The world is a changing place.

As an example, let's look at what's going on with the automotive industry today:

• Platform — There is a shift from the internal combustion engine to electric. Companies like Tesla are displacing long-established companies like Ford and General Motors. Electric engines are better for the environment and can be powered by renewables such as solar and wind.

• Ownership — There is a shift from ownership to shared. Companies like Uber are playing a role in accelerating this transformation. Users recognize that cars are parked for much of the time that they are exclusively owned.

• Cyberism — There is a shift from human-driven to self-driving. Companies like Google are paving the way. They are leveraging the mapping data that they already had from Google Maps and applying it in a useful way.

Now let's look at what's going on in the software industry today:

• Platform — There is a shift from desktop to the cloud. The cloud allows for near-infinite computing power to be applied rather than being limited to the CPUs/GPUs of a single device. The connectivity of the cloud is an appropriate technology to leverage for collaboration.

• Ownership — There is a shift from perpetual to subscription. Services like Netflix, Spotify, and mobile phone service, demonstrate how users can pay as they go instead of all of the costs being up front. This model can be applied to software.

• Cyberism — There is a shift from human-driven solutions to computer-driven solutions. The computer can play a greater role in any process instead of being limited as it has in the past.

At Autodesk, we are responding in kind.

• Autodesk continues to offer desktop solutions, packed in Industry Collections, but augments that with cloud-based services, typically in the areas of analysis, simulation, and collaboration. This approach allows more computing horsepower to be applied to the creation of places, things, and media. Platforms like Forge allow customers and partners to craft solutions specific to their particular workflows.

• Autodesk honors previously sold perpetual licenses but offers subscriptions for new seats of software.

• Autodesk is helping customers leverage their data with machine-intelligence solutions such as Design Graph and applying scientific advances such as Parametric Design or Generative Design. These technologies make the computer a partner in the design/make/use process instead of only playing the role as a documentation tool.

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our software. Autodesk gives you the power to make anything. As an industry leader, its incumbent on us to change with the times.

Change is alive in the lab.