Adobe users urged to jump to cloud before they're pushed

Adobe to axe Creative Suite on volume licensing in May

Adobe's business customers are being urged to migrate to the vendor's cloud-based products before they are forced to, in order to take advantage of a pricing incentive.

Adobe has been gradually moving towards the cloud over the past few years – upsetting some users – and last month announced it was making big changes in the way its wares are purchased.

From June, Adobe will no longer sell Creative Suite 6 (CS6) via the Cumulative Licensing Programme (CLP) and Transactional Licensing Programme (TLP) - a change that will be applicable across the commercial segment worldwide. CS6 products will remain available to individuals direct from Adobe's website and education customers remain unaffected by the changes.

To encourage users into the cloud, Adobe has offered 40 per cent off CC subscriptions, meaning customers pay only £30 per month instead of the recommended retail price (RRP) of £50 per month, CRN understands.

The offer is set to end in May when perpetual licences are axed, prompting the channel to encourage their customers to make a last-minute migration in order to snag the discount.

Softcat's Adobe CC specialist Peter Ollerenshaw took to the reseller's blog to urge customers to cash in.

"This announcement marks a real statement of intent in the way Adobe will continue to deliver its creative products for the foreseeable future," he said. "We recommend all our customers to make the switch to CC subscriptions in order to benefit from continued software updates, and to be eligible for the promotional... migration discount which expires on 30 May."

Adobe's cloud push has been a concern to some and a petition lobbying the firm to slacken the pace of its move to the cloud gathered thousands of signatures last year when the firm ramped up its campaign.

Ollerenshaw told CRN that some customers can't get their heads around the cloud but said only time will tell how Adobe's new cloud-centric model will catch on.

"People are concerned," he said. "There are certain IT managers that you cannot get the message through to but generally once [customers] start on it and are using it, they don't want to turn back. We will see how it is in a few years' time when [it is sold at] RRP."

On an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha last month, Adobe claimed the move to bin Creative Suite perpetual licences will have a big impact on the channel.

"We anticipate this change will align channel resellers to exclusively focus on CC for team subscriptions," said Adobe's chief financial officer Mark Garrett.

"Looking to the second half of the year, in the coming months we are planning a major launch of our Creative products and the removal of legacy CS6 products from the channel. We expect both of these will cause channel partners and our customers to increase their focus on CC adoption."