The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud
April 15th, 2013 Leave a comment
[UPDATE (May 6th) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)...]
With over 2.5 million customers having already joined in the ten months since it launched, Adobe’s new Creative Cloud offering has been a success exceeding even the company’s own expectations. Still, there are a lot of misconceptions out there that we see from time to time, or that some folks seem to believe… (do you?) Here below we dispel and debunk the top 10 most common myths we’ve heard – and hopefully even if you already know the scoop or use Creative Cloud you’ll pick something up… read on!
Myth #1: “‘Creative Cloud’ sounds like cloud storage only – which is just a way to store your files, and I already have Dropbox which is free.”
Some may find the name misleading – but the Creative Cloud is actually a comprehensive collection of creative tools and services including all fourteen CS6 products, Acrobat XI Pro, Adobe Muse, Lightroom 4, Digital Publishing Suite, Behance ProSite, Adobe Edge, and more – the complete working versions… You do also get 2-20 gigabytes of online storage space for sharing, syncing, and viewing your files, but that is only one piece of of the big picture.
Myth #2: “I don’t want to be constantly connected to the Internet to start and run my creative apps; what happens when I’m on a plane?”
You do not have to be continually connected to the Internet. After the CC applications are installed on your desktop, online access is only required once every 99 days for revalidation of your membership. And there are solutions in place if you will be offline for an extended period – like traveling for six months without web access… just contact Customer Service.
Myth #3: “The applications can’t be very powerful if they are running in a browser – trying to run Photoshop over the web is going to be really slow.”
None of the the tools mentioned above are hosted or web-based versions… These are the genuine desktop products that you download and install right on your computers, and work just like usual – these are not web applications, it’s not “software as a service” (SaaS), and your CS6 programs like Photoshop will run as normal.
Myth #4: “The subscription model sounds like it might be more expensive than perpetual licensing, so it may not be worth it to me.”
When you add up the price tags of all the individual products you can install and use in the Creative Cloud, the total value is more than US$10,000. The CS6 Master Suite by itself sells for $2,600, and that’s just part of what you get… All upgrades are included, as well as early access to new features and free professional training. You can access all of these leading products for $19-$49 a month, one year at a time, and install them on up to two of your computers (including both PC and Mac) – compare the two options in detail here.
Myth #5: “So I can have the entire latest Master Collection and more for $1-2/day, and do anything with it – it must be too good to be true, no?”
There’s no catch. It works exactly as described, you can imagine and create without boundaries using all of the world’s best tools for photo, image, video, audio, graphics, illustration, web, print, mobile, publishing, gaming, animation, development and design – and so far the overall user reviews and ratings are close to 5 stars out of five. And if you only want to use one single tool, then you can sign up for even less ($14-19) with a Single-App Membership.
Myth #6: “Well, then Adobe is going to entice everyone to the Cloud – and once we are all hooked, they are going to jack up the prices.”
Adobe has offered subscription-based CS products for six years now, and over that time their prices have only fallen, never risen… You’ve got elasticity of the demand curve – the lower the monthly rate, the more people sign up, the greater the cost is spread out, and repeat. It’s a virtuous cycle in our view – and if anything, no guarantees but we think prices will continue to drop as the Cloud grows. Raising to unaffordable rates would be counterproductive.
Myth #7: “If my friend or client or colleague isn’t a Creative Cloud member, I can’t share my files with them.” …or… “But I don’t want to share all my work publicly.”
You easily set different levels of sharing for any or all of your stored files online, from sharing them publicly with anyone who is not a member to not sharing them at all. Viewers will be able to do many things like see thumbnails and larger previews, change layer states of PSD files, step through Illustrator artboards and InDesign and PDF pages, and see file metadata from within their browser [watch video demo here]. And you can also keep or share your files on your disk as normal, because using the online storage in the Cloud is completely optional.
Myth #8: “The Creative Cloud isn’t free (is it?), so if I leave then I will lose all my files.”
