The name Autodesk may not ring a bell as easily as Microsoft would to the average person, but in the world of computer-aided design and manufacturing, its software is as ubiquitous as Windows is in the world of the personal computer.

The California-based company is one of the oldest among the world's leading software companies - second only to Microsoft - and is the driving force behind the special effects in some of the best-known animation movies and Hollywood blockbusters in recent years, such as The Day After Tomorrow and Charlie's Angels.

Two-thirds of the top-grossing films in the past decade, as well as the last eight Oscar winners for best visual effects, have used its software, the company says, and counts all of the Fortune 100 firms as its customers.

And at a more mundane level, the homes we live in, the roads and bridges we travel on and the buildings we work in would almost certainly have been built using the company's flagship design product - AutoCAD, which virtually swept the old drawing board away.

"We are involved in anything to do with design - cars, furniture, buildings, bridges, aircraft, tunnels - Autodesk is the de facto standard in many industries," says Jack Gao, Greater China regional director and vice-president of Autodesk, in an interview with China Daily.

"We offer progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. We help customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media and wireless data sectors increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their management processes in the entire lifecycle of a project," says Gao, giving a simple illustration of how his products help clients.

"Autodesk helps shorten the design cycle. If I can design a shirt for a customer a week quicker, it can be on the market a week quicker than his competitor's offering; and the benefits of this are obvious," he says.

Design data is increasingly becoming important outside the traditional spheres of drafting and design, says Gao.

"In sales, operations, marketing - the entire supply chain - Autodesk is the crucial business tool that keeps design information flowing smoothly throughout the enterprise. No other company in the digital design market has the reach or breadth of products that Autodesk has."

The Nasdaq-listed company, which has 6 millions users worldwide, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary on the Chinese mainland by setting up Autodesk (China) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary. By having a stronger local presence, the company will be more ready to cash in on the opportunities that arise in the world's fastest-growing economy.

Indeed, the company's sales on the mainland are growing at about three times its global rate - and sales doubled in the first half of the current fiscal year from the corresponding period last year, Gao says.

He declined to give a country-by-country breakdown of sales - the overall figure was US$499 million in the first six months of the year - but was willing to give an example of the kind of sizzling growth the company was enjoying on the mainland: the company licensed about 50,000 users over the last year, about a third of the 150,000 signed during the previous nine years.

"We are looking at good growth to set up a new phase of success over the next few years," he says, pointing to the breakneck speed at which China's manufacturing, infrastructure and education sectors are growing.

The company has certainly been keeping pace.

There are nearly 200 staff on its payroll on the mainland, nearly double last year's figures. Most of these are based in Beijing or at the year-old R&D centre in Shanghai, which is home to about 70 software engineers.

The Shanghai centre is being integrated into its worldwide product development network, unlike other global companies which use their mainland R&D centres to localize their products, Gao says.

"There has been a lot of discussion on where China's software industry is headed," he says. "There's a lot of advice being given to policy-makers from the industry and the Ministry of Information Industry has been talking a lot about how China's IT industry can take the next big leap.

"In my view, software should be considered as an overall industry rather than segments. If you look at mainland software enterprises, they are categorized as State-owned, private or foreign-invested. All three have to grow together not only to take a larger size of the pie but also to the enlarge the size of the pie.

"Software should be viewed as a strategic industry whose percentage of the gross domestic product should grow. We have to create an environment which fosters more world-class talent - be they entrepreneurs, managers or architects.

"To create a process from idea to product requires talent. Talent is vital," he says.

Talent is one quality that Gao has that not only his company sees - in 2000 he was named one of the 10 most influential IT managers on the mainland by China Computer News; and listed by China News a year later as being one of the most outstanding professionals working for a multinational. Gao is also an honorary professor at Sichuan United University and an adviser to Harbin Hi-Tech Development Group and is on the board of directors of the China Computer Users Association.

When asked, Gao is only too happy to list some of the factors he believes are behind Autodesk's success on the mainland.

"The company is really committed to the China market. If we are to view ourselves as a successful global company in the next two decades, we must conquer the China market," he says. "The second factor is our ability to build a local management team which is capable, understands China and has an international outlook which can react quickly.

"The third is our 'Made in China' programme which focuses on the customization of Autodesk products to the specific needs of the Chinese market.

"And finally, following the principle that endeavours should be simple, operable and provide better results, we will initiate new projects and explore new business models that best suit the conditions in China."

(HK Edition 11/09/2004 page16)