1 An Outside Look in at IntelliCAD Ralph Grabowski Friday, September 17, 2004 Business Track: 11:00-12:00 Contents 1. Why is IntelliCAD … … 1 Lessons to be Learned from History….. 2 2. Can the ITC Work? ….. 3 3. Who Is the Competition? …..

1. Why is IntelliCAD? A brief history of IntelliCAD’s complex past. Where did the name come from? The name of the software ” IntelliCAD ” comes from a programming company that was formed in the early 1990s in San Diego CA USA. Their main claim to fame was ADE (AutoCAD Data Extension), which they sold to Autodesk , and which eventually became part of Autodesk Map. ADE lives on, in the names of some Map functions, as well as in some features in IntelliCAD, such as the Outside Polygon option of the Select command. For a short time, the software was called ” Phoenix ” — partly as a code name, and partly as a holding pattern while Visio obtained use of the IntelliCAD name. IntelliCAD the software has a complex and fascinating history that winds its way through Softdesk , Autodesk, Boomerang, Visio , just missing Microsoft, then onto the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium , and now under a variety of brand names, such as CADopia, Bricscad, and DWGEditor. IntelliCAD came into being as the result of paranoia, and continues to strike fear in some quarters. During the 1990s, Softdesk was the largest third-party developer for Autodesk. But all was not rosy. Autodesk had shunned another large developer, Cyco Software , after Autodesk released drawing management software that mimicked Cyco’s bread-and-butter AutoManager software. Until Autodesk’s WorkCenter software failed in the marketplace, it was tough sledding for Cyco. Softdesk executives wondered if Autodesk might treat them in a similar manner. They were, after all, treading on Autodesk’s toes in the area of software that ran on top of AutoCAD, especially in architecture. As well, Softdesk was doing a better job than Autodesk at writing applications using AutoCAD’s then-new ObjectARx interface. As I heard the story, a director told Softdesk’s ceo that he needed an insurance policy against Autodesk pulling out the rug. By this time, Softdesk had acquired IntelliCAD, and so its programmers were set up in a skunkworks across the continent. Their job: recreate AutoCAD. Of which they accomplished a fair bit, when everything changed. In rapid order:

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