No worries – there is a totally free (for life) level of Creative Cloud membership which provides 10 terrific benefits including free products & services, that anyone can sign up for… If you cancel a paid membership then you’ll have a 90-day grace period bring any cloud storage down to the size of 2GB free (or can buy additional storage separately if you like). You probably also saved your files locally on your computer as well, before sharing online.
Myth #9: “Why do only Cloud members get exclusive new features and early upgrades? It must mean Adobe has something against its traditional customers.”
Actually the Creative Cloud is a different business and financial model from anything that Adobe has done before, and because of that they are able to offer free upgrades to subscription-based customers where they couldn’t previously – read why here.
Myth #10: “With the Cloud you can’t ever stay on or run previous versions if you want to, you are always forced to update to the latest release, right? I might not always be ready to do that, plus some plug-ins might not yet work with the newer version.”
No, in fact it’s optional – and your call. Creative Cloud makes updates available for those who want to install them, but the application manager will not automatically update your system without your go-ahead… You can continue using the versions you have already downloaded, and then choose if and when to install the new releases, whenever is convenient for you.
Bonus Myth: “If for some reason Adobe decides to stop offering products in the Creative Cloud, then I’ll be stuck.”
In the event that Adobe decides to discontinue any products in the Creative Cloud, then they will make the most recent full and permanent version of the software available free of charge to active members on an as-is basis. But that seems unlikely to happen, because with the brisk adoption the offering has been receiving – 12,000 new customers each week – the future of Creative Cloud appears bright.
“In the event that Adobe decides to discontinue any of the products in Creative Cloud, we will make the most recent version of the product available for download free of charge to active Creative Cloud members for a period of no less than 90 days. Such downloads will not require a subscription and will be licensed on an as-is, no warranty basis …”
If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:
The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immediately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”
Do you have any questions, thoughts, or other myths you’ve heard about the Creative Cloud? Check out our extensive Creative Cloud FAQ, or just post them below and we’ll get you answers fast!
See Also
- Adobe CS6 vs. Creative Cloud: Which is best for you?
- What are the differences between CS6 vs. CS5, 4, 3?
- Download free CS6 e-books (over 1,000 pages)
- How to join Adobe’s Creative Cloud for free
- What’s New in Adobe CC? Compare Versions vs. CS6
- Why does Creative Cloud get exclusive upgrades?
Keep up with the latest on Adobe software — subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter or Facebook… You can also just enter your email and have new articles sent directly to your inbox.
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At present I’m near the end of my 30-day trial of CS6 Premiere Pro. I can’t seem to find a way to export to tape even though I’m using a Sony HVR-M15U VCR to capture from via DV cable. Also, I can’t seem to make DVDs since there is no Encore Program. I’m in a quandary on wondering how Cloud will solve these problems.
Hello Tom, while the free trials of most Adobe tools provide full functionality, there are in fact some built-in limitations of the Premiere Pro trial version – mostly having to do with third-party components, dictionaries, additional fonts and templates, etc. Encore is also not available for the trial.
However that would not be an issue with Creative Cloud as everything is automatically included in the rate – and the same goes for a lower-priced Premiere Pro Single-App Membership ($19 a month for any CS6 tool).
How does the $19.99 per month membership for Dreamweaver CS6 work? If I want to use it only for a few days every year, would I still have to pay for the full month that I used it? What happens in case of intermittent use – do I need to uninstall everytime I do not renew my subscription? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Best regards.
Hi Bunty, with the single-app memberships you can turn the application on and off as needed, without uninstalling it, and only pay for the months that you use it… See here for all the details:
Not Ready for the Full Cloud? Get Creative Suite for $19 a Month
You do realize that while you compare this to the supposed $10k you would pay for their products, that is a ONE time charge, not a yearly charge, right? Paying $3k a year for a software suite adds up over ten years.
This model is idiotic and it is going to piss off power users, and push them to other tools.
Hey there Brian, not sure what you mean by that. Who is paying $3K a year for which software? That doesn’t sound right under any model or scenario.
Even if it were $50/month, that is $600 per year. In the old days Adobe released a new version of the software every two years at around $750-ish, but now in two years you forced to spend $1200 or $450 more than the traditional way. Yes, you get more programs, but not everyone wants every program.
