My Thoughts on Creative Cloud and Office 365

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Adobe and Microsoft are both switching their software suites to subscription models, moves that have rather upset a large swath of the public (at least the part of the public that posts angry comments on blogs). But in both cases — and especially Adobe's — I think much of the anger is unwarranted. If anything, the new subscriptions work out cheaper for many customers, and they definitely make the upfront cost of getting Office or Creative Suite far, far lower.

I personally own both Creative Suite and Office (CS6 Design Standard for the former, Office 2010/2007/2003 Pro for PC and 2011 Home for the latter). I also, like many, got started with cheap copies from student discounts, and then bought retail-priced upgrades to the latest versions post-college. With Adobe's software, the student discounts are especially significant, letting you buy a suite for around 1/4th of the price of a full retail-value suite — about the price of a normal upgrade. Once you're started, you can then keep getting the upgrade prices each time, with the overall cost-of-ownership far lowered by the student discount.

Honestly, I would have likely never bought Creative Suite at retail price, but the college discounts and subsequent upgrade pricing were approachable enough that it made sense. That's something I'm grateful for, since I've been able to use Adobe apps professionally since then, even if I'm not a designer.

I just wrote a post on Mac.AppStorm about why I think the new subscription model makes sense; take a bit to read the post if you have the chance, as I'd really like to hear your opinion on it as well.

Here's a quick summary of my thoughts:

They're Not Web Apps: I wish both Microsoft and Adobe weren't using "cloud" branding with their subscriptions. At the end of the day, the main thing they're selling is still normal, traditionally apps you'll install on your PC or Mac. They also both have bundled cloud storage and services (Skype and Typekit, respectively), but that's it. The only reason I think they're harping on it being a "cloud" option is that people seem more understanding of paying $5/month for Evernote or $10/month for Dropbox, so they thought calling their software "cloud" services would make people more willing to purchase it as a subscription. That if anything has only confused the discussion, since so many people seem to think that Office and Creative Suite are now browser-based web apps (if only!).
The Price Isn't Bad: The subscriptions are either cheaper or realistically not much more expensive, if you would have purchased each upgrade anyhow. I think the main complaints are coming from people who purchase one version, then use it for years and years without purchasing upgrades. Microsoft and Adobe, if anything, are trying to get out of supporting older versions, and now it's the latest or nothing. Not so crazy, per se. Now, what makes it more expensive with Creative Cloud is now you have to either get just one app (for around $19/month) or get everything (for $50/month), with no in-betweens. A mid-level option that included everything in Design Standard, say, would make a lot more sense for lots of us. And hey, either way: If you don't own Creative Suite already, Creative Cloud makes it tons cheaper to get started. Really.
Adobe, Especially, is Pushing Their Apps Forward: It seems like now, Adobe and Microsoft won't be that motivated to keep improving their software, since we now have to pay monthly to use it regardless. I can't imagine that being the case. First, there's more competition than ever these days, and since Adobe's apps are just a subscription (not a multi-thousand dollar investment), jumping ship is simpler and more attractive than ever. They've got to keep us happy. Second, Adobe if anything is doing more with their apps right now than before; they've already added new features to Creative Cloud, and the new CC apps each have tons of improvements (well, other than Acrobat and Flash. They seems dead, for good reason.).

Will I upgrade to CC? I'm not decided yet, but I likely will just to try it out at least. Plus, I really want to give Muse a shot. Either way, though, it's rather hard for me to believe that Creative Cloud has people upset as much as it does. It's not like the old pricing was that approachable anyhow. All I can figure is that it's frustrating people who were already invested in it; if you're starting out today, it's hardly a bad deal.

And again: for more thoughts on this, check my full article about subscription software on Mac.AppStorm. And stay turned for more CC related stuff if I do upgrade.

P.S.: One more thing: Adobe also has quite a few awesome free apps and services that you should check out. Yup, that's another Mac.AppStorm link you should read.

Thoughts? @reply me on Twitter.