By Gabriel Perna: Subscribe to Gabriel's RSS feed
September 2, 2010 11:32 AM EDT
Apple means business.
After a 16-year absence, AutoDesk's AutoCAD is back on the Apple platform. The software will be available on Mac computers as well as the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. AutoCAD is the popular software which allows for engineers to create 3D design prototypes of buildings, highways and other infrastructure.
Getting AutoCAD back could be the first in a series of moves by Apple to get deeper into the enterprise market. "I think the AutoCAD announcement is a sign of things to come," said Gleacher and Company analyst Marshall . "Historically, Apple has not focused on the corporate world. Going forward, because of their success in consumer products and the grassroots demand for IT organizations to support Apple products, I think this trend will start to flourish."
For AutoDesk, coming back to Apple was an obvious move. Noah Cole, communications manager at AutoDesk, said the company's Intel architecture and advancements in open source software made it easier to convert AutoCAD from Windows to Mac. However, he added the real reason was because of customer demand.
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"Customers were asking us in increasingly louder voices and volume that they wanted a native AutoCAD application on the Mac. It became too loud of a cry to ignore so we started to develop it," Cole said.
Rather than convert the Windows version to Mac, AutoDesk created a complementary version to the Mac operating system. This included an integration of Mac's magic mouse, the gestures with the touch pod feature and support of cover flow. For Windows AutoCAD users that want to make the switch, AutoDesk will make it possible for a small cross platform fee Cole said.
Along with Windows converts, he sees new customers using AutoCAD with this move. "The iPad, iPhone and iPod touch makes it available to a broader audience. There is a whole segment of the populous who's never used AutoCAD but will be able to interact with on the iPhone and iPad, find that it's useful and buy the software. This will build awareness," Cole said.
The iPhone and iPad app will tap into a cloud based service. Users will be able to create projects on the Mac, save them and then be able to edit and view them on the iPhone or iPad.
Beyond the construction and design industry, Marshall says a whole range of industries will begin to use Apple products for enterprise related reasons. "I really don't see any industry off limits from being supported by Mac platforms in the future," he said.
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