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Adobe Creative Cloud - Adobe’s Big Gamble (Part 2)

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Why It Might Work

Given that Adobe isn't the only one heading down this direction, clearly some research has gone into this to convince it that this is a viable proposition. Those that support the license model over the ownership one would point out that Steam is a successful business where the customers never get to actually own anything, though they buy access to software products on there.

The issue there is that in general these are single investments, and you're not required to pay a retainer to Steam in the future to have access to the game you bought. A better comparison would be the Sky TV franchise, where you pay each month to have access to the programming, even if you choose not to watch it.

That said, most of the programming on Sky isn't exclusive and can be accessed elsewhere, so it's not like there isn't any choice.

What those who like the Adobe Cloud model rightly point out is that it does open the avenue for these solutions to be available on systems other than the Windows and Mac platforms. A future version that's inherently web based could enable tablet-based use, and it also spreads the capability to Linux computers at the same time. The separation of product and platform might not sound ideal from Microsoft's perspective, but it places Adobe in a better position to ride out what changes are happening in the PC sector.

What those who like the Adobe Cloud model rightly point out is that it does open the avenue for these solutions to be available on systems other than the Windows and Mac platforms. A

What those who like the Adobe Cloud model rightly point out is that it does open the avenue for these solutions to be available on systems other than the Windows and Mac platforms. A

Also, the ability to sync across devices and platforms is an attractive one, as a photographer can return from a shoot to find the pictures he took are immediately ready for editing, for example. However, it's worth noting that at the time of writing, this specific feature of the Cloud service is currently broken and due to have the code behind it replaced to get it working again.

What amazed this writer is how little of what is in the Creative Cloud editions has anything to do with the cloud or any of the functionality that suggests. As with many things, the theory sounds good, but the reality might be much less desirable. At this time, the additional functionality the cloud bit provides is largely unproven and thereby reveals the true purpose of these changes.

The cost of going to CC is marginally less than the bought model if you insist on upgrading each time Adobe releases a new suite. However, once it has everyone on the subscription model, then it's free to make the price whatever it wants.

Why It Might Fail

To say that this is an extreme course is an understatement, and those who use Adobe products have already been very vocal about their dislike of the scheme.

It wasn't long before a petition got started asking Adobe to eliminate the mandatory Creative Cloud subscription model. At the time of writing, 28,123 people had signed in support, with the number increasing more rapidly than those signing up to Adobe's new service. Most of those most vehemently opposed to it generally point out that Adobe did this for its own benefit, not those that use its software, and while Adobe has defended the move, it's done little to contradict that basic tenet.

It's also got no come-back to those that point out that if the CC model is so good, then it would succeed if CS continued alongside it - something Adobe doesn't seem keen to test.

What's most interesting is that Microsoft also wants to embrace this concept, probably for the same reasons, but it's not quite as brazen as Adobe.

A blog entry by Microsoft Office director of communications Clint Patterson said, "Unlike Adobe, we think people's shift from packaged software to subscription services will take time." That's Redmond code for letting Adobe stick its head in the bucket of bees first, before Microsoft has a try.

What's most interesting is that Microsoft also wants to embrace this concept, probably for the same reasons, but it's not quite as brazen as Adobe.

What's most interesting is that Microsoft also wants to embrace this concept, probably for the same reasons, but it's not quite as brazen as Adobe.

With money tight and businesses trying to hammer down costs, this might not be the best time to introduce the new pricing model, and Adobe might regret the number of users it'll convince to go elsewhere. But where this is a gamble for Adobe, it also might be a huge opportunity for the likes of Corel and others.

Final Thoughts

I'm going to lay the blame for these at the feet of Apple, even if Adobe is the company whose decision this is. Why? Because it's been the business that has taken the view that customers will do as they're told, and it's success has fuelled the notion that corporate business has been too keen to pander to their whims when it should have been telling them the way it's going to be!

That's a pretty scary notion, because what you're effectively doing is storing resentment in those people who have the ultimate say over the success or failure of the business, and that can't be a good thing ultimately.

What we've got here is a schism developing between the notion of ownership and the providing of services, where Adobe has decided that its products are services, because that seems to solve some of its cash flow and revenue problems. It's not that they're services; they're software tools, but they're now software tools that you now only ever rent and not own.

The reaction to these announcements, as one might reasonably expect, was hostile, because what it's effectively doing is dictating to the customer that they spend with Adobe, even if they don't want to. With the old model you could miss out a release, choosing to avoid CS5, then jumping back in with CS6, spending when you could afford to and could justify the upgrade. With the new model you must pay even if you don't want any of the new features that are coming, and you pay for software you don't even use, and you must keep on paying indefinitely or you'll lose access to your files.

With the old model you could miss out a release, choosing to avoid CS5, then jumping back in with CS6, spending when you could afford to and could justify the upgrade.

With the old model you could miss out a release, choosing to avoid CS5, then jumping back in with CS6, spending when you could afford to and could justify the upgrade.

I could be wrong, but I read this as a huge incentive to extract yourself from the clutches of Adobe and find any other tools that will provide the features you use and handle the file formats that you need. It's like Adobe woke up one day and said, "You know that guy who occasionally buys Photoshop? We don't need him."

The problem with that is that there are lots of people who use Photoshop and upgrade only occasionally, because it's not cheap, and their money is as useful in the Adobe coffers as anyone else's.

However (and this for me is the killer), Adobe has forgotten that its fiscal problems are exactly the same ones that most big businesses have that use its products. What its accountants dislike most is monthly or yearly bills that gnaw away at the cash flow and can't be stalled.

They like one-off costs that can go against a budget and can be put off for a year or two when times get lean, like they are now.

Confronted with the potential for a new monthly charge that wasn't budgeted for, what are they going to do? They'll ask if CS6 isn't good enough for the time being or demand that alternative bought software is found.

Adobe has forgotten that its fiscal problems are exactly the same ones that most big businesses have that use its products.

Adobe has forgotten that its fiscal problems are exactly the same ones that most big businesses have that use its products.

When I consider all this, I've come to the conclusion that Adobe would like to be a much smaller company, employ less people and have far fewer customers. And if it insists on pushing this through, it may well get its wish.

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