Jun 11 2010
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software announced that the company’s Autodesk Seek web service is averaging more than 900,000 searches per month, while providing nearly 300,000 downloads of building product information and models to architects, engineers and other design professionals per month. This represents a year-over-year increase of over 165 percent.
Launched at the 2008 AIA Expo, Autodesk Seek is a free web service that enables architects and design professionals to quickly discover, preview and download branded and generic building information modeling (BIM) models, drawings and specifications. Users can access Autodesk Seek directly from AutoCAD and Revit-based software applications or via the Seek website. Seek has grown to include over 35,000 products from nearly 1,000 manufacturers.
Autodesk also announced that Autodesk Seek will be included as part of a new McGraw-Hill Sweets BIM Package for building product manufacturers (BPMs), building on the existing collaboration between the two companies. With this new package, manufacturers can have high-quality BIM models of their products created through the network of Autodesk Content Service Providers and include these models in both the Autodesk Seek web service and Sweets.com.
“In the past six months, traffic on Autodesk Seek has doubled, due in large part to the increase of high-quality building information models available via the service,” said Jeff Wright, senior director, Autodesk Content Network. “The combined offering of Autodesk Seek and McGraw-Hill Construction Sweets will help expedite the creation and distribution of high-quality BIM models for the widest variety of BPMs. As industry leaders, Autodesk and McGraw-Hill Construction are well positioned to help manufacturers connect with architects and designers.”
“The combination of the McGraw-Hill Construction Sweets brand coupled with Autodesk’s Seek web service and deep understanding of BIM represent powerful tools for architects and design professionals,” said Per Lofving, senior director, McGraw-Hill Construction. “This new offering enables designers to discover, preview and download branded BIM models directly into their designs, while providing building product manufacturers with a unique, targeted method to connect with designers early in the design process.”
Autodesk Seek offers a unique and highly targeted online marketing channel for building BPMs who want to reach the professional designers who specify and recommend their products for purchase. According to a recent survey of Autodesk Seek users, nearly 50 percent use Seek on a weekly basis, more than 60 percent recommend or specify products and 77 percent consider it likely that the products that they recommend or specify will be purchased. Autodesk Seek thus offers a highly qualified audience for BPMs to make models of their products available for download.
“I started using Autodesk Seek with Autodesk Revit Architecture two years ago,” says Kristy Van Zant, NCARB, senior tech architect at The Design Partnership LLP. “It has helped me save time and reduce errors by providing me with dependable and accurate product models. It’s great to see a growing number of manufacturers provide their BIM models on Seek -- that’s a good trend for architects.”
Source: http://www.autodesk.com/