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Fortive

Fortive: A Five-year-old start-up is named as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune.

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Fortive is a huge success in the technology industry currently controlling many businesses in Instrumentation, transportation, automation, franchise distribution, etc. The company was founded in 2016 by the current CEO of the company, Jim Lico. Fortive was a part of Danaher Corporation, an American diversified conglomerate that spun off the former in 2016. The headquarters of Fortive Corporation is based in Washington. For two consecutive years, Fortive was named as a Future 50 Company by Fortune. This young industrial conglomerate is also on the Fortune 500 list.

About Fortive Corporation

Fortive was created by Danaher Corporation by spinning off a few subsidiaries which include Matco and AMMCO-COATS. The main aim of Fortive is to deliver innovative technologies to its customers and solve pressing challenges.  Fortive works in various fields satisfying a wide range of customers. There are three main segments in which Fortive’s operating companies are divided. The first is Intelligent Operating Solutions which is responsible for ensuring better security and compliance and energy efficiency. Secondly, Precision Technologies solves very tough technical challenges thus a significant part of research and product development, and lastly, Advanced Healthcare Solutions ensures timely delivery of safe healthcare for the patients.

Fortive
Image Source: fortive.com

Growth and Strategic Acquisitions

Fortive is a very young company and since its foundation, the company has focused on acquiring other businesses from various fields. After it was spun off in June 2016, Fluke Corporation (a subsidiary of Fortive) acquired eMaint, a CMMS IIoT system. After a month, Global Transportation Technologies (GTT) was acquired which is a company in the traffic management sector. In July 2017, Fortive acquired Industrial Scientific, a Pittsburgh-based gas detection and safety-as-a-service company. The company also acquired Landauer for $770 million. It is a company that provides services to determine radiation exposure both at the occupational and environmental levels. Gilbarco Veeder Root, a subsidiary of Fortive acquired Orpak Systems which is known for delivering technical solutions to oil companies and commercial fleets.

In 2018, Fortive bought a software firm called Accruent for $2billion. This year Tektronix, another subsidiary of Fortive acquired Initial State which is a data streaming and visualization platform. Fortive Corporation has many subsidiaries acquiring companies in different fields which made it a big success within five years of its establishment. The company entered the healthcare sector after its acquisition of Johnson & Johnson’s Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) business. This deal was closed in April 2019 and in the same year, Fortive acquired Censis Technologies, which is a SaaS company providing inventory guides in the surgical field.

In September 2019, Fortive announced that it will be splitting into two different publicly traded companies. Last year, Vontier, the new company was announced. Fortive has a very strong working culture and it significantly invests its time and energy in doing social work as well. As a socially responsible company, it tries to minimize waste production and avoid pollution along with adopting sustainable practices. In 2020, Fortive was named as one of the 500 most responsible companies by Newsweek.

About Danaher Corporation

Danaher Corporation is an American diversified conglomerate with its headquarters based in Washington, D.C. The company is divided into four platforms, namely, Life Sciences, Diagnostic, Water Quality, and Environmental & Applied Solutions. Danaher is known as one of the best companies for diverse employees. The founders of the company are Steven M. Rales and Mitchell Rales. It was founded back in 1969 as a real estate investment trust. The company was on a spree to acquire new companies and currently has an arsenal of subsidiaries. Danaher became one of the first companies in North America to adopt ‘Kaizen’ which is a Japanese philosophy of lean manufacturing. Both Danaher and Fortive believe in a sustainable way of manufacturing products. 

Jim Lico – Founder and CEO of Fortive Corporation

Fortive Founder and CEO
Image Source: fortive.com

The full name of Jim Lico is James A. Lico who is the founding president and CEO of the Fortive Corporation. He was a part of Danaher since 1996 and joined the company as Vice President Operations of Veeder-Root in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He participated in a broad chain of responsibilities in Danaher which includes running Danaher Business System (DSS) for a year, executive leader for the Emerging Market Regional Boards of China, Japan, India and Middle East, etc. Jim graduated with a BS degree from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Management from Northwestern University.

