Adobe Cloud advanced features

[Aindreas Gallagher]

there’s a basic legal issue with feature upgrades on traditional licenses. I think its kind of the same thing Apple had issue with on the old iOS updates to ipods where they had to introduce a nominal fee.

On the subscription service, Adobe are going to provide a different model of service, and you will get stuff a lot quicker. Bottom line, they want to make the platform attractive, and they have every right to do so. There have already been cloud exclusive features for photoshop to now.

Basically everyone has been re-assured that they can continue with perpetual licenses, with annual updates across the suite – and bug fixes as you go along.

With Cloud subscribers Adobe are free to treat the suite differently, and to provide features to cloud members as a subscriber base.

Bottom line, you will get your next major set of features 12 months after your last set. That is when you next sign a legal contract with adobe to purchase a paid suite software upgrade. Cloud subscribers are going to get features more often throughout the year, and maybe we won’t ever see all of them.

I don’t see that there is anything wrong with this. they are two fundamentally different models. What cloud subscribers gain in all the trimmings of the master collection, cloud portfolio hosting, rapid updates – they lose in terms of total ownership of the software.

What we lose in continuous feature feed – we gain in terms of not being on a direct debit from our bank.

Now that I know I have the option to continue my traditional, annual update perpetual license, that I know its there – I find I’m not exactly so sure which way I want to go – particularly seeing as how I can bulk purchase 12 months of the cloud subscription.

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Richard Cardonna]

do you think we will get the updates included in cs7 cloud? will we ever?

Richard

[Aindreas Gallagher]

yes of course! – We will get exactly the same software items within the production bundle of 7 as are provided to cloud subscribers when it releases.

the point is that there will be some degree of continuous feature cloud updates throughout the year – adobe will augment the master collection for subscribers throughout the 12 months – I mean, as far as their resources stretch, but then we will get whatever has built up, along with the new 8 features up as a full paid pitstop upgrade in 12 months time from the release of 7 when adobe formally overhaul the suite to 8. then we are all more or less identical again.

seriously – don’t over think it – adobe don’t have infinite resources anyway – it’s not like they’re going to be cranking out stereoscopic editing in three months.

If you ignore in your head the notion that creativecloud ever happened – you are going to be on the exact same timeline that you ever were.

Many client corporations may never go onto the cloud – for accounting and deprecation reasons –
I mean, adobe are about to land production editing here – they are not going to dis-enfranchise license holders, it just works a little differently to the cloud.
Different intervals is all.

It’s all good.

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Petros Kolyvas]

[Aindreas Gallagher] “there’s a basic legal issue with feature upgrades on traditional licenses. I think its kind of the same thing Apple had issue with on the old iOS updates to ipods where they had to introduce a nominal fee.”

I’d suggest being a little careful on “legal issues” as a reason for why a company is doing something like this. Plenty of companies roll out new features for free – that doesn’t mean Adobe has to by any means, nor should they, I’m only saying that the company isn’t “bound” to only roll out features for paid upgrades, they add features and change them all the time (and have in the past) with their perpetual licenses.

The Cloud is software-as-a-service. That’s all. That they choose to treat it differently is, well, their choice and one they’re free to make, but there’s nothing compelling them to deprive (or delay – whichever applies) perpetual license customers of features other than their desire to provide incentives to switch to the SaaS model. They are perfectly in their right to do what they believe is the best compromise for their users while maintaining their profitability (none of which is a bad thing whether or not we agree with it.) As a company they need to survive and they have shareholders to answer to in addition to their users.

Plenty of people are happy with the Cloud model and the advantages it offers and, in the end, whether I (personally) like it or not, if it brings more users to them, all the better.

—
There is no intuitive interface, not even the nipple. It’s all learned. – Bruce Ediger

[Walter Soyka]

[Aindreas Gallagher] “there’s a basic legal issue with feature upgrades on traditional licenses. I think its kind of the same thing Apple had issue with on the old iOS updates to ipods where they had to introduce a nominal fee.”

[Petros Kolyvas] “I’d suggest being a little careful on “legal issues” as a reason for why a company is doing something like this. Plenty of companies roll out new features for free – that doesn’t mean Adobe has to by any means, nor should they, I’m only saying that the company isn’t “bound” to only roll out features for paid upgrades, they add features and change them all the time (and have in the past) with their perpetual licenses.”

Aindreas is right — there is a legal issue at play here.

Sarbanes Oxley is an American law rushed through Congress in the wake of the Enron scandal. It changed how companies must handle their accounting and report revenue.

It would not be illegal for Adobe to add features to an existing product, but it would change how they must report revenue for that product. That change could be onerous enough to make it utterly impractical to continue delivering free feature updates.

My (limited) understanding of SOX and software is that fundamentally changing the product changes the accounting period. If Adobe were to add new features to CS6 today, or if they had pre-announced new features for CS6 and just finished delivering them now, then they would have had to defer all revenue for CS6 to date into this quarter — even for licenses they sold last year. That might have made for a very attractive quarter now, but it would have made the last three quarters look pretty dismal. Investors would have pummeled Adobe in the market.

Avid is currently facing a set of shareholder lawsuits over irregularities in their financial reporting. Avid has delayed their quarterly results, stating they need “additional time for the Company to evaluate its current and historical accounting treatment related to bug fixes, upgrades and enhancements to certain products which the Company has provided to certain customers.”

By charging a fee for delivering new features, or by moving to a subscription model, revenue can be realized as it is accrued and these messes can be avoided.

Apple is an interesting example here. FCPX has seen loads of free feature updates, while iPhone users have had to pay for their feature updates to iOS. Apple can afford to defer FCPX revenue ($) indefinitely, but deferring iPhone revenue ($$$$$$$$$) would be disastrous.

Of course, I’m neither an account nor a lawyer. I welcome any additional information.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Richard Cardonna]

Ok but what does this mean to us nle users?

Richard

[Walter Soyka]

[Richard Cardonna] “Ok but what does this mean to us nle users?”

It means that unless the law changes, then you should not expect to get free feature releases from any major developer.

Subscription customers can get ongoing feature releases because their payments are ongoing; perpetual license holders will only get updates when they pay (upgrade).

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Aindreas Gallagher]

[Walter Soyka] “Subscription customers can get ongoing feature releases because their payments are ongoing; perpetual license holders will only get updates when they pay (upgrade”

I should be a lawyer – I just want that on the record. that is like, what I said. Instinctive grasp like.
I’m still not sure if I want to go cloud, that feeling of having the lot is nice, and interestingly, adobe story falls outside of production bundle, although I believe it was said the script sync feature is not fundamentally dependent on story to feed the script sync. thats mentioned in an adobe demo if memory serves.

But I fundamentally feel that adobe are unlikely to overly antagonise corporate or shop owners looking to set a license floor for accounting or basic business reasons.

offer them tantalising carrots? sure – but in any way dis-enfranchise the license model? – thats extremely unlikely.
We may all actually be likely to drift to the cloud under natural steam over the mid term.

It’s not hard to imagine enhancements to anywhere, and social collaborative creative group backend afforded by CC, that could prove increasingly attractive.

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics