Transformation and Impact from the Software Ecosystem Perspective: Case Study of Autodesk Inc.'s Ecosystem Roadmap

The emergence of intraorganizational software ecosystems with monopolizing industry actors such as Adobe, Autodesk, and Microsoft challenges the current studies of the software ecosystem that is primarily focused on interfirm interaction and cooperation, thus necessitating studies on these cases that are fewer in number in terms of players yet impactful to the industry. As the software and solution leader within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, Autodesk Inc., with its almost-monopolizing market share for many of its software products, has vast impacts on the innovation trends of AEC companies, influencing project delivery, program management, firm operations, and education; however, its evolution in the past four decades has not been comprehensively analyzed from the ecosystem perspective. This paper utilizes the contemporary business ecosystem theory (in particular, software ecosystem theory) to map, trace and analyze Autodesk's growth and transformation in the past four decades over four distinct time periods. The research results indicate that Autodesk's roadmap to internalizing the software ecosystem corresponds to both ecosystem-as-affiliation and ecosystem-as structure, and its future development trajectory aligns with the dominant business ecosystem and software ecosystem theories.