Autodesk acquires nPower SAT translator
Congratulations to Autodesk® on the acquisition of our nPower Software SAT translator for Autodesk® 3ds max® 2011 (and 2010 subscription release). The nPower SAT translator will replace the original Autodesk® 3ds max® SAT translator as the standard SAT translation tool for Autodesk® 3ds max®. The nPower SAT translator is a piece of the Power Translators plug-in, and has proven to be a valuable tool for Autodesk® 3ds max® customers who need to transfer their models between Autodesk® 3ds max® and other Autodesk® products (like Autodesk® Inventor® and Autodesk® Revit®). We appreciate the fact that our customers enjoy our products so much that they recommend them to Autodesk®. We are also pleased that Autodesk® considers our technology to be so valuable that it is including our SAT translator in the subscription release (code named Tetris). Providing the SAT translator to Autodesk® enhances the value of Autodesk® 3ds max®, because it provides excellent connectivity to the Autodesk® family of products. As part of this effort, Autodesk® 3ds max® will include what they are calling the "body object" in Autodesk® 3ds max® as the new native NURBS format for Autodesk® 3ds max®. This "body object" is a NURBS format supplied by nPower Software (using our SOLIDS++ geometric modeling kernel). Why did we sell the SAT translator to Autodesk? This partnership is part of a key strategy within Autodesk® to link together its various products. From the nPower Software perspective, embedding the nPower Software supplied "Body Object" into Autodesk® 3ds max® makes it the standard format for NURBS data exchange, and it also provides an important platform to nPower Software for providing "Body Object" tools (functions that work on "Body Objects"). We believe that many Autodesk® 3ds max® customers will want to buy our tools to work on "Body Objects". Soon, every Autodesk® 3ds max® will include the nPower Software "Body Object" format, so we will no longer have to worry about whether or not those objects exist in Autodesk® 3ds max®. The SAT format is only one of the many formats supported by Power Translators, and indeed was the least used among nPower Software customers. Licensing the SAT translator to Autodesk® gives nPower Software excellent visibility (not only with the Autodesk® 3ds max® community, but also with other Autodesk® product customers). Autodesk® customers will clearly see that nPower Software provides outstanding, reliable solutions. Now more customers will be exposed to our excellent solutions, and indirectly it will enhance the value of our other products. This partnership also essentially identifies our translator technology as the de facto standard for data translation with Autodesk® 3ds max® (and ultimately for Autodesk® in general), and the "Body Object" becomes the de facto NURBS format standard. In the mean time, we can continue selling all of our other popular translators with our Power Translators, Power Translators Pro, and Power Translators Universal products (with the added advantage that we no longer need to provide a viewer plugin because our "Body Object" is embedded in Autodesk® 3ds max®. In addition, a very important part of the partnership includes some important marketing opportunities and visibility for our other products.
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What will happen with other nPower plugins? We will continue to sell and support our popular plugins. Our plan is leverage our Autodesk® partnership to get increased visibility and sales for our other outstanding plugin products. The SAT translator makes sense for Autodesk®, because it really is an essential tool for Autodesk® 3ds max®. The STEP, IGES and Rhino translators continue to be our most popular translators. And we will continue to sell those in our Power Translators (and Power Translators Pro) products. nPower Software Stands Behind its Products Will nPower Software continue to Support the SAT translator? Yes, we will continue to support and enhance the SAT file translator (and we will continue to support and enhance the other translator formats). nPower Software takes great pride in supporting their customers, and we are contractually obligated to support and enhance the SAT translator product for future releases of Autodesk® 3ds max®. It will continue to be a great product. The only difference is that it will be distributed by Autodesk instead of nPower Software. One of our company goals is to allow as many people as possible to benefit from our technology. This partnership with Autodesk® helps us achieve this goal. To help you, our loyal customers, understand the details, we are providing background information here. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us. |