Geospatial Like it’s 1995
Amar Hanspal, who is now VP of PGP (platform, geospaital and plant) at Autodesk gave geospatial it’s 10 minutes during the main stage presentation at World Press Day. His talk made me feel like it was 1995. That’s just about when both Autodesk and Bentley were trying to position their new CAD-based GIS offerings. Here’s what he said.
Autodesk Geospatial Solutions (Intergraph’s old name for that group for those who remember back that far) is about “GIS with an engineer’s eye.” It’s about the need for precision in GIS. He said “precision” a lot. Engineering GIS (recall Bentley’s geoengineering?), he noted, focusses on specific segments: public works, communications and utilities. (Again, sounds like Intergraph.) The group’s goal is to make GIS “affordable, accessible and digetstable” for small/medium engineering firms (SMEs).
He used the “GIS is too expensive” line, citing how competitors’ systems cost tens of thousands of dollars to get the first map while Autodesk can do it for no more than $7,000. It’s 2007; has anyone looked at competitors offerings?
What distinguishes Autodesk’s geospatial offerings? He listed:
1. AutoCAD - most vector data is made with AutoCAD because it has the best editing and cleanup tools
2. CAD + GIS = Engineering GIS
3. open standards - “We created the first Internet vector GIS” in 1995. (I believe he means MapGuide. Autodesk bought that technology. It was called Argus.) And, in 2005 turned MapGuide and feature data objects (FDOs) open source. (It’s too bad that remark was under a bullet labelled “open standards.”
Hanspal touted a big win in a North American city worth $8.5 million over SAP, Intergraph and “of course” Intergraph. “Customers are voting with their wallets” he noted.
He wrapped up with GIS growth stats (no source, no indication if the numbers are dollars, marketshare or what; I’ve asked my press contact to answer that question):
Autodesk 24%
MapInfo 15.4%
ESRI 2%
Intergraph -0.3%
Tomorrow we get the technical briefing which will hopefully sound more like 2007.
Disclosure: Autodesk covered travel, lodging, food for me to attend World Press Day. I also received corporate gifts.
