Amazing conference

The past few days I was out of town attending a users conference on an ESRI based 3rd party software. It was an amazing time and learned a few things about the "Vendor" that held it. But the most amazing thing was talking to the other users there. Most of them also have a seat of AutoCAD or AutoDesk MAP. I didn't find any that had the current version but most were R14 versions, and using it only to view subdivision plots/parcels. They were former AutoCAD users that switched over to ESRI GIS. I can't blame them for switching at the time, the "vendor" customized the software to meet their needs. Currently it's hard to get an AutoDesk 3rd party to understand our industry and what the users need let alone to create custom versions for them at a reasonable cost.
What I am most shocked at is the users forgot about AutoCAD and how to use it. As I said most of them used it to VIEW drawings only. They have no idea of how to get new parcels into an ESRI GIS system or that the newest versions can make the task simple. So come on people if you are a former AutoDesk shop that switched to ESRI keep up with the software. The cost of just one subscription of AutoDesk MAP will pay for it's self with the time saved on trying to redraw those subdivisions plots you get from the developers.