Autodesk discovers new consumer market via iOS apps

Thanks to Apple's iOS App Store, Autodesk has attracted more new customers than it has ever had across its previous 29 years in business, transforming the company and causing it to launch a new consumers products division.

A profile of Autodesk's shift toward consumers, published by MIT's Technology Review, highlights how the company's experimental SketchBook for iPhone and iPad has given the company, best known for its professional, high end AutoCAD software, an entirely new market.

In 2008, Autodesk was developing SketchBook as a consumer product for PCs, but the product didn't attract much attention. Chris Cheung and Thomas Heermann, two middle managers, began exploring the idea of porting the paint and sketch app to the new iPhone App Store.

After launching the $2 iPhone app in September of 2008, the pair hoped for 100,000 downloads over the next year. Instead, they hit a million downloads in 50 days. The company released a $5 iPad version that launched alongside the tablet in April 2010. A free SketchBook Express version is also available.

Now a top ranked App Store vendor, Autodesk has launched a consumer products division led by Heermann, who says "it's almost like having the company shape up and get ready for the future."

After roughly 7 million app downloads, Autodesk's SketchBook and the estimated $15 million in revenue the app has generated isn't rivaling the company's high end software revenues that total $2 billion.

However, the company's chief executive Carl Bass states, "it's the best advertising we've had in years."

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19 Comments

tylerk36

said about 12 years ago

This is a good example of how talented people who apply themselves can become very rich and there fore continue to prosper. And it was all because of a great partnership with Apple. Good job guys.

harryw

said about 12 years ago

All very good, Sketchbook is a great product but when will they release AutoCad LT for Mac outwith USA?
It was announced on 16th August and released in the App Store, however if you live outside America you cannot download this software.
Autodesk's official response is 'continuing to evaluate rolling the product out globally' however this may be code for we want to sell it for more outside the USA than the App Store allows us to do.
Come on Autodesk you need to value the customers that you have in other countries.

aplnub

said about 12 years ago

I was glad to see AutoCad LT released in the Mac App store. I purchased it the second I knew about it. It is nice not having to use the Winblows version inside a VM.

Maybe AutoDesk will get back in the good graces of this Mac user.

esummers

said about 12 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerk36

This is a good example of how talented people who apply themselves can become very rich and there fore continue to prosper. And it was all because of a great partnership with Apple. Good job guys.

This type of work should be rewarded. I hope those working on this project got a nice bonus. I think this is more a case of you gotta take a few chances and not compromise on design to be successful. Either that or be a patent troll... or be in the top 1% and sit around and do nothing...