Montreal-headquartered Discreet, a subsidiary of San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), has been renamed Autodesk Media and Entertainment.
The Discreet name–a highly regarded brand in high-end postproduction–will continue only as part of the names of Discreet’s established advanced systems: Discreet Inferno, Discreet Flame, Discreet Flint, Discreet Fire, Discreet Smoke and Discreet Lustre. Autodesk will be the brand name for desktop software and infrastructure products, such as 3ds max, Combustion, Cleaner and Stone.
Discreet’s product marketing manager Maurice Patel acknowledged that Discreet is a widely recognized brand at the high end, and said that this is why the name will remain with the advanced products; he added that the name is lesser known at the desktop and infrastructure levels, where the branding will change to Autodesk.
A released statement from Discreet further explained, “We anticipate that this integration will enable us to develop technology faster and offer improved support, maintenance and training, ultimately better servicing our customers and sales channel. Also, there is an opportunity for Autodesk’s divisions to leverage one another’s technology.”
Management structure is not expected to change. Autodesk COO Carl Bass has been overseeing Discreet since the departure last spring of Paul Lypaczewski, then general manager of Discreet and executive VP of Autodesk; his position was never filled. Day-to-day operations are headed by Discreet’s executive team, including VP of worldwide sales, marketing and support Martin Vann and VP of product development and operations Marc Petit.
