Autodesk State of Design and Make
Report 2025

The Autodesk State of Design and Make Report explores sentiments from leaders across the Design and Make industries on managing cost control, embracing emerging technologies, and addressing the talent and skills gap.

Key Findings:

Artificial Intelligence

For the second year running, AI is the top sustainability enabler for Design and Make industries, with 39% of leaders saying they use AI to be more sustainable, more than any other action; this is up from 34% in 2024 and 26% in 2023. With nearly all organizations taking steps to be more sustainable, many are turning to AI technology to help enable sustainable outcomes.

Data Transformation

Implementation of new technology is a perennial challenge for leaders in Design and Make industries, but those who tackle the complexities of digital transformation are reaping the rewards of their efforts. In fact, most leaders surveyed for the 2025 State of Design & Make report have already realized a 50%-plus return on their digital transformation efforts through increases in innovation, productivity, and other categories.

Sustinability

Many leaders are changing their perspective, seeing sustainability initiatives less as an obligation and more as an opportunity for greater performance. The number of executives globally who understand the business case for sustainability tripled between 2022 and 2023, and the majority of 2025 State of Design & Make survey respondents say that sustainability is crucial for future business growth

Digital maturity benefits the entire organization

In this report, ‘digitally mature’ companies are defined as those that are approaching the goal or have achieved the goal of their digital transformation journey. ‘Less digitally mature’ companies are defined as those that are in the early stages or right in the middle of their digital transformation journey. In EMEA, respondents from digitally mature companies report they are…

more likely to have experienced “above average” or “exceptional” performance

more likely to “agree” they are prepared for the future

more likely to have “increased” or “strongly increased” investment in the past 3 years

more likely to have kept up “very well” with change in the industry

Leaders in the EMEA region report that they are confronting daunting headwinds, from increased geopolitical uncertainty and inflation to talent gaps and challenges implementing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). But for the third year, digital transformation has proven to help M&E organizations identify opportunity amid disruption, providing benefits nearly across the board.

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State of Design and Make 2025 – Filling the Skills Gap

State of Design and Make 2025 – Autodesk AI