AutoDesk

AutoDesk: The Company that Rules the 3D Graphics Technology Industry

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The computer started its journey as a calculator, and today, there are unlimited tasks that we can perform using this amazing device. Thanks to the various software development companies that have helped us with our major routine works. From keeping a journal online, people can do business online, everything is now possible with this software. One such software company that has been actively providing software solutions to its diverse client base is AutoDesk. AutoDesk is mainly known for its flagship product AutoCAD, but apart from that, AutoDesk has credited the development of software for multiple industries.

The Foundational Story of AutoDesk

AutoDesk was founded in 1982, and the first product that the company launched was AutoCAD. This revolutionary product was enough to help AutoDesk to grow as a leader in the 3D software development industry but other than that, AutoDesk has also launched various other software for different fields. AutoDesk has a long list of clients, and big names like Tesla and One World Trade Center are some of them. The company serves in the area of manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, media, and entertainment industries.  

AutoDesk
Image Source: worldkings.org

AutoDesk Products

The most famous product from AutoDesk is Computer-aided design (CAD), a software used in drafting technical and engineering drawings. Apart from CAD, the company has launched Autodesk Life Sciences, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Civil 3D, Fabrication CADmep, Maya, 3ds Max, Arnold, Autodesk ImageStudio, AutoDesk Revit, etc. It also has its Autodesk suites, subscription, and web services, including the Autodesk Cloud, Autodesk Labs, and Global Engineering.

AutoDesk deals in different categories, including Platform Solutions and Emerging Business (PSEB), Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), genetic engineering, construction, and manufacturing, etc. Each category has its different products that are used in diverse fields. The company also offers certification and training programs in Autodesk Certified User and Advanced Certified Professional categories for students.

History of the Company

The history of AutoDesk dates back to 1982 when John Walker, along with twelve programmers, collected US$59,000 to start Autodesk. All the programmers started to work on different software, which they would launch for the designers, and the first product they came up with was InteractCAD (old name for AutoCAD). The software was developed to run on the microcomputers of that time. Michael Riddle wrote the code for InteractCAD, but later, John Walker bought the rights for the software from Riddle for a sum of US$10 million.

AutoCAD was a powerful product that changed the face of designing for all. Eventually, the company started to grow at a very fast pace. In just four years, the company grew from thirteen people to 255 employees. Along with employee strength, the annual profit had also risen to $40 million. In 1985, the company became public, and another version of CAD, the AutoCAD 2.1, came in 1986. The software was open for third-party developers as well, so they could add more functionalities to it. In 1989, the recorded annual revenue of the company was around $100,000,000.

In the 90s, the company started to focus on other industries like architecture, civil engineering, and manufacturing and started to make new software. AutoDesk acquired Softdesk in 1997. By this time, the company has discontinued the development of AutoCAD for DOS, Unix environment, and the Apple Macintosh platform, and the only platform that the company was focusing on was Microsoft Windows. During the same time, AutoDesk brought some non-AutoCAD software, including Revit (from Revit Technologies) and Inventor.

Since its inception, AutoDesk has made multiple acquisitions. Some of its acquired companies include Gentry Systems, Buzzsaw, Revit Technology Corporation, CAiCE Software Corporation, Linius Technologies, MechSoft, NavisWorks Limited, Robobat, BIMWorld, Illuminate Labs, Blue Ridge Numerics, Inc., Firehole Technologies, etc.

 The Founder

John Walker is a well-known programmer who founded AutoDesk, along with twelve other programmers, in 1982. People who worked with him call him one of the most brilliant programmers of all time. He served as the AutoDesk chairman and president for a period of four years. After that, he resigned from his post to work as a programmer in the same company. In 1994, Walker resigned from AutoDesk and moved to Switzerland.

Walker has written a book, The Autodesk File, published in 1989. He is also credited for writing one of the first computer viruses, ANIMAL software, in 1974-75. He also founded Marinchi, a hardware integration manufacturing company.

The Company Today

The Current CEO of AutoDesk is Andrew Anagnost. The company headquarters at San Rafael, California, United States. As of 2020, 10,300 employees are working for the company in its various branches across the globe. The total recorded revenue of the company as of 2020 was US$3.27 billion.