Conclusion Autodesk has set its sights on developing not just an Internet strategy but, like a snake wrapping around a branch, the company has contorted itself to seemingly place the Internet at the core of it's modus operandi. I say 'seemingly' as I am not yet too sure how many customers of Autodesk would place the Internet at the core of what they do, which is design and build 'things'. One does have to wonder, not if this is too little too late but if it's a case of too much too late. One of the reasons for all this is that Autodesk wants to be seen by Wall Street to be a player in the New Economy, for which it has rewarded many firms over the last three or four years. However, something has gone wrong and technology stocks are suddenly out of favour.
Reality appears to be dawning for Internet investors.
I would suggest that, had Autodesk done this at the start of last year, you would have needed NASA to read its stock price. Today's market analysts appear otherwise engaged. At the moment it's hard to tell. The Vortals, Buzzsaw and Redspark will continue to be very US-centric, however it would appear that if you have a pulse and an Internet connection there's a 100Mb of free FTP hosting out there for the taking, whatever you do with AutoCAD or not. So there's at least one tangible immediate benefit.