Readers’ Poll: How Do You Feel About Adobe’s Creative Cloud?

Readers’ Poll: How Do You Feel About Adobe’s Creative Cloud?

on Nov 14th 2011 with 18 comments

Last week Adobe confirmed plans for their revolutionary initiative Creative Cloud. It will see (amongst other things) cloud hosting of some Adobe tools, and subscription to (rather than purchase of) your favorite applications. This could cause quite a shake-up; how will it affect you?

Head in the Clouds

Aside from familiar faces such as Photoshop, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver, you’ll also have access to the new TouchApps which aim to bring the creative workflow to your touch-screen devices.

Currently, purchasing the Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection will set you back the princely sum of $2,599, or an upgrade between $549 and $1,399 depending on your current license. From early 2012 you’ll instead be able to subscribe to the creative cloud for $49.99 per month, though existing customers will see some form of perpetual licensing so as not to upset the boat too much. Saying that, a lot of folk are disgruntled at the new upgrade policy which compels perpetual license users (those who wish to continue licensing their current installation) to upgrade regularly, or face subscribing from scratch.

So.. how do you feel about working in the cloud (ie: have you already shunned your local spreadsheet app for Google Docs?) Does the subscription price tag seem reasonable to you? How do you feel about the new upgrade policy? Are you excited about working on touch-screen devices? Do you feel like you’ve been painted into a corner on this one? Let’s hear it..

 
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Hi there! My name's Ian Yates. Welcome to Webdesigntuts+ :)  

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  • http://sigididesign.com Vezu

    This doesn’t sound bad, Considering that some people can’t afford to pay $2,599 especially people starting up. Maybe this will drop the number of Illegal Creative Suits out there.

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  • Jon

    On the surface I think it’s a cool idea. The price is cheaper, and I love Google Docs for the same reason. But the problem that you will always run into is that you need a constant internet connection.

    The second your internet provider’s signal starts going wonky, you’re apps will freeze and it’s unknown how much you’ll loose or when you’ll be back on.

    I don’t mind it so much with Google Docs as they’re not large files I’m working with. I do worry about it if I’m working on PSDs or AIs that are MBs in the double or triple digits.

    • India

      @Jon In there Adobe said it will not be fully based in the cloud. They state on their FAQ section

      “First, the Creative Suite products will not be cloud based; in fact, the CS applications, Adobe Edge, and Muse will continue to be installed directly on your computer just as they are today. You will not need an ongoing Internet connection to use these products on a daily basis. ”

      You can read more here http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud/faq.html

      • http://www.snaptin.com Ian Yates
        Author

        Yep, I have to say the Adobe Creative Cloud site and press release aren’t over clear on what it all entails. I thought the whole lot was going to be cloud-based when I first saw it. I guess it can better be described as a cloud-based licensing model.

    • Odog4ever

      I say let’s wait till it actually comes out to pass judgement. Also straight from Adobe’s FAQ page on Creative Cloud:

      “The components included in the Adobe Creative Cloud membership are accessed in multiple ways and are not all “in the cloud.” First, the Creative Suite products will not be cloud based; in fact, the CS applications, Adobe Edge, and Muse will continue to be installed directly on your computer just as they are today. You will not need an ongoing Internet connection to use these products on a daily basis. The Adobe Touch Apps will be downloaded onto your tablet from the Android Marketplace or the Apple App Store. The Digital Publishing Suite and Business Catalyst services are accessible on the Internet. And lastly, the file syncing and sharing features will be in the cloud.”

      http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud/faq.html

  • eeean

    Considering the number of usability problems, inconsistencies and an utter lack of effort to solve decade long interaction problems across their whole suite of applications, NO sir.. I am certainly not impressed.

    When will Adobe commit to crafting better basics in their applications? Instead of chasing technological advancements and bloatware ‘upgrades’.

  • http://martinansty.co.uk Martin Ansty

    While I’m not convinced this is the right move for users (so much depends on the actual implementation), its the only logical move for Adobe. It looks as though one day everything will have transitioned to the cloud, so they might as well get in there now before someone else comes along with a better product; and perhaps more importantly it effectively takes the piracy issue out of the picture.

  • India

    The only problem I have with the Creative Cloud move is the changes they’ve made to their update policies. I don’t use every Adobe product and nor do I wish to. I only want to use their Web Premium Suite. If I had to switch over to the new subscription base system I would prefer to do the current on for CS 5.5. I have no problem paying $89 a year for Web Premium only.

  • Sophia

    According to the Adobe website, the Adobe Creative Suite CS5.5 Master Collection is, as you say, $2,599 for a full licence edition. However, the Subscription price for the same product is $129 per month if you sign up for a year and $195 per month if you want to pay month to month. I can’t see on the Adobe website what the Subscription fee you quote ($49.99) gets you. Although, if you want to Subscribe to Photoshop alone, the price is $49 per month if you’re willing to commit to a full year’s service ($75 per month if not).

