The release of AutoCAD 2005, coming just a year after the previous version, marks a significant change from the company’s previous schedule of issuing major updates approximately 18 months apart. Autodesk would clearly like to convince more of its customers to move to annual subscription contracts. Annual releases, coupled with subscription costs that are lower than the cost of an upgrade are certainly strong incentives. The question now is not only whether enough customers will see the features in this new release to be worth the cost, but also whether they believe those in the subsequent release will also be worth while.
We believe the answer is yes. AutoCAD 2004 proved to be one of the most successful versions of this venerable program in quite some time. While the changes to AutoCAD’s core functionality this time around are not as significant, two new tools stand out:
The new Sheet Set Manager provides powerful new capabilities for managing large sets of drawings. Although this new component presents a somewhat steep learning curve, our only question is why it took Autodesk so long to add something so useful for so many users.
The other significant new tool, the Markup Set Manager, works in conjunction with Autodesk’s DWF format, enabling users to collaborate with non-AutoCAD users and then merge changes back into their original AutoCAD drawings. This may prove to be the more significant new addition.
Two strong releases a year apart. Anyone considering a subscription contract at this point should bet on Autodesk releasing another new version 12 months from now.
Of course, as one would expect, there are a variety of other improvements and new features in AutoCAD 2005. For a complete review of this new release, see my article in the March 2004 issue of Engineering Automation Report.
Ultimately, the success of AutoCAD 2005 will be measured in Autodesk’s bottom line. All indications thus far point toward this being a very successful release indeed.
