From AutoCAD to Bricscad

I'm working on next week's upFront.eZine (the first issue following our summer break) and just came across this one in my stack of emailed press releases. Bricsys of Belgium now has its Bricscad V9 software available for download in beta. Here's the interesting part:

The Pro version will include the new BRX API for porting ARX-based code from AutoCAD to Bricscad (as well as running BRX apps).

As a start, during the month of September 2008, Bricsys will announce more than 20 professional applications ported from AutoCAD to Bricscad V9.

Bricsys has subsequently made a big sale (thousands of copies) to a European company that is switching its add-on app from AutoCAD to Bricscad.

The Significance

Autodesk has been able to hold off IntelliCAD-based CAD programs for the last decade through its "100% Pure DWG" and "RealDWG" and "TrustedDWG" campaigns. I wonder, however, if it shot itself in its left foot with that massive (44%) price increase on LT 2009. 

I have a feeling people were willing to put up with LT's AutoCAD-protecting limitations while it was still priced under $900. But now that 2D-only LT costs more than even Alibre Design, potential customers are probably going to look elsewhere.

Autodesk admits as much in the latest quarterly conference call, stating that the increase in AutoCAD + LT seats was lower due to people rushing to buy in Q1 before the price increase -- and hence slowed down purchases in Q2. It'll be interesting to watch if LT sales fail to pick up in subsequent quarters. 

(The slowdown would hurt Autodesk in two ways: they historically sold 3x as many LTs as AutoCADs; and they used LT to upsell customers to more expensive software + subscriptions.)

If so, Autodesk will have done to the IntelliCAD crowd what ITC members could not do on their own -- make IntelliCAD-based software a significant seller.

Beta Download

The English-language version of the Bricscad V9 software is due to ship sometime this month. Download the beta from here.

Update

Bricsys moved up the release date by a week. V9 ships Monday, 8 September.

Comments

[Anonymous,]

Being a moderate size user (less then ten seats) of Autocads LDD software since ACAD version 11, I am enlightened by the Bricscad headway in the industry. ACAD has been setting users up to pluck our pockets with adsorbent subscription fees since version 2006. ACAD is offering users like myself ridiculous upgrade offers to bring us back into the current version fold, only I realize that within the year I will be slapped with another adsorbent yearly subscription fee to stay current that is unjustifiable and insulting. My hope is third party applications like Carlson Civil/surveying software somehow tie into Bricscad for their cad engine and give users a reasonably priced alternative. To me, Bricscad is the ACAD of the 1980’s.