Autodesk Details Subscription Transition for New Software Licenses

DUBAI, UAE, Feb 08, 2015 — Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) announced that new commercial seats of most standalone desktop software products will be available only by Desktop Subscription beginning February 1, 2016. Through these changes, Autodesk is continuing its transition to subscription-based offerings for its products, which provide customers a simplified product management and deployment experience, and makes it easier to introduce new tools and technology into the workflow with lower upfront cost and the ability to pay as you go.

"How the world is designed and made is changing, and how software is delivered is changing as well. The companies that embrace these changes will lead their industries toward a more nimble, connected and richer future,” said Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk senior vice president of Industry Strategy & Marketing. "Our customers have long asked for greater flexibility and more value from their software investments. The shift to subscription allows Autodesk to deliver both, as well as an improved user experience and easier access to a broader portfolio of technology.”

Autodesk Desktop Subscription offers a simplified installation, management and upgrade experience, flexible payment terms, and broader access rights across multiple devices.  Autodesk plans to continually innovate and improve Desktop Subscription products to more tightly integrate them with Autodesk cloud services and reduce file compatibility issues.

Autodesk customers who have purchased perpetual licenses prior to February 1, 2016 will be able to continue to use those licenses, and customers on Maintenance Subscription will continue to receive corresponding benefits for as long as their subscription remains active.  Autodesk will also continue to offer Cloud Services Subscriptions.

“With today’s announcement, we are giving our customers a full year to plan for these changes, and will continue to be transparent about our plans,” continued Anagnost. “Autodesk will be working closely with our customers and partners to ease the impact of these changes, and we are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.”

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding our products, product availability, product capabilities, and other statements regarding our strategies, market and products positions, performance, and results. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: general market, political, economic and business conditions; failure to successfully manage transitions to new business models and markets, including the introduction of additional ratable revenue streams and our continuing efforts to attract customers to our cloud-based offerings and expenses related to the transition of our business model; slowing momentum in subscription billings or revenues; difficulty in predicting revenue from new businesses and the potential impact on our financial results from changes in our business models; failure to achieve sufficient sell-through in our channels for new or existing products; pricing pressure; the timing and degree of expected investments in growth and efficiency opportunities; and changes in the timing of product releases and retirements.