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Q: What is being announced?
A: On Nov 20, 2018 Autodesk announced that it signed an agreement to acquire PlanGrid, a leading provider of construction productivity software, for $875 million net of cash. On Dec 20, 2018 the acquisition was completed. PlanGrid will enable Autodesk to offer a more comprehensive suite of cloud-based construction products that connects the office, trailer and jobsite.
Q: What does PlanGrid do?
A: PlanGrid is a leading provider of construction productivity software that lets general contractors, subcontractors and owners in commercial, heavy civil, and other industries work together throughout the project lifecycle.
- PlanGrid software helps keep the field and the office on the same page with real-time collaboration. It gives builders real-time access to project plans, punch lists, daily reports, submittals and more.
- PlanGrid software has been used on over a million projects worldwide and has approximately 12,000 customers.
Q: What does Autodesk BIM 360 do?
A: Autodesk BIM 360 is a cloud-based construction management platform that connects data from multiple sources across design, preconstruction, and construction phases, helping to automate workflows and empower project teams to better collaborate, speed decision making, and improve project outcomes.
Critical project workflows like constructability, quality, project controls, safety, and document management can be managed in the office or out on the site, allowing the right information to get to the right people at the right time. Powered by machine-learning, BIM 360 also puts predictive insights into the hands of key stakeholders, so they can monitor and improve project performance in real-time.
Q: How many employees does PlanGrid have?
A: Approximately 400 employees.
Q: What are PlanGrid’s origins?
A: PlanGrid was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco. The company’s goal has always been to build simple, beautiful software that construction teams love to use.
Q: Who is PlanGrid’s chief executive officer?
A: Tracy Young, CEO and co-founder.
Q: Who are PlanGrid’s customers and how many are there?
A: PlanGrid’s customers are general contractors, subcontractors, and owners in commercial, heavy civil, and other industries working together throughout the construction project lifecycle.
- Approximately 12,000 customers and 120,000 paid users.
Acquisition Rationale
Q: Why is Autodesk acquiring PlanGrid?
A: This acquisition supports Autodesk’s goal to reimagine construction. It will accelerate construction productivity and improve how information is exchanged across all construction project teams. Specifically, the strategic rationale for this acquisition includes:
- Immediate scale and presence in construction
- Approximately 12,000 customers and 120,000 paid users
- Successful go-to-market operation tuned to construction customers, with an effective land-and-expand strategy
- Established brand with high customer affinity at the jobsite
- Construction expertise and strong R&D
- Approximately 400 employees, with the majority in R&D, sales and marketing
- Brings mobile-first technology and modern cloud expertise
- Complements Autodesk Revit and BIM 360
- Provides a leading construction solution for field execution and project management
- Integration between PlanGrid’s software and both Autodesk Revit and BIM 360 construction management platform will provide a seamless exchange of information to all project members
- Compelling Synergies
- Autodesk provides the means for international growth
- Presents growth opportunities with subcontractors and owners
PlanGrid Team Integration
Q: How will Autodesk be integrating the PlanGrid team?
A: Tracy Young will continue to lead the PlanGrid team. She will report to Jim Lynch, Vice President and General Manager of Autodesk Construction Solutions. All PlanGrid teams, including sales and marketing, will continue reporting to Tracy.
In the immediate future, it is business as usual; you will see no changes in PlanGrid’s product, service offerings or customer support. There are currently no plans to increase PlanGrid’s price or change the way PlanGrid is sold.
PlanGrid Product Integration
Q: How does this acquisition impact the PlanGrid roadmap and integration plan?
A: PlanGrid has many exciting innovations on their roadmap and will continue to improve and expand support for critical field workflows. Customers will maintain the ability to purchase PlanGrid stand-alone. Over time, customers of PlanGrid and other Autodesk products will see a much tighter integration between the software solutions, which will drive increased value for our customers.
Q: What are PlanGrid’s relative strengths as compared to Autodesk BIM 360?
A: We view Autodesk BIM 360 and PlanGrid as complementary technologies. BIM 360 is a comprehensive unified platform that connects project data in real-time from multiple sources across the design and construction phases. This powerful platform helps project teams address key workflows like collaboration, constructability, quality, project controls, and document management so they can address immediate tasks and control overall project performance.
PlanGrid provides leading workflows for 2D plans, documents and tasks in the field. It is available for both mobile, desktop and web. It is easy to use and deploy, helping teams stay connected to the latest drawing sets and communicate in real-time. When combined, customers will be able to connect the office, trailer and the field with the power of Autodesk’s BIM 360 platform for end-to-end project delivery and PlanGrid’s best-in-class construction field productivity tools.
PlanGrid also offers Autodesk growth opportunities with subcontractors and owners, and in the infrastructure (heavy civil) space.
Q: How will this acquisition impact the BIM 360 roadmap?
A: This acquisition will strengthen Autodesk’s ability to serve the construction industry, by connecting 2D, 3D and data-driven construction workflows to enhance project productivity. It also supports an ongoing shift in the construction industry, which is rapidly adopting new technology and improving the way contractors work.
Autodesk is excited and committed to the BIM 360 roadmap and to a connected project delivery solution for construction. We are continuing to develop and expand the BIM 360 platform and have no intention of slowing our momentum.
Customers
Q: How will customers know whether to buy BIM 360 or PlanGrid?
A: We view BIM 360 and PlanGrid as highly complementary products. At a high-level:
- BIM 360 will continue to be used to address project delivery and BIM-based workflows from design, through site execution, to the field.
- PlanGrid will continue to offer best-in-class construction field productivity tools for contractors, subcontractors and owners throughout the lifecycle.
We will support customers in choosing the right combination of tools for the job.
More Information
Q: Where can I get more information about the acquisition?
A: Please visit these sections of Autodesk’s website:
For media or investor inquiries, please contact the following people:
- Media: Taylor Long, Corporate PR Manager, Autodesk, taylor.long@autodesk.com
- Investors: Abhey Lamba, VP Investor Relations, Autodesk, abhey.lamba@autodesk.com