An Update by Adobe – Our Move to Creative Cloud

From Adobe:

We announced a major update to Adobe Creative Cloud at our MAX Creativity Conference on May 6th and as we gear up to ship this release of Creative Cloud in a few weeks, we’d like to update the community on the feedback we’ve been getting.

Our goal with Creative Cloud is to deliver the world’s best creative products and services to customers. On May 6, we announced a new generation of “CC” desktop applications and sophisticated cross-device collaboration and publishing capabilities. Creative files can be stored, synced and shared, via Creative Cloud, on Mac OS, Windows, iOS and Android. In addition, Behance, the world’s leading online creative community, is now integrated with Creative Cloud, so customers can showcase work, get feedback on projects and gain global exposure.

We will continue to offer new innovation in apps and services on an ongoing basis, which is one of the top reasons members tell us they are subscribing. We were thrilled with customer adoption leading up to the announcement on May 6th, with over 80% of people purchasing on Adobe.com selecting Creative Cloud. That momentum continues today.

That said, through discussions with the community, we have heard some concerns around our move to Creative Cloud. Three main themes are coming through:

• File access. Customers want to be sure that, if their membership to Creative Cloud lapses, they will still have access to their files.
• Photographers, particularly photo-enthusiasts, are looking for a more tailored offering that focuses on their particular needs.
• Some customers are not convinced that Creative Cloud is right for them and would rather continue to purchase desktop applications as before.

We want to start off by reinforcing that we continue to believe that the move to Creative Cloud will benefit the wider creative community because of the constant stream of innovation that we’re able to deliver. Creative Cloud also allows us to explore new areas in mobile apps, helping you collaborate better and build a meaningful worldwide community to share work and find inspiration. Because of this we have no plans to change our focus on Creative Cloud. We understand this is a big change and for customers who are not yet ready to move, we will continue to offer CS6 products through our reseller partners and Adobe.com.

For photographers, we are looking at potential offerings that recognize the photography community – because it is so broad – has some unique needs.

With regards to file access, Adobe completely agrees that customers should have access to their files if they choose to stop their Creative Cloud membership. Our job is to delight our customers with innovation, but there are a number of options open to us here and we expect to have news around this issue shortly.

We sincerely appreciate all the feedback you have given us. We believe that an honest and open dialogue with the community will ensure that, together, we can move the creative process forward.

Thanks again for using Creative Cloud. If you have any questions or comments, please post them in our forums, where we are continuing the conversation.

- The Creative Cloud Team

Adobe is offering Creative Cloud for 60% off for students and CS6 customers; CS3-CS5.5 customers can get Creative Cloud for 40% off.

For a perpetual license option, Adorama has Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Windows available for $70.00 off – only $529.95 with free shipping. Regularly $599.95.