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

With Japan and China leading the company’s regional growth, Asia-Pacific is Autodesk’s fastest-growing region, with a year-on-year sales increase of 9.5 per cent and revenue of US$608 million in the fiscal year that ended 31 January, according to the company.

“Our consumer portfolio has received a very positive response from consumers in Asia-Pacific,” Srivatsan said. “Already, Japan, China and South Korea are among the top eight countries by downloads of one of our flagship consumer applications, Sketchbook. Users from the region make up a significant percentage of our 115 million-strong base of consumer users.”

He noted that whether Asian consumers are tech-savvy or not, they are looking for ways to express themselves creatively and participate in the design process of the world around them.

Several trends are happening right now, Srivatsan pointed out. Firstly, the “consumerisation of IT” shows that consumers now adopt technology and leverage social networks in their personal lives first, and then expect the same experiences at work, as opposed to in the past when the process happened the other way around.

Secondly, he said, is the “personalisation of design”. From ringtones to personalised phone cases, people are interested in participating in the design process and personalising their products to be unique.

The third trend is around consumers’ return to making things: the 'maker' movement. “This has prompted predictions of a new industrial revolution, in which more manufacturing is done by small firms or even by individuals,” Srivatsan explained. “The maker community celebrates learning, and freely shares ideas.

“Ultimately we believe this movement is going to change the face of manufacturing as we know it,” he added. “While the industrial revolution was about enabling mass production of a single product, the maker movement will enable mass customisation.”

While Srivatsan sees abundant growth opportunities in Asia-Pacific, he also sees challenges unique to each of the emerging markets, such as “cultural differences, fragmented markets, technology adoption, varying consumption patterns, expanding populations, increasing middle classes and young populations, infrastructure bottlenecks, and distribution frameworks".

“The key is in understanding these nuances and developing your business strategy and solutions,” he said. “We are seeing a growing shift in the way people do their work, with the combination of cloud, mobile and social all in one place. These three technologies are redefining the computing landscape.” 

Through the cloud computing and mobile platforms, Autodesk is extending design beyond the desktop and giving customers the ability to do things they couldn’t before, such as high-performance visualisation, simulation, analysis and collaboration, according to the company.

“We are also able to apply learnings from our consumer business in our professional business,” Srivatsan added. For example, Autodesk is incorporating social collaboration features that streamline design creation, review and approvals in its professional tools, as well as developing technology for multiple platforms and skills in digital media and online marketing.

To better engage with Asian consumers through every touchpoint, Autodesk participates in a number of physical and virtual events in Asia-Pacific. “We also have online Autodesk communities that are moderated by third-party industry experts. Our regional social media platforms are also a great source of customer interaction. As well, we have a strong network of channel partners across Asia-Pacific,” he concluded.