Providing CAD via hosted services is the dream of many folks that have to use models for their work… An interesting article in Develop3D describes how AutoDesk and the other leading CAD vendors are gearing up efforts to deliver CAD functionality via software as a service.
I believe that the move towards hosted CAD is inevitable and it’s primarily a matter of network bandwidth. Web-based capability to view and manipulate 3D models will become the linchpin for adoption of the model-based enterprise.