--- title: Autodesk’s platform play, explained - The Hustle description: Autodesk has helped bring the industrial world into the future, but with Forge -- its cloud development platform -- it’s giving companies the tools to build the future themselves. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/931451506-News-Brief_2021-12-17T011506.383Z.webp --- # Autodesk’s platform play, explained ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: December 17, 2021 Updated: October 11, 2023 Autodesk’s move to the cloud has already been [credited](https://www.protocol.com/enterprise/autodesk-cloud-cad-profile) with pulling the industrial world into the future. ![Autodesk’s platform play, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/931451506-News-Brief_2021-12-17T011506.383Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=931451506-News-Brief_2021-12-17T011506.383Z.webp) Now, the company is [giving](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2021/11/18/autodesk-seeks-growth-through-new-uses-of-its-platforms-and-unified-data-management/?sh=453280c77a0d) those same companies the tools to build the future themselves. We spoke with Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost about the company’s big bet on Forge, its cloud development platform. #### **First — what the heck is a cloud development platform?** Forge is powered by APIs, which are best described as software intermediaries that allow 2 applications to talk to each other. Autodesk has long offered its own applications to customers, but with Forge, it’s taking a page out of Amazon’s AWS playbook, allowing 3rd parties to build apps on top of Autodesk products. The biggest implication, according to Anagnost, is that companies will be able to build verticalized applications that serve more specific needs than Autodesk’s core products. #### **Some examples include:** - **Digital Twins:** Moicon uses Forge to [build](https://forge.autodesk.com/customer-stories/moicon) digital twins for manufacturing companies — giving more visibility into factory operations and allowing teams to boost performance - **Integrating AR & VR:** Resolve uses Forge to [combine](https://forge.autodesk.com/customer-stories/resolve) 3D design models with VR, where construction teams can hold immersive meetings to improve designs #### **As more companies use Forge…** … the platform will offer customers more features and more ways to tailor Autodesk’s software to specific projects or outcomes. In other words, Autodesk’s platform play could soon become just as important as its move to the cloud. Topics: [SaaS](https://blog.hubspot.com/service/saas) Topics: [Saas](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/saas) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Why gaming giant Unity dropped billions on an acquisition](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1687491497-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-21T000317.165Z.webp) ### Why gaming giant Unity dropped billions on an acquisition - ![Emoji growth is slowing. Why?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1079989961-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-21T000148.961Z.webp) ### Emoji growth is slowing. Why? - ![Exam software is booming, but is it ethical?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1151805357-News-Brief_2022-02-21T064021.743Z.webp) ### Exam software is booming, but is it ethical? - ![Sure, out-of-office messages are fine. But what if they were carols?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/902729882-News-Brief_2021-12-24T092911.793Z.webp) ### Sure, out-of-office messages are fine. But what if they were carols? - ![By the numbers: 50m pounds of syrup, child care’s 1% profit margins, and more](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/97834645-News-Brief_2021-12-06T011326.320Z.webp) ### By the numbers: 50m pounds of syrup, child care’s 1% profit margins, and more - ![Adobe’s next act: Web-based, AI, and NFT products](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/814710276-News-Brief_2021-11-03T015906.669Z.webp) ### Adobe’s next act: Web-based, AI, and NFT products - ![Loom and the rise of asynchronous video](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1978844146-News-Brief_2021-11-02T005544.962Z.webp) ### Loom and the rise of asynchronous video - ![Waze and Headspace partner on a peaceful commute](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/926587052-News-Brief_2021-10-12T201138.942Z.webp) ### Waze and Headspace partner on a peaceful commute - ![Automattic, the parent to WordPress, is a private company you should know about](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1273112953-News-Brief_2021-08-20T000928.850Z.webp) ### Automattic, the parent to WordPress, is a private company you should know about Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst" }, "datePublished" : "2021-12-17T09:20:49.000Z", "headline" : "Autodesk’s platform play, explained", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/931451506-News-Brief_2021-12-17T011506.383Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12172021-autodesk", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T20:24:57+0000", "datePublished" : "2021-12-17T09:20:49+0000", "headline" : "Autodesk’s platform play, explained", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/931451506-News-Brief_2021-12-17T011506.383Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```