Outsourcing AutoCAD Jobs, Teaching CAD/GIS Integration

INQ7.net offers up a perspective on CAD outsourcing from a Filipino architect named Joel Francisco (yes, I did a double take there) based in Hawaii. In short, he likes it - it’s 1/3 the cost of U.S. practioners. The piece goes on quote Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk VP of ISD, who raised the workforce issue at Autodesk University last week.

“There is a lack of qualified personnel in the industry, so the private and public sectors are outsourcing more and more. There is a baby boomer problem among qualified engineers who use Autodesk, and that problem is not going away. The Autodesk baby boomer users are retiring and Asia is filling in the jobs.”

That means rising sales for Autodesk in the region. The article goes on:

However, Autodesk laments that many users are still stuck with simple CAD processes instead of integrating them with geographic information systems (GIS). Traditionally, users have two data sets for both CAD and GIS and Autodesk is showing the market how to integrate the two.

AutoCAD Map was announced, if memory serves, in 1995. It’s nearly 2007. MGE, Intergraph’s CAD-based GIS dates back further. Integrating CAD and GIS is not easy, but today’s products are far easier to use than the earlier versions. Uptake, based on the quote above, is still a work in progress.