The word “forma” is in wide use. That's kind of a problem if you are Autodesk and you are doing a big launch of Forma, it’s do-all, end-all for AECO (AEC + operations). "Forma" is already a restaurant, a church, a mold (that which is like a fungus, not that which is what a plastic part or casting is made in)…among other things. It is already used for two other application platforms, forma.ai for work-related compensations and as joinforma.com, an employee benefits platform. CAD veterans will remember Bentley’s TriForma, which appeared as a Bentley Systems 3D AEC application in the late 1990s. In other words, everything with “firma” in it has been taken.
Firma, as in terra firma, may have been a better name for Autodesk's Forma because of its connection with land. Or Platforma.
What’s weird as I write this is neither “forma” or “platforma” have active businesses associated with those domains. I would hope Autodesk is trying to wrest forma.com from whoever owns it but who knows? Big companies don’t take our advice on these decisions.
Because they don’t, they lose some very obvious benefits. The domains they must have, or the product names they ought to use or avoid are so flagrantly missed. “Procreate” is a case in point, what should have been the name of Cocreate and Pro/ENGINEER after the PTC acquisition.
Does anyone in this industry have a sense of humor?
Read our coverage of Autodesk's Forma in "What Is Autodesk’s Forma, What It’s Not and What It Will Be."
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