Steve Blum
Steve Blum explains how Autodesk is moving away from selling traditional perpetual licences, and is instead expanding into cloud-based models.
From creating blockbuster visual effects to envisaging the design of an electric car, Autodesk has a software solution to suit. Its 3D design, engineering and entertainment products are used by customers from a wide range of industries, such as manufacturing, architecture, media and entertainment, to stimulate ideas before the building phase. With presence all over the world, Autodesk has established itself as a leader in its field.
Steve Blum, Autodesk's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services, spoke to The CEO Magazine about the transformations he has implemented within his division to grow the brand and deliver the best solutions to its cohort of global clientele.
The CEO Magazine: When you took on your current role in 2011, what opportunities did you see for yourself and for Autodesk?
Steve: When I was appointed I had already been at Autodesk for eight years running the Americas business. Coming into my current role, there were several things I thought we needed to do as a company in order to prepare ourselves for the future.
Autodesk started 32 or so years ago based upon a platform shift where software migrated from mainframes and micros to the PC. The next big platform shift was moving from the desktop to the cloud, and moving from perpetual licences to subscriptions and term-based models and things like that. We actually began working on that concept quite some time ago. We started communicating it publicly a few years back and then laid out a three-year strategy a little over 12 months ago.
We had been predominantly a geographically based organisation for the first 28 or so years that Autodesk had existed. In the Americas, I was in the process of moving us to having an industry focus team. So, when I was promoted to run worldwide sales and services, the first big step I took was to move to a global industry structure so that we could really be experts in each of the key industries we focused on.
I was really focused on standardising some of the key components that I thought really needed to break away from being territorially and regionally focused. We looked at our go-to market, the structure of our sales teams and our partners who were focusing on industry so that we truly could provide value, not just to our product offerings, but through our industry knowledge to our customers. This was in order to help differentiate ourselves and add more value for our clients.