"I don’t think it’s a small 3D modeller..."

Words have a way of coming back to haunt us sometimes.

The title of this post is from an interview by Martyn Day of MCAD Online in the UK with Buzz Kross from Autodesk. The interview was conducted in November 2005.

Given Autodesk's recent announcement of Inventor LT, I've included an excerpt below:

MD: What do you think about the sub $1,000 3D market? There are rumours that perhaps Adobe could be a brand to create the entry-level here.

RK: The Adobe brand would make some sense in that market but it’s unproven if there is a market there. It’s tough to tell. A lot of people have tried. We have a $700 product in that market, LT, but it’s a 2D draughting product. It’s an interesting debate, if there’s a design product there. I think that there is but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a 3D product, maybe some very smart sketching. It’s more about how things work, or will work, than form. I don’t think it’s a small 3D modeller. That market needs a real design tool, for design proofing, maybe some basic kinematics.

Hmmm? Things seem to have changed. At a minimum, it appears that now a "small 3D modeler" is interesting, to Autodesk at least. I can say for sure that it is not interesting to Alibre.

Let me clarify that what is not interesting to Alibre is the notion of a “small 3D modeler.” Yes, Alibre is all about creating a product that serves 80% - 90% of everyone’s needs at 10% to 20% of the cost of the established mid-range products, but we don’t consider that small. It makes me think of the old children’s story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Not too big, as in massive assemblies with tens or hundreds of thousands of parts, or ultra complex surfaces for turbine blades, car bodies and such, and not too small, like Inventor LT. It needs to be just right. And when it is just right guess what, there is no more need for Inventor.

I am flattered that Ralph thought of me when he commented on Inventor LT at his blog. While I do enjoy any opportunity to “rage against the machine,” I actually view this as a cause for optimism. This is good for the industry, and especially for Alibre.

First, it shows that a large, entrenched -- if not particularly visionary -- vendor saw the Alibre strategy and business, or something very much like it, as very compelling. Second, it shows that the hype behind the massive growth numbers for Inventor were largely that, hype. It stands to reason that if Autodesk was just totally blowing it out as they claimed, selling Inventor as fast as they could crank out CDs, they would not be introducing Inventor LT. Does this not pass the basic common sense test?

As these decisions go in big companies, I am sure there was a winning camp and a losing camp inside Autodesk. Although I suppose it doesn’t matter who “lost” or who “won,” Autodesk has created an interesting dilemma for themselves. Either they make Inventor LT good enough, which means that it WILL shrink Inventor sales, or they will balk at that "threat" and choke it off. Those inside Autodesk who said that a real effort at Inventor LT would cannibalize Inventor sales were right, or at least it could have. But it won’t, because they apparently also had enough influence to limit the functionality of the product to the point of it not being useful for anything other than testing or evaluation, for which its use is limited by the product’s EULA (End User License Agreement). Those who said that there isn't a market for a dramatically de-featured mid-range modeler were right too, there isn’t. There is only a market for a complete product that includes parts, assemblies and drawings, and meets the needs of the majority of users.

And while I am "raging," hasn't the whole "Functional Modeling" story lost some energy these days? Functional modeling seems to be what was being described in the interview with Martyn Day that was referenced earlier: something with “very smart sketching…maybe some basic kinematics…more about how things work…than form.” I guess form at $1,000 a seat won out.

Personally, I think Inventor LT is likely a response to flagging Inventor sales, and that is good for the industry. Inventor LT validates that the market is paying way too much for this technology -- although not necessarily to Autodesk -- or we wouldn't be seeing Inventor LT.

I, for one, applaud Autodesk's Inventor LT announcement. It sounds a lot like Alibre Design Xpress minus assemblies, two years later. And as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Comments

[Randall Newton]

Interesting observations. Greg. Here's another point of view to consider. As I wrote in CADCAMNet this week, I think AILT is aimed at the model editing market, and is a response to SpaceClaim, not a way to provide, as Alibre does, a lower cost alternative to model creation.