Can you define what Infrastructure Management is?

Infrastructure Management is essentially designing and managing physical networks and assets - similar to what some term AM/FM/GIS. These include electrical and gas distribution networks, cable television and broadband networks, and copper and fiber communications networks. A good example of this is an electrical distribution network. These tend to be large networks, spread across wide geographical areas, and contain many physical components. These networks require regular maintenance, periodic additions, and staff must have around the clock access to network status. With Infrastructure Management software and systems, organizations are able to get the most value from their networked infrastructure by improving customer service, increasing business efficiency, identifying and fixing problems quickly, which ultimately help them meet and exceed their business objectives.

What are the biggest challenges facing Infrastructure Management professionals?

We spend a lot of time talking with and listening to customers to find out what they need. First, they have large numbers of paper legacy drawings that they want to integrate into their design and management process. Second, they have a lot of disparate systems that make it difficult to deliver accurate data where it can be used, whether that is the front office, back office, or in the field. Finally, customers want more control over software ownership, including knowing upfront what the total cost of ownership is going to be. As part of software ownership, they also want to smooth the upgrade process by upgrading in smaller, more digestible increments, as major upgrades may disrupt projects and can have long learning curves.

What kind of customers can benefit from Autodesk’s Infrastructure Management solutions?

Our Infrastructure Management solutions can help almost any organization that manages a physical network to design and operate their network more effectively. Examples of customers include companies like AT&T and AT&T Broadband that manage communications networks, or as I mentioned previously, an electric utility like California’s Pacific Gas & Electric with thousands of miles of distribution lines, substations, transformers, etc. For these types of companies, the design and management capabilities of Autodesk’s Infrastructure Management solutions are ideally suited to their needs.

How can Autodesk’s Infrastructure Management solutions help these customers?

Autodesk helps customers meet their business objectives. We do this by providing customers with the ability to get the most from their data by making it easily available to anybody that can use it, improving operational efficiency and business processes. This can include streamlining customer service, designing additions to the network, improving fleet management, or editing data in the field. From working with legacy data to network design, all the way through data distribution, we have the solutions that help our customers.

Where do you see the most growth in the Infrastructure Management space and what are the driving forces?

I think the biggest single driver is the ability to deliver accurate spatial data to whoever can put it to use, be that a customer service rep, a marketing organization, a mobile field force, or even directly to a customer via the Internet. Technology that makes this possible will see the biggest growth. Examples of this technology include mobile devices and software, enterprise-level servers that integrate data and applications, and in general, anything that makes the data available to many users. This is really what Autodesk’s Infrastructure Management solutions are all about: from Autodesk OnSite, to the Autodesk GIS Design Server, to Autodesk MapGuide, we have the customer proven solutions to make this happen.

You talk to customers a lot. How has the economic downturn impacted your customers? In these tough times, how can Autodesk help them?

The downturn has impacted just about everybody we’ve talked to, especially after the events of September 11th. People are rethinking how they spend their software budgets and their criteria for buying and upgrading software. With budgets less certain, they don’t want unexpected maintenance costs downstream. They want predictable software costs and they want to know what the total cost of ownership will be, both in the short and long term. They also are looking more seriously at how any technology investments will directly help them to meet their business objectives.

We can help them by giving them the tools for delivering data to a whole new set of users, including customer service, marketing, sales, and more, so they can put it to innovative uses to extract new value from it. We also help them improve operational efficiency and business processes, all of which have a direct impact on the bottom line.

Looking forward a year, what can your infrastructure management customers expect to see from Autodesk?

We are constantly evolving our solutions to better fit their changing needs. If you fast-forward a year, I think you’ll see that we continued adding more capabilities and tools for integrating the entire design process from creation, to editing, to analysis and distribution, so customers can get more value out of their data and a better ROI on their software investments.

For More Information Contact:
Eric Sutphin, 415-507-6658
Email: eric.sutphin@autodesk.com

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