Why Adobe’s Big Cloud Bet Really Isn’t a Huge Gamble at All
Adobe’s decision to go all-in with a cloud version of its Creative Suite and dump the packaged software that accounts for most of its $4.1 billion annual revenue really isn’t as revolutionary as some portrayed it. Here’s why.
First, the new Creative Cloud subscription version, as GigaOM commenters pointed out, must still be downloaded and installed locally. That makes it different from the traditional Software-as-a-Service model pioneered by salesforce.com. Such downloads are no mean feat because, depending on the version purchased, the suite includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and an array of other products depending on the version purchased. That’s a lot of bits to suck down.
But the difference now is, users must keep paying to use the software — they can’t sit on a six-year old copy of Photoshop. While Adobe said it will continue to support the current Creative Suite 6, all new features and perks will flow to Creative Cloud only.
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