Re:Autodesk CEO on Investing in the Future
by Silhouette on Sunday March 06, 2016 @09:09PM
(#11236653)
I don't see SaaS working out for Autodesk unless they can find new ways to differentiate themselves from open source offerings.
The thing is, they differentiate themselves from open source offerings by having a massive ecosystem and guaranteed compatibility across your whole production pipeline because everyone else is using them as well. Just as Microsoft have with Office and Adobe have with Creative Cloud, Autodesk have a degree of market dominance because of community and networking effects, regardless of any features or usability or pricing issues. However, unlike Office or CC users, there are probably relatively few professionals using Autodesk products who operate in isolation or only need to share data within their own small group, which makes it much harder for any disruptive newcomer to challenge their position.
The thing is, they differentiate themselves from open source offerings by having a massive ecosystem and guaranteed compatibility across your whole production pipeline because everyone else is using them as well. Just as Microsoft have with Office and Adobe have with Creative Cloud, Autodesk have a degree of market dominance because of community and networking effects, regardless of any features or usability or pricing issues. However, unlike Office or CC users, there are probably relatively few professionals using Autodesk products who operate in isolation or only need to share data within their own small group, which makes it much harder for any disruptive newcomer to challenge their position.