Wednesday, October 10, 2012

"Autodesk 360", Crystal Clear?


Could you define 'Autodesk 360'?  Does the fact that a name is actually alphanumeric bother you?  I think it is a little different.  I had some trouble with this, so I thought an article might help clarify it.  The whole theory behind this is interesting, though!  Autodesk has recognized that many applications are going to the “Cloud” and they have started that journey with Autodesk 360.  What is it?  Autodesk 360 is a collection of online functions that you can access through an account with Autodesk.  The official definition is:

Autodesk® 360 is a cloud computing platform that provides a broad set of features, cloud services and products that can help you improve the way you design, visualize, simulate, and share your work with others anytime, anywhere.

Some of the functionality is completely free.  You do not even need to own/run any of their software.  Some of the functionality is tied directly to the software that you purchase and is made available to you via subscription. If you have not already noticed, Autodesk is using the “360” to describe their applications that run in the cloud.  For example, Autodesk has a cloud-based PLM system called Autodesk PLM 360.  With that said, this article is about Autodesk 360, the online account that you can log into for cloud functionality.
This all sounds wonderful, right?  What is the catch?  Honestly, there is not really any catch.  I do believe that there is a downside to this.  This may make me sound old, but there are too many options that go in too many directions (and I think this will only grow).  You will need to figure out what tools are useful for you and the way that you work.  On the positive side, Autodesk has provided many different options.  If you are mobile and you are working with others, these tools will be useful to you.  If you do not share data with others, then this may not provide that much value.  Do you take a tablet or use your smartphone to capture data onsite?  If so, I bet this will be useful.  Do you sit at one computer and store data on your own server for others to access?  If so, I believe this will not be useful to you.

If you are interested in further information, here is a link for you to learn more and potentially sign up to use it:

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