Ellipsis

The Keith Richards Grin

I picked up Keith Richards' new book recently while killing time in an airport.  One thing that stuck out is a passage about how Keith always has a grin on his face…like he knows something you don't.

I think that from now until AU I will perpetually have that same look on my face!

In my last post “What's Business Critical to You?” I commented on our Everything Changes website.  It clearly got a few of you talking about what we are working on.  Most of the speculation I’ve seen from others thus far is interesting – and in some cases humorous – although that’s only because I know some things you don’t.   

Now here is where my job (if I want to keep it) gets difficult.  I could lay down some blanket statement about "it's so much more or different than that", but don’t the companies in this industry do that all the time?   Besides, I could say how different things really will be, but haven’t we all been conditioned to expect the letdown?  I see it all the time…Same problem, same solution, with a different look, a new marketing spin, or hyping nothing more than a new name as if it’s a revolutionary shift in thinking.   Am I right?

A recent announcement from one of our peers in our Manufacturing market, while entertaining with its intro, was met with some level of excitement, but as expected ended with the inevitable let down. They claimed to have solved the 3D interoperability problem... between their *own* products. Great. As if customers are going to get overly excited about the CAD industry solving its own problems. Yeah!  Your own products work better... together... each word escaping your mind with the slowing pace of yet another let down.

Now I'm not going to say that Autodesk hasn't done the same at times. Hell, it's my job to be the loudest, most vocal pitchman in the industry, right?  And I'd like to think we've had some good times along the way. I mean who can forget my Allen Iverson video intro, or my Pulp Fiction tribute...?

This is exactly why I say my job is currently a little difficult.

A)    I’m bound by confidentiality not to say what we’re up to, and

B)    I can’t just say that what it is we’re up to will change everything without sounding like I and all the others have before. 

So, I won't even go there.

All I can really tell you is that after AU you will likely view Autodesk differently.  This isn’t about just providing customers with boxes of software, or pushing data files to some legacy toolset, but redeployed in some re-branded cloud.  That would certainly result in the kind of let down the others have conditioned you to expect.  This is about our commitment to providing customers with innovative, ground breaking solutions, designed to improve the way they work.  This is about delivering on promises others have made – but have failed to deliver.

Everything Changes 11.29.11. 

-Rob

 

What's Business Critical to You?

Last year at Autodesk University during the Manufacturing Keynote I talked a lot about the ways in which people view design and the design process. I used an example of a staircase and how an architect looks at an element of design through a different lens than that of a mechanical engineer who views it differently than say a machinist, fabricator and so on. This was really the motivation behind my web series On the Job with Autodesk. I wanted to share with you our technology at work and the impact it is having on our customers. Time and time again what I found is that Digital Prototyping is opening up an increased need for re-use and access to even more design related information, and the speed in which people can access that information is critical.

Kind of a shift really in what I tend to talk about - mainly creating a Digital Prototype with Inventor, I know... But let me think this one through for a second. I also talked at AU about how the evolution of technology is pretty repeatable. A technology evolves from impossible, to impractical, to expected, then becomes the status quo. I don't think 3D modeling is quite at the status quo state but it is certainly well into the expected. And as more and more customers move to information rich 3D models, connecting all of the information related to design is the burgeoning expectation of many customers.

So, back to the original question, what is business critical to you? The modeling or drafting tool you use I would argue is critical to your business. It's a tool that you use to capture and communicate design, and if you are in the business of making money and that revenue is in the form of a manufactured product... you get my point. So it's really cool to see is the benefits of Digital Prototyping that are beginning to show themselves more in areas outside of engineering that when I prompt our customers to reflect on the value of the data during my visits, you immediately get the sense of the critical nature of the information and how it is re-purposed throughout the organization.

That's where the business critical nature of Autodesk Vault really shows itself. When it comes to getting people access to the latest revision of design information, the digital release process, and managing change; they are connecting the design data with even more of the associated information relevant to the engineering and manufacturing processes. 

So what's the big shift then? What's the biggest difference that I'm seeing? Back to the looking at the design information through different lenses analogy... Access to even more of the information. That's what I'm seeing as one of the biggest differences and one that is becoming more and more critical to our customers business. Our customers need the right level of access to the right piece of information, right [insert favorite word of emphasis] now. Think about it, how do most of you get your news - Twitter feed, email alert? Now, how to you find out who's holding up approval on the latest ECR..? Remember this post from earlier in the year Why is Waste Acceptable?

See if this example sounds reasonable: Is this 3D model that I'm viewing a prototype or the production model that has been properly inspected to meet compliance requirements? Have the inspection processes been updated or changed in accordance with the latest standards? How many of those parts do we have on the shelf that went through the "old" inspection, and who do we have on staff that is even qualified to certify those parts before they ship? 

Example one of potentially endless examples of how all of the associated information related to design is business critical. So, let me ask you guys if you can share a few examples like the one above and the tool(s), workflows, conference calls, production meetings, and number of interns you use to address that type of need. 

Now, in classic teaser form we've launched a new website for you to take a look at. Yes, this is how we roll... [grin] Last year at AU we rolled out some of our latest and greatest technology and this year we are blowing the roof off the joint. On 11.29.11 Everything Changes. 

Why am I so short...? So, who's going to AU?
-Rob

Rob's Back from Sabbatical

Remember the "I Love You" virus? Yep I was the guy that opened that bad boy during my first month on the job at an Autodesk reseller. Heck of a way to introduce yourself to the company, but I was after all encouraged to open it by a more senior person standing behind me so it couldn't have been all my fault, right? Nevertheless a stupid new guy move. I feel that way today - after 6 weeks off I made a stupid new guy assumption, grabbed onto it and ran with an idea like I stole it... Turned out to be the wrong assumption. Only one person caught onto it before I went too far off in the wrong direction, but wow... rookie mistake by a veteran player.

Anyway... How's everyone doing? Economy is crappy but manufacturing seems to be up so that's good news I suppose. I had a mountain of email to delete err, I mean read [grin], but other than that this turned out to be a nice ease myself back into the working pool day so far. I went to lunch with my boss and he said that in the 3 years we've known each other he's never seen me so chill. Apparently I'm normally wound pretty tight but I guess that what 6 weeks off will do to a guy. 

So what did I do this summer you ask? Nothing. And it was glorious. Its crazy though because at about week three I was ready to get back to work, then yesterday at the end of sabbatical I decided that if I didn't work another day in my life I'd be ok with that. Turns out I have kids to feed and bills to pay so there goes that idea. I figured I'd put up a few pictures from the trip to share before I go off the deep end talking about product design, process management, PDM, and how we have and are working on some wicked awesome technology that will (in my opinion) change the industry as you know it... let's have a little last day of summer sharing shall we?

Here's the rig. All set to head out to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

This was taken somewhere between Idaho and Glacier. I loved that you could drive for miles and not find a single powerline.

 

When my kids are asked "didn't your parents teach you not to play with fire?" I hope they respond with "a good poking stick is important to keeping a fire going".

If I eat another hamburger or hot dog the rest of the year it will be too soon.

Glacier National Park walking from our campsite to the visitors center. I highly recommend Glacier, hands down the best part of our trip.

I'll cut it off there because I think this picture really sums up my last 6 weeks. In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by awesomeness and my kids who are equally as awesome, drinking a beer or two and fishing. Perfect.

Back to work I suppose...
Rob