By Supantha Mukherjee and Sruthi Ramakrishnan
May 6 (Reuters) – Adobe Systems Inc said upgrades
for its flagship software package, which includes Photoshop,
Illustrator and Flash, would be available only through online
subscriptions, effective immediately.
Adobe is the latest traditional software company to make a
big bet on the cloud-based subscription model pioneered by
companies such as Salesforce.com Inc, NetSuite Inc
and Google Inc.
Subscription models bring in less money upfront as payment
is spread over the entire period of use unlike traditional
packaged software, but typically ensure more predictable
recurring revenue.
Upgrades will be available only through online subscriptions
from June 17, a company executive said on Monday at an annual
conference, where Adobe showcases its latest products.
“Hundred percent of what we do moving forward will be in
Creative Cloud, there will be no more Creative Suite, there will
be no new version of Creative Suite,” said Scott Morris, senior
marketing director of Creative Cloud.
Creative Suite 6, launched in June 2011, combines software
such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash and Dreamweaver
that are used by professional designers.
Creative Cloud helps customers access the Creative Suite
software package through online subscriptions.
Customers can buy a Creative Cloud subscription for $74.99
on a monthly basis and $49.99 per month for an annual
subscription.
The Creative Suite 6 Master Collection, which includes all
Creative Suite tools, is priced at $2,599, an amount that could
buy more than four years worth of Creative Cloud annual
subscriptions.
“This is a shift that we’ve been looking at for quite some
time,” David Wadhwani, Senior Vice President, Digital Media,
told Reuters in an interview.
“We plan to continue to support and sell Creative Suite 6
and customers can continue to purchase that for the foreseeable
future,” he said.
While the existing design programs will still be sold for a
license fee, which customers buy once and can use for years
without making extra payments, those software won’t get the
newer functionalities, Adobe executives said.
