Adobe Cloud Services Good or Bad?

There is a lot of debate over Adobe's new "Cloud" services and whether it is fair to existing owners, hobbyist and occasional users. I have personally supported Adobe for about 20 years. 

I have defended them in the lengthy war between MAC and PC-based software, I have spent way too much money for their software over the years and dealt with their often inadequate support.

Now with their sudden switch to "cloud-based" software subscription only (meaning you can't buy Photoshop or Premiere anymore), I have mixed feelings but see myself leaving their ranks and moving on. I will keep my older paid-for versions and use them until they stop working. 

I may not have all the new bells and whistles but I still get the job done and that is all that matters in the end. Ninety percent of the people I have talked to about this are upset and committed to not supporting a forced rental of everything they offer instead of allowing the consumer to choose what they want and make a one-time purchase.

Everybody knows the long-term loss associated with "renting" vs "owning" something and the consensus is that we will all loose in the end with the whole "renting software membership" thing. It has a use-case for sure, but to make all of your software "rentable" and not allow purchasing seems greedy when you look at the BIG picture. 

For design teams, ad agencies, big firms, production companies etc, I can see how it would simplify things. But for the individual, the lone graphic artist, the solo photographer or videographer, the web designer or graphic artist struggling to compete and waiting for their next gig or project, its just another recurring monthly bill.

The prices for Adobe software have always been inflated and over-priced and many have sacrificed greatly to purchase their products and become a part of the Adobe family. You could say they have adopted a class-bias towards the majority of users who in this modern day economy can't afford the software let alone the costs associated with joining their cloud-based system. 

It has its use-case as I stated and one could argue that its perfect for those who can't afford the one time price of the software anyway, but only if it is an option for those in that predicament, not the only choice for everyone.

It looks, smells and sounds a lot like the struggle between the 99% and the 1%. Now only the "elite" can afford Adobe access and the rest of us will have to make do. There is really no savings at all when you consider that a subscription will cost $600.00 a year, year after year. How many times must we pay for the software and or access to the cloud? In the end, we could end up paying thousands of dollars to access one software program via the cloud and never own anything.

As I mentioned, everybody knows you loose when you rent vs buying. The freedom of choice for the consumer is constantly being manipulated and taken away only to be replaced by what "they" think is best for us. I was never asked how I felt, nor the millions of world-wide users before this major change was implemented.

Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the "cloud" per say and I understand why companies must continue to improve, streamline costs, improve production and adapt to trends. And we all know that the "cloud" is the trend. I understand that it is easier to update cloud-based software and manage bootlegs and illegal copies if your product is only available through online subscription. 

But the fact is the consumer is absorbing the costs either way and many have already invested thousands in Adobe for the software they own. Even at approximately $250.00 for the cheapest option (a single product access option), you will still be billed monthly year after year for access. For pro's it may be feasible, but for the average and occasional user, its just not worth it anymore.

Think of how many camera enthusiasts and Photographers out there who use Photoshop (not as a professional) who will now be billed whether they are using it or not. When a company as big as Adobe only thinks about satisfying a limited demographic of people who can afford whatever Adobe throws out there, it is baffling. 

A friendlier and more affordable option should be available to those on a budget or those who are occasional users but who have and still do support Adobe. And what if the Internet is down? What if you don't need or have an Internet subscription? Before you didn't need to have a connection to work on your projects, now you have to. Does that seem fair?

One thing is for sure, myself and many, many others will just stick with whatever version we have and continue looking for alternatives. It seems that Adobe hasn't learned anything from the rise and fall of their proprietary Flash plugin which has been in the news the last year or so. 

With new and emerging technologies like HTML5, WebM and OGG, flash is becoming obsolete for developers and as a new open-source mentality sweeps the Internet, it will be used less and less.  Flash doesn't help your SEO, it is heavy on the CPU and vulnerable to attacks and malicious scripts and still can't be viewed by millions.

Before these emerging technologies appeared on the scene, it was mandatory that you have and install the Flash plugin and all of its updates (which seem to be every week) to view certain content. Well not anymore thank goodness and I predict that the "open-source" movement and community will now focus on replacing other proprietary software and methods that are forced down the consumers throat.

What Adobe has done is remove the power of choice and replaced it with yet another all-or-nothing product. You either had the Flash plugin or you couldn't see the content. Now you either join Adobe Cloud or you don't get access to their software, period. Why would they back themselves in to another corner like they did with their proprietary flash plugin again is my question. 

Don't they have an ear to the ground? Don't they listen to the millions of users and supporters? Don't they see the return to open source happening across the web? I guess not. So far it is good for some but bad for many, convenient for some not convenient for the majority. 

Adobe will have to broaden their thinking and offer more choices for the creative consumer who wishes to use the "cloud" option. A different pricing and membership structure with more options is needed to accommodate the dynamic range of use-case scenarios in the world today. And if someone wants to buy and be done, they should be able to buy without a lifetime commitment and recurring billing.

Here's an opportunity for software makers like GIMP to step up and do what HTML5 is doing to Flash.

I believe that any tangible Adobe software floating around out there will now be bootlegged, copied, duplicated and distributed even more so now than before. The next few months will definitely be interesting to say the least!

By
Allan Whitney
Owner/Administrator
MindVisionMedia.net