Last Tuesday, as expected, Autodesk received a NASDAQ Staff Determination letter stating that the firm does not comply with the filing requirements for continued listing on the exchange, because its quarterly report is late. Recently Autodesk said it is undergoing a review of its past stock options practices, as a prudent move driven by recent exposures rather than tied to any specific identification of wrongdoing. However, with the hundreds of tech companies having already found options issues, one doesn’t know whether there is much to worry about until the review is complete. For some, such as Mercury Interactive (recently acquired by HP), the discovery was a huge blow. At the very least, the stock option question is a cloud over Autodesk until it reports its review findings.

Yet, there’s plenty of good news too, or perhaps I should say good Fortune. The magazine ranks Autodesk number 62 on Fortune’s 2006 list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. According to Fortune, Autodesk saw profits rise at a rate of 115% and revenues grow 26% with a stock return of 63% on average annually over the past three years. Also of interest is the announcement earlier this week of Autodesk Labs. The site provides the company’s customers with early access to applications in development, as well as interviews and surveys. One application available through the site is a public beta trial of Google Earth Extension for AutoCAD-based applications.

Engaging customers in this way is a good idea and proven successful by others. For example, software vendors including IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle provide active and rich developer portals. Autodesk said that in two months the site has had190,000 hits with more than 49,000 unique visitors from 150 countries.

The Geo Factor thinks Autodesk, like others in the same situation, is distracted by the options review. However, the company understands the importance of listening to its customers. It’s a huge player with 5,000 employees, $1.6 billion in annual revenues, and an $8 billion market capitalization. And it is taking geospatial seriously, with its Location Services, MapGuide, Topobase and other solutions as well as its work toward integrating CAD and GIS.