Architosh Staff (info@architosh.com)

25 Jan 2004

 

Apple, Autodesk and Mac OS X

The full story on where Architosh's Autocad for Mac OS X Petition has landed, where we think it must go and how you can inform yourself for the future.

The Status of the Petition and Report

The data has been collected and the report finished. Read more below for the details.

The Architosh Autocad on Mac OS X Detail Survey petition is still open to those who wish to take it, however your data will not be included in the report. We continue to collect data from those with an interest in seeing Autodesk's Autocad run natively on Mac OS X. (You can take it here.)

The report has been available since January of 2004 and can be obtained exclusively from Cyon Research Corporation. The report is entitled: Autocad, Architecture, and OS X: An Analysis of the AEC CAD Market as it Applies to Macintosh Users. You can obtain and download it from here. [Ed. special note: If you have taken the petition you qualify for a substantial discount (and have been notified or will be notified) of how to obtain the report at that lower price. (You can write us now to obtain the special URL).]

Report Effort Summary

The report is based on three years of data collection comprising surveys from thousands of participants in a wide array of CAD disciplines. We collected so much data that in the end Cyon Research believed it was more appropriate to discuss not just Autocad specifically but the entire AEC market situation for Macintosh users. The report -- written by several of Cyon's leading CAD industry analysts with assistance by Architosh -- provides the most comprehensive analysis ever published of the AEC market as it applies to Macintosh professionals. You can read part of the Executive Summary here.

Apple and Autodesk

Apple and Autodesk were aware of Architosh's petition efforts for several years prior to this year's published report. And both companies were given notice of Architosh and Cyon's joint press release on the planned publication of the collected data, which was announced at COFES 2003. Petitioners should feel good in knowing that both companies purchased the report promptly upon its publication and availability, indexing serious interest in the issue.

Looking Towards the Future

The future is never a certain thing but readers who took the petition over the last three years should feel good that Architosh served as a critical liaison and collected valuable market data from which others could formulate strategy and market analysis cases. There is significant AEC market insight in the above report in regards to Macintosh-based AEC professionals, and their fate on Apple's platform is tied to the market forces and realities discussed within.

In respect to position and influence, it cannot be Architosh's role to speculate on the discussions happening between Apple and Autodesk nor can it be Architosh's position to take sides in the issue. (for more on Architosh's role with petitions and B2B issues refer to an upcoming article.) We believe that Autodesk must ultimately decide for itself if it is appropriate to re-enter the Macintosh market place and that their decision to do that or not will have a profound impact on them over the next decade and beyond.

Questions regarding this article can be sent to Architosh editor Anthony Frausto here: afrausto@architosh.com

Architosh Marketplace

MacroEnter. is a CAD/AEC/Design, networking and large format printing solutions integrator, serving business, government and education customers. Reseller of VectorWorks, Microspot, HP and Encad product lines.

CAD Garage. is an online store dedicated to Architects, Engineers, Builders, Designers and Mac enthusiasts featuring ArchiCAD, formZ, Piranesi, Cinema 4D, HP and more product lines.

Lim Consultants, Inc. provides creative architects with practical solutions while incorporating cutting edge technology, pushing the art of structural engineering to new levels of excellence.

Place your text ad here and reach thousands of professionals each month for very affordable prices. (contact: karen@architosh.com)