Will Provide First Integrated Desktop-to-Enterprise Solution in AM/FM/GIS
Industry

San Rafael, CA, April 22, 1999-Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced
that it has acquired VISION* Solutions, a leading-edge vendor of enterprise
automated mapping/facilities management/geographic information systems
(AM/FM/GIS) solutions based in Canada from MCI Systemhouse Corp., MCI
WorldCom's global information technology company, for $26 million.  The
transaction will be accounted for as a purchase.  Autodesk will integrate
the VISION* offerings with its leading desktop tools to offer the most
scalable, reliable and proven desktop-to-enterprise AM/FM/GIS solution in
the industry.

VISION* Solutions makes and markets enterprise solutions to large
communications, utilities, and local government organizations.  Its
worldwide customers include US West and FirstEnergy in North America, Thames
Water and Yorkshire Electric in the U.K., and Telstra in Australia.

The combined Autodesk/VISION* enterprise solutions, scalable up to thousands
of concurrent users, will enable organizations to create, store, maintain
and use information about their physical assets and infrastructure
enterprise-wide. By enabling the full integration of AM/FM/GIS information

with other business data, the customer gains two unique benefits.  First,
key decision-makers will gain a clear window into every aspect of
mission-critical business operations involving physical assets, facilities
and activities across the organization.  Secondly, this information can now
be delivered at every level from the executive suite to the shop floor and
accessed by every department within an organization. Dataquest, a leading
industry analyst firm based in San Jose, California, recently projected the
worldwide core software and software-related services segment of this market
will reach approximately $2.5 billion by 2001.

"Our large telecommunications and utility customers have told us that
existing AM/FM/GIS vendors aren't addressing one of their greatest
priorities: integrating their spatial data into their enterprise," said
Carol Bartz, Autodesk chief executive officer.  "Now, Autodesk will take our
GIS customers to the next level by providing the industry's only complete,
end-to-end solution. This acquisition is further evidence of our overall
commitment to providing the design information backbone to the enterprise."

"Autodesk's acquisition of VISION* Solutions has the potential to move
Autodesk into a wide range of mission-critical business applications,"
commented Dave Sonnen, senior consultant with International Data Corporation
(IDC), a leading industry analyst firm based in Framingham, Massachusetts.
"IDC sees strong demand for enterprise applications that support broad
business processes, and this acquisition positions Autodesk to participate
in that market. If Autodesk executes their business plan successfully, they
have an excellent chance at taking the leading position in the AM/FM market.
We expect Autodesk, over time, to expand from AM/FM to broad spatial
applications support for enterprise information systems."

 Autodesk and its authorized business partners will continue to develop,
sell and support VISION*'s enterprise server and its vertical applications
for the communications, utilities and local government markets on a
worldwide basis. Autodesk will leverage the expertise of both organizations
to increase the company's value to its customers and partners through
marketing, sales, channel management and developer programs.   In
particular, Autodesk will optimize the interfaces between appropriate
Autodesk and VISION* products, productize appropriate VISION* components to
reduce customization costs and improve the customer value proposition, and
develop new products and product extensions to further increase the total
enterprise solutions Autodesk offers to customers and partners.

"We've known we were on the right track because our customers have made us
the fastest growing AM/FM/GIS software vendor for each of the past three
years," says Joe Astroth, Ph.D., Autodesk vice president, GIS. "But our
customers continually asked us for a fully scalable enterprise-wide
integrated solution based on open standards. Now we have it for them. With
this acquisition, we'll be able to provide our customers with a complete
range of AM/FM/GIS tools and solutions. From data creation and visualization
at the desktop to large, scalable, secure online transaction processing to
the distribution of mission-critical information throughout the organization
over the enterprise intranet, Autodesk will be bringing to market the
industry's only proven, IT-integrated, open solutions."

 Any forward looking statements in this release are necessarily subject to
uncertainties based on various factors, including Autodesk's ability to
successfully integrate the operations of VISION* Solutions, to successfully
integrate the technology of VISION* Solutions with Autodesk's desktop tools,
to develop and market the integrated products in a timely manner, as well as
the market acceptance of the integrated products.  Further information on
potential factors which could affect the financial results of Autodesk are
included in the Company's amended Form 10Q for the fiscal quarter ended
October 31, 1998.

About VISION* Solutions
VISION* Solutions, based in Ottawa, Ontario, develops and deploys complex
AM/FM/GIS solutions into large enterprises in the communications and
utilities industries and local governments.  It offers the market-leading
Oracle-based AM/FM/GIS product for enterprise deployments. The company also
develops vertical market applications and provides consulting services to
clients and partners worldwide.  VISION* Solutions has approximately 100
large customers deploying nearly 20,000 enterprise seats.

About MCI Systemhouse
MCI Systemhouse, The Network Enterprise Company (sm), is MCI WorldCom's
global information technology services company. MCI Systemhouse is one of
the industry's only single-source providers of convergence products and
services that leverage the combined telecommunications expertise of MCI
WorldCom and the computer expertise of MCI Systemhouse to enable businesses'
total networking, communications and consulting needs. The company has 120
offices and approximately 9,400 employees worldwide.

With a comprehensive suite of network enabled IT solutions and services for
the new millennium, MCI Systemhouse serves major corporate, mid-sized and
public sector clients throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.
As part of a major global transaction recently announced between MCI
WorldCom and EDS, MCI Systemhouse is scheduled to be acquired by EDS, a
leader in the global information services industry for more than 35 years.
The acquisition agreement is expected to close during the second quarter of
1999.

About GIS at Autodesk
Autodesk is a leading provider of engineering design and mapping software
with an installed base exceeding 4 million users, including more than
300,000 AM/FM/GIS users worldwide.  Autodesk provides the most popular tool
for data creation, AutoCAD Map; the most powerful Windows-based AM/FM/GIS
data integration and analysis tool, Autodesk World; and the fastest-growing
web-based data distribution and viewing tool, Autodesk MapGuide, with more
than 500 enterprise-level implementations worldwide. Equally important to
Autodesk's success in the AM/FM/GIS marketplace has been its unparalleled
worldwide partner network.  For more information, visit
www.autodesk.com/gis.

About Autodesk
Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC design software and digital
content creation. The fourth largest PC software company in the world,
Autodesk has more than four million customers in more than 150 countries.
For more information, contact any Authorized Autodesk Reseller, call
Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or visit www.autodesk.com.   Discreet product
information is available at 800-869-3504 or via the web at www.discreet.com.
Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol
ADSK.
 

# # #

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map, Autodesk World and
Autodesk MapGuide are registered trademarks, and Discreet is a trademark, of
Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

More info can be found at the Autodesk website at
http://www2.autodesk.com/compinfo/pressrm/pressrel/1,1118,532,00.html

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