Autodesk 2007 Annual Report Download - page 6

Our Building Solutions Division (BSD) had an
exceptional year, growing revenues 36 percent to
$242 million. In fact, BSD has increased revenue
by more than 200 percent since fiscal year 2004.
Building projects are becoming more complex
and demanding, driving the need for better
information. Owners and operators are requiring
sustainable “green” designs to lower the total
cost of ownership. Once again, we expanded our
building industry scope in fiscal year 2007 with
the launch of Autodesk Revit Systems, which
extends building information modeling to reach
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers
and designers. With the introduction of Revit
Systems, we are uniquely positioned to offer a
comprehensive, integrated information model
to the building industry. Increasingly, customers
are adopting the purpose-built D building
information modeling capabilities of Revit to save
time and money, reduce errors, experience greater
productivity, and produce higher-quality work. As
a result, we added more than 70,000 commercial
seats of our Revit family during fiscal year 2007
and doubled revenues.
Our Infrastructure Solutions Division (ISD)
grew revenues 20 percent to $214 million.
Population growth and economic expansion are
driving unprecedented levels of infrastructure
development around the world. Existing
infrastructure assets need rebuilding and
rejuvenation. Infrastructure providers face
costly and complex regulations and reporting
requirements, shrinking budgets, increasing
competition, and a shortage of talent. Using
Autodesk solutions, they are integrating their
spatial information solutions to obtain complete
visibility and reduce costs, while designing better
freeways, airports and dams. By maintaining
intelligent object relationships, our model-based
civil engineering design solution, Autodesk Civil
D, enables users to complete design and drafting
tasks faster and more easily by dynamically
manipulating any aspect of design. In fiscal
year 2007, we added nearly 31,000 commercial
seats of Autodesk Civil D. Revenues from Civil
D increased  percent over fiscal year 2006.
Our Media and Entertainment Division (M&E)
increased revenues 36 percent in fiscal year 2007
to $235 million. Operating income increased by
71 percent. Film studios and game developers
alike are rushing to incorporate more high impact
content into their production pipelines. Our M&E
solutions are designed for digital media
creation and its management and delivery
across all disciplines, including animation,
game development, design visualization, film
and television editing, color grading, and visual
effects. In addition to releasing new versions of
all of our M&E products during fiscal year 2007,
we completed the integration of Alias within 6
months, as planned, and successfully moved our
Advanced Systems solutions from SGI hardware to
PC-based solution, two significant achievements.
Revenues from our Advanced Systems solutions
increased slightly in fiscal year 2007. Film studios
continue to move away from proprietary, high-
end solutions and adopt Linux-based workflows.
During the year, we completed the transition of
our product line to Linux. Our new Linux-based
solutions provide better price performance for
customers while generating a higher margin for
Autodesk. Product revenue from our Linux-based
effects, editing, and finishing solutions was 77
percent of total Advanced Systems product
revenue in fiscal year 2007, and increased 184
percent over fiscal year 2006.
To say that animation is currently experiencing
a renaissance in entertainment is an
understatement. Animation is booming. Box office
demand for feature length animated films is at
record levels. Electronic game platforms and titles
seem to be multiplying exponentially as consumers