Autodesk 2007 Annual Report Download - page 7

CEO’s Letter
demand increasingly realistic gaming experiences.
Because Autodesk animation solutions enable
the creativity and productivity necessary for our
customers to meet these needs, demand for our
solutions continued its robust climb. Revenues
from new commercial seats of Autodesk ds Max
increased 18 percent over fiscal year 2006. And
revenues from Autodesk Maya reached record
levels just three quarters after the acquisition.
What Lies Ahead
As we prepare to celebrate our th year, we
remain extremely excited about the future for
several reasons.
Our product portfolio has never been stronger.
Our 2008 family of products has already hit the
market. The new releases deliver important
improvements in functionality and scalability,
including both -bit and Vista compatibility
as well as improved productivity. Once again,
customer feedback has been terrific.
Worldwide business trends are impacting
our customers in real and important ways.
Globalization, increasing demand for consumer
choice, sustainability, the worldwide development
of buildings and infrastructure, and an increasing
need to keep data digital create tremendous
pressure to improve productivity and profitability
while increasing innovation. Our customers
are seeking differentiation through design. Our
products provide the competitive advantage
customers need to succeed in a global economy.
Our strategy for growth is working. Once again,
revenue from new seats was the single largest
contributor to our growth this year. In fact,
revenue from new seats and emerging businesses
still represents approximately two-thirds of net
revenues. Emerging markets continue to generate
outstanding performance. Important global
trends and blossoming economic conditions,
combined with our unique strategies for going
to market, have led to robust increases in sales
and market share in developing economies. Our
D solutions are increasing in market awareness
and penetration, as customers recognize the
benefits of digital prototyping. The move to D
represents an enormous revenue opportunity
with generally higher average selling prices and
higher subscription fees. Despite all of our D
success, the opportunity remains significant: less
than 15 percent of our users have adopted our
D solutions. Clearly, our key growth drivers are
firmly in place.
I want to thank our employees and our investors
for their patience and support in fiscal year 2007.
Autodesk is in an extremely strong position to
deliver great results for fiscal 2008. These are
exciting times our company. We appreciate your
continued support as we enter a new year.
Carl Bass
Chief Executive Officer and President