Why Upgrade?

“I’m fine with my current version of AutoCAD.  There’s no need to upgrade.”

“My current version of AutoCAD does everything I need.”

“There are no new features in the new software that I need.”

We’ve all heard this before.  I hear it almost daily.  Why are some folks so reluctant to make that move?  There are several factors that prevent users from making the move forward to the newer version of software. .  .

• Comfort – Some users are just satisfied with their current version.
• Cost – Some users believe that the cost of implementing the new software will be grand.
• Time – Others believe that they’re just too busy to make the move right now.

Don’t allow these factors to put you so far behind the curve that playing catch up is almost difficult to accomplish.  Every year there are updates to the software that are implemented because users have requested them or because technology is driving us there.  If you adopt these changes in one release at a time they’re much easier to digest.  If you don’t then it’s a much harder adoption process.

For example. . .

Back in 2006, I had this same discussion with a client who insisted on remaining in his 2004 version of AutoCAD.  He’s been paying his subscription costs and has access to all the new software but he refused to install the new software.  He was comfortable and insisted that the time to adopt the new changes from 2004 to 2006 would be monstrous.  I’ve revisited with him yearly encouraging him to utilize the software which he had already purchased.  Fast forward to 2016 and we visited once again.  He informed me that he was having some computer problems and just purchased a brand new Windows 10 system.  He was upset because he couldn’t get his 2004 software installed on it and he was also not happy with the new operating system.  Well, the 2004 software isn’t supported on Windows 10, so now he was forced to upgrade to the latest version of AutoCAD.  Now his learning curve was multiplied.  On top of learning how to navigate in the new Windows environment, he had to learn the new features in AutoCAD versions 2005 through 2017.  Needless to say, he wasn’t very happy.  Had he simply taken the time to adopt the new changes from one version to the next he would have seamlessly moved into 2017.

Let me attempt to debunk the factors that prevent users from moving forward. . .

• Comfort – Change is inevitable, especially in our technical era.  I’m sure most of you don’t have the same mobile phone you had back in 2004.  Why would you use the same software from then as well?  Eventually, something in your environment will change that will force you to upgrade.  These changes can be driven by competition, technological advancement (new operating system), or industry demand.  So why not adopt sooner rather than later?
• Cost – Most of you who are reading this are on some sort of a subscription path with Autodesk.  You’ve already paid for the software so why not utilize it.  If you’re not on subscription, then at some point the law of diminishing value has run its course and the software that was great ten years ago isn’t cutting edge today (again, you’re not using the same mobile phone you had ten years ago).  At some point, you must ask yourself, “How much business am I losing due to the fact that I refuse to upgrade?”  You could be losing potential business due to the fact that your competition can accomplish the same project in a much shorter amount of time.  Or you may be losing business because some clients are beginning to refuse to work with you because the constant conversion process to work with you is simply a headache.
• Time – Remember, every version of the software is its own separate entity from the previous.  You can have last year’s AutoCAD running alongside this years.  So you can begin to get familiar with the newer software while you finish up projects in the older.  And to make this transition smoother there are so many resources out there from YouTube to blogs that discuss all the new features with each release.  If you take just a few minutes you will see that the time to adopt the new features is minimal and proves to cut down production time on projects.  For example, one change that I hear feared the most is the ribbon.  I can usually spend about 10 minutes with someone explaining how the ribbon works and they almost never revert back to the old way.  10 minutes was all it took to adopt one change that was holding him/her back.

Don’t allow yourself to get so far behind the learning curve that you are then forced to take several days or weeks to play catch up when the time comes for you to finally move forward.

We here at Applied Software are not just resellers.  We are your company’s Autodesk technical consultant and we take that job seriously.  Our number one job is to listen.  We must listen to your company’s needs.  We don’t want to simply provide you the software, we want to provide you the solution that is focused on assisting your company to achieve its goals, minimize adoption time, and position yourself for future technological advances within the industry while increasing profits.