Autodesk: all of our products will soon go online
Carl Bass in conversation with TechCrunch’s Andrew Keen. “Two to three years from now, every one of our products will be used online. The only way to use them will be online,” claimed the Autodesk CEO.
TechCrunch has posted a fascinating interview with Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, in which he claims that the internet will soon be the only way to access the company’s software.
“I’d say two to three years from now, every one of our products will be used online. The only way to use them will be online,” Bass told interviewer Andrew Keen.
Say, what?
Before visions of 3ds Max and Maya on demand fill your head, it’s worth noting that the quote comes in response to Keen’s challenge to justify Autodesk’s relevance in the digital age; and that Bass is probably thinking more of the company’s non-entertainment products.
The company has recently launched mobile versions of key engineering products, such as AutoCAD WS, and new cloud-based services aimed at design and manufacturing, including Autodesk 360 and PLM 360.
A cautious transition for Media & Entertainment products
However, at the recent launch event for the company’s 2013 product range, at which online services were also a key theme, Autodesk senior vice president Marc Petit told CG Channel:
“Cloud technologies will help [large games and VFX companies] have better utilisation of their hardware infrastructures, but they’re not going to live on borrowed cycles from Amazon.”
Petit went on to comment that migration to online services would be more difficult in the Autodesk’s Media & Entertainment division “because our [bandwidth] requirements are very high. Take simulation. The output of simulation in design is a picture that shows where the stress is. In visual effects, it’s terabytes of data.”
Our conclusion? That the internet may not literally be the only way to access Max or Maya in two years time, but it’s definitely where Autodesk as a whole is headed. Check back in 2014 to find out.
See the interview on TechCrunch (The crucial quote comes at 02:25)
Hat tip to Max Underground for spotting this little nugget.