AutoCloud?

An interesting article came across my desk today. Turns out Autodesk Labs is running a VERY limited test called Project Twitch, offering its products as a web-based service. (Currently offered: AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, Maya. Why is Civil3D always left out?!?!) Today, we hear a lot about “cloud computing” and how it is going to change the way we purchase and use software, how we collaborate with each other and how we interact with the world in general.

While the term “cloud computing” has gained traction in the last few years, with giants like Google, Amazon, SalesForce.com, Microsoft and others throwing the term around, the idea of remote computers doing the heavy lifting is nothing new. Most of the original CAD systems were run on mainframe/clients setups and therefore made it possible for only a select few organizations to own and operate them (GM? DOTs anyone?).

With the advent of cheap and powerful PCs, CAD spread to the masses and was affordable on everyone’s desktop. As the internet took off in the mid to late ‘90s, remote client computing again became popular. Citrix comes to mind as a particularly prominent tool, and if I recall correctly, a past Autodesk licensing agreement forbade the use of Citrix-like products in conjunction with Autodesk applications. However, like mainframe computing, this technology was limited to low-bandwidth applications once you ventured off the corporate LAN and out onto the public WAN; Fast internet speeds were either too expensive or simply not available.

Currently, the wide-spread availability of high-speed, low-cost  internet access is facilitating the push back to the “cloud” model. Combining the incredible processing power of massive server farms, extremely low-cost data storage, and an overall maturing of web-based technology (e.g. AJAX, Flash, etc) many new forays into web-based methods of delivery are emerging.

Today, GoToMeeting (owned by Citrix) and Adobe Connect eliminate the need to leave your desk to receive excellent hands-on training. Application suites like Google Docs and Zoho.com reduce or eliminate the need for shrink-wrap business software. So can the delivery of CAD software in this manner really be that far off? I don’t think so. What do you think?

What’s perhaps most interesting about all this is how it is reshaping the reseller market for software and services. Why buy a seat of software that sits unused from the end of the business day until the next morning? Why not pay by the hour? Why worry about seat counts and license files? Need more users, just login with your company ID. The extra usage will show up on your next invoice like long distance minutes on your phone bill. Why bother with installation images, slip-streaming service updates and yearly product upgrades? Let the service provider handle all that while you do what you do best: design, draft, and model.

As the owner Engineered Efficiency, a company that has fully embraced the power of web-based delivery of services, I may be biased. However, I assure you that our customers have also seen the benefits and their ranks swell daily.

So I ask you, what do you think? How soon before CAD-as-a-service (ala SalesForce.com) is a viable option for the typical cad-using organization? What will happen to the typical Value Added Reseller when software and services alike can be delivered for pennies directly from Autodesk? For that matter, what will happen to the entire VAR channel in general?

Please, share your thoughts on these exciting possibilities.