Anthony Frausto-Robledo, EIC (info@architosh.com)

5 Oct 2005

 

High Impact: Autodesk to acquire Alias - what does it mean?

Autodesk and Alias Announce Acquisition Plans

Computer-aided design (CAD) heavyweight, Autodesk, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire media and entertainment software powerhouse, Alias in a $182 million all cash deal. Autodesk's primary interest in Alias is its deep product line centered on several growing sectors of the design industry: (1) automotive design product Alias Studio Tools and (2) its media and entertainment tools Alias Maya, Alias MotionBuilder and Alias FBX.

"This acquisition brings to Autodesk a highly talented group of individuals, a wealth of technologies and a great set of products," said Carl Bass, COO of Autodesk. "Alias' technology spans several of our most important markets and augments the synergy between our design and media businesses. Our design customers are demanding more powerful visualization, animation and publishing capabilities. Our media and entertainment customers are increasingly using the data created by our design applications for broadcast, film and games projects. By combining the technology and talents of our two companies, we will be better able to continue delivering solutions that address our customers' complex needs."

The acquisition is subject to a number of closing conditions including regulatory approval.

Impact on Mac Product Plans

In an in depth acquisition Q&A document, Autodesk said that Alias' product lines will continue to be developed under current strategic plans and that there are no moves underway to merge product lines. The company said that Alias and Autodesk have "largely complementary" products and that Alias' products "differ greatly in supported platforms."

Autodesk notes that Alias' products support Linux, Windows and Macintosh making them top choices in "platform-sensitive" segments like high-end film, whereas 3ds Max software is a Windows only application that is used "most often in world-building for games."

The company statement says that they expect customers to benefit greatly from a wide range of platforms upon which to combine various company products.

It should be noted that Autodesk' Discreet division develops, markets and supports several Macintosh products. Alias' product line will substantially increase the Autodesk Macintosh product portfolio.

Architosh Analysis: Several Macintosh users have already written in with shock and concern over the Autodesk acquisition plans. Clearly the initial concern for Mac-based professionals is that Maya and other products may no longer be supported in the future on their preferred Apple platform.

One post in the forums however suggest that this could be good news for the Mac platform professional. The company, after all, already supports Mac development with its Discreet products. The suggestion is that with a deeper Macintosh development staff Macintosh professionals could see other Autodesk products come over to their preferred platform. While this theoretically makes sense, the jury is out on whether or not management at Autodesk will steer product development in that direction.

Skeptics are right in questioning Autodesk's intentions on maintaining a "platform neutral" stance in the market (like Adobe or Auto-des-sys, Inc. for example). Back before Autodesk purchased Revit, that company told Architosh that a Mac OS X version was more than technically feasible. The company had architected their software to be platform neutral. In fact their modeling kernel was initially developed in-house. Moreover, they said it was limits on investment capital and focus that kept them from introducing versions beyond Windows.

Now we see a company -- Autodesk -- touting its in-house resources (specifically R&D budgets) as beneficial to Alias' product line, yet where, we might ask, are those resources now when it comes to easily producing Revit for OS X? The short answer is simple -- I'm afraid. The resources are clearly there -- it's the will power in Autodesk management to make it happen that is in short supply.

Let's hope this lack of will power isn't in such short supply that it fails Maya and other Alias products on the Apple Macintosh platform. For if it did, Apple might be forced to enter the 3d market itself. In fact, the company, reportedly, quietly investigated buying a major 3d software company just shortly before Alias announced plans to support the Mac platform. With three other major competitors to Maya in the market, it is well within the capability of a company like Apple to purchase a "second best" product and quickly turn it into a de facto industry standard. One only needs to look at the history of Apple's Final Cut Pro for evidence of that.

Related Articles and Discussions

Forums Discussion - Autodesk to Acquire Alias

Revit says Mac not "unimportant", but no Mac plans yet

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