Solution Integrates Mapping and GIS Data to Increase Revenue and Decrease Costs

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced the availability of its complete mapping solution, including Autodesk Map(TM) 3D 2005, Autodesk(R) Raster Design 2005, and Autodesk MapGuide(R) 6.5 software to help customers create, manage, and share integrated GIS and CAD data to anyone who needs it.

"Autodesk offers the industry's only fully integrated, complete solution for seamlessly integrating GIS and CAD data," said Chris Bradshaw, vice president of Autodesk's Infrastructure Solutions Division. "Our new mapping products allow customers to integrate raw data from multiple sources and systems, ensure its accuracy, and share it throughout the lifecycle of a project as rich information used to make critical business decisions. By allowing better access to data, we are helping our customers increase their efficiencies and quickly respond to their customers' needs."

The complete mapping solution covers every phase of infrastructure lifecycle from creation to management to distribution, allowing users to easily create precise, database-driven spatial data; import and integrate a wide range of native-format GIS and engineering data without data loss; and instantly update the information and deliver it to those who need it. Users can read and write GIS data directly to and from ESRI(R) formats, Oracle(R) Spatial databases, and other systems, and can integrate most data as well as projections, without conversion, to leverage the powerful synergies between GIS and CAD.

"In local government, we focus on data creation, infrastructure management, and making that data available to our customers. The Autodesk suites of products allow us to do all of those things," said Jim Coats, GIS manager for the City of Redding, California. "Autodesk Map 3D provides the data creation and the infrastructure management solution, and Autodesk MapGuide provides a way for us to make that information available on the Internet to the public and on our Intranet to all of our decision makers."

The Autodesk mapping solution includes:

• Autodesk Map 3D 2005, the next version of Autodesk Map, a powerful 2D and 3D precision mapping and GIS analysis tool to create, maintain, and produce maps, and to integrate data from various sources and formats, perform data analysis, and produce thematic maps;
• Autodesk Raster Design 2005, editing and image-processing software that integrates scanned drawings of mapping data like contour and parcel maps, photographs, and satellite imagery with a design or mapping project, and extends the value of legacy raster data by allowing users to manage and manipulate information-rich raster drawings by converting them to vector objects quickly and easily;
• Autodesk MapGuide 6.5 to build applications, integrate multiple data sources, and distribute the information to a wider audience.

The products are backed by Autodesk Consulting, including integrated consulting and training, to help customers worldwide maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk technology.

Enhancements to Autodesk Mapping Solutions

New enhancements to the updated mapping tools are outlined below. A more detailed look at individual features can be found at www.autodesk.com:

Autodesk Map 3D 2005

• Faster map creation and maintenance than Autodesk Map 2004 and Autodesk Map 2000i, particularly in the areas of query and classification
• Ability to work smarter with COGO points, point groups, and 3D surfaces, including thematic display, watershed delineations, subtract one surface from another, and smooth surface
• Better ease-of-use, data sharing, and customization with the use of a display manager, thematic mapping enhancement, DWF(TM) (Design Web Format(TM)) file creation and sharing, import/export enhancements, and better APIs

Autodesk Raster Design 2005

• Improved image manipulation and editing due to a restructured image structure interface, support for multispectral imagery, and support for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) format data
• Better image display that treats raster images as more than just imagery, allowing users to represent, analyze, and visualize raster data in new ways through color mapping and providing additional support for raster data formats

Autodesk MapGuide 6.5

• Improved support for Autodesk Map and AutoCAD(R) DWG files, new support for DWF data, an improved Java(R) viewer, and the ability to make the most of advanced Oracle 10g features
• Integration with multiple data sources or servers
• Faster, easier, more flexible ways to query, analyze, and distribute business-critical information

Availability and Purchasing

Autodesk Map 3D 2005, Raster Design 2005, and Autodesk MapGuide 6.5 are available today worldwide in International English. The software can be purchased through Autodesk Authorized Resellers (www.autodesk.com/reseller.) The easiest way for customers to keep Autodesk design tools up to date is through the Autodesk(R) Subscription Program. For more information about Autodesk Subscription, visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Map, Autodesk MapGuide, Design Web Format, and DWF are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Contact: Dawn Van Osdell, 415-505-8930

Email: dawn.van.osdell@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
04/14/2004
CONTACT: Dawn Van Osdell of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-505-8930, or dawn.van.osdell@autodesk.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com