    Your article says that Adobe will continue to offer its existing customers some form of ‘perpetual licensing so as not to upset the boat too much’. What it doesn’t say is that Adobe are changing their upgrade policy. Anyone with an Adobe product that is more than one release old will have to pay the full price all over again! No more upgrade discounts, unless you are willing to fork out for every new release (regardless of whether the upgrade has any useful features for you or not).

    I don’t mean to be critical, but I do feel that these are important facts for readers to consider if you’re going to run a poll on this website. Personally, I feel that a move towards cloud-based applications is good for those that want it and can afford it. However, I feel that Adobe are trampling all over its existing loyal customer base who want to stick with the traditional licensing system by making them upgrade on every new release. Its not much of a choice – pay for every upgrade OR forfeit any future upgrade discount OR fork out on their over-priced Subscription service.

    I think you’ve probably worked out where my vote went by now!

    • http://www.snaptin.com Ian Yates
      Author

      Loud and clear Sophia! Apologies if the article came across as misleading – I never intended to write a full editorial on the matter, more point people in the right direction for getting the facts themselves.

      What you’re saying is dead right though, and probably the biggest matter of contention in this whole story. If you wish to continue licensing your current software, you’ll have to be prepared to upgrade as and when Adobe tell you to, otherwise you’ll find yourself beginning at the beguine.

      Thanks for your input :)

    • Richard
    • Sophia

      Thanks for the clarification Ian :). As I said, not meant as a criticism, but I didn’t feel that in reading the article people would pick up the full implications of these changes Adobe are making.

      Richard, yes that’s exactly what I was referring to. Thanks for the link. It’s interesting to see people’s opinions on the changes. It would be great if Adobe would take notice of the feedback and rethink their sale’s strategies.

      • Adam

        Well said Sophia. Although i will tweak and simplify this a bit.
        So we have All Adobe CS pack for 49,99$/month.

        1. Overall Adobe CS is as popular as good video games so it should be cheaper at least 50% -more ppl would buy so it seem even things out.

        2. Split for every each product and for 1,3,6,12 months.

        That would interest to so many clients. Prices for each product like Photoshop at estimate 5-8$/month.

        But that is just me- there is a crowd of people thinking about it and taking money for doing so:)

    • Mecha

      Couldn’t agree more. I have CS4 and it looks like I am going to be stuck with it. I always waited to upgrade every 2nd new release as the upgrades seldom warrant to do it every time. Adobe just cheated their loyal customers by doing this. In the long run it is not cheaper to get a subscription. 1) You never get a physical product that you could resell if you wanted. 2) With the upgrade option in the past it was much cheaper to keep getting the next release at a discount or skip a release or 2. People wonder why there is so much boot legging going on. It is because of avarice like this. New users will not understand because they will grow up with this new way. Older users should rebel.

      Someone please make decent alternatives to the tyranny of Adobe..

      Gimp and Inkscape here I come!!!

  • Sigilist

    Once again Adobe is proving that since they have a lead in the graphics market that they will exploit it for excessive profits. This is nothing new, and anyone who is surprised must be dense. They have been doing this for over 20 years.

    The price for this “rental” software is abysmal. The only reason they are doing this is because of the backlash that always comes when they jack the price up one more time. As to online apps or cloud based files for any type of data, there isn’t a [smart] corporation in the world that would put such on the internet (let alone in the hands of Adobe), since it has already been proven mutliple times that so called “cloud” technology (cough cough) is hackable.

    There is not cloud. The data is on a server. It is being backed up stored, and you have no control over what happens to those backups even when you clean out your cloud after a project is done.

    This is the only reason to take another cloud system seriously. Seriously, don’t use them.

  • Todd

    Buying a new Adobe suite has always been a careful investment for me. Each time they come out with a new suite, I evaluate whether or not the extra features are worth the cash I’ll have to spend. If so, I used to be able to scrape together the upgrade cost and pony up. If not, I’d wait till the next version. With this new model, they took the choice to skip an upgrade cycle out of our hands, and that’s what bothers me.

    I think that Adobe will quickly find that the number of individuals who buy their software (as opposed to big agencies that have the money to buy them en masse) will drop, because of the affordability issue in the economic climate we’re in. This will hurt freelancers, who make up a good share of their sales.

    Thanks again, Adobe.

  • John

    yay no more pirated copies :P

  • http://www.giulianoliker.com Giuliano

    I can compare this with car lease. For those who where upgrading to new version every time this will save some money and give you latest upgrades. For those who still work on older version, and I know many good designers still working on CS3 or CS2, this will be big financial strain. All in all, I’m not impressed. I would be OK with this if both options are provided.

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