I’m still using CS4, in this model I would have been forced out of $1650 MORE than what I want to spend on an application.
Welcome David, what suite do/did you have – we’re guessing it’s CS4 Design Premium from your mention of a $750 upgrade price every other year?
We’re trying to figure out your math here… CS4 came out in 2008 so let’s say you bought it about 4 years ago.
$1,899 initial price + $749 upgrade + $749 upgrade = a total $3,400 outlay with the traditional licensing.
vs. $600 x 4 years = $2,400 total membership cost with the Creative Cloud.
So actually both your entry cost and your life-to-date expenses with the Cloud would be lower than in your example, plus you get continual upgrades included, and (as you know) more applications than just the Design Suite…
You also get Adobe’s industry-leading video tools Premiere & After Effects, Audition for audio, Lightroom for photo management, Muse for creating websites without coding, Edge for web development, Typekit for a huge selection of fonts, the Digital Publishing Suite SE for publishing unlimited apps to the iPad, Behance ProSite for creating a professional online portfolio, exclusive premium training from top-name providers, 20GB online storage and sharing, and more.
That’s on top of the lines you know: Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, InCopy CC, Acrobat XI, Dreamweaver CC, Fireworks CS6, Flash Pro CC, Flash Builder, etc.
Maybe you didn’t consider or wouldn’t use all of those – but what a lot of folks have found so far is they’ve increased their knowledge, power, and proficiency on new and helpful tools they might not have tried otherwise, because they’re all just included.
Dear Adobe,
In my personal opinion it is time now to switch back to QuarkXpress, they just realized a new version of their once fabulous program. Remember how they made terrible mistakes several years ago? Same will happen to you!
Let us, small users, buy the product, install on as many computers as we want and run it for several years without any updates. I am running CS3 and it is doing everything I need for now. I will never update if you continue this path.
Aleksandar
Hello Aleksandar, we presume you’re talking about their newly-announced CC release… If you have feedback for Adobe that you’d like them to know about, we would suggest contacting them directly.
Also don’t forget that customers can still buy CS6 traditionally, if that’s what someone wants.
How stupid does Adobe think we are?! While they might brag about predicted recurring revenue, where does that leave its loyal long-standing customers who can no longer trust Adobe? Not to mention, this new “genius” idea in my opinion seems to lessen the value of Adobe’s products now.
This is considered extortion what Adobe is doing and last I checked, monopolies are illegal. All we ask for is a choice. As a paying customer, myself and thousands of others just simply want a choice between a standalone Creative Suite version like we’ve had all these years or to go to the so-called Creative Cloud. This new business model makes no sense because it seems to be catering to the “wanna be’s” who can now call themselves a designer for Adobe’s own selfish-greedy reasons and puts loyal hard working professionals who disapprove of this nonsense into a corner so Adobe can shove their “one sock fits all” scheme down everyone’s throats. If you gave us a choice, you’d still cater to both crowds and still be able to predict revenue. It’s a “duh” option here Adobe. To me, this makes you look incompetent about your business in that you have to seek to such low desperate measures such as forcing users to go to the cloud subscription based scheme.
Very disappointing Adobe, very disappointing.
Greetings TK, we’re not Adobe so if you personally have strong opinions then we’d make the same suggestions to you as we did to Aleksandar in our comment just above yours… Adobe says they will continue to offer CS6 in traditional fashion, but we have no control over their future product line so venting here won’t accomplish very much.
One major concern that I do not see being addressed is related to myth #1. The word ‘cloud’ is misleading, and all professionals that use the software also have to adhere to the privacy and security contracts with their clients. These clients typically want to know want to know what programs are being used. When our clients see that we are using a product called a cloud they are going to feel that they cannot trust our work. Whose responsibility is it to address and explain the situation to our clients and the public? They will not going to just take our word for it, and Adobe is not going to staff hundreds of people to answer phone calls in regards to people who are a client of a client by which Adobe makes no direct income. Within the past month Adobe has managed to go from being the industry standard to the poster boy of security breaches in the eye of the general public.
Hi Kevin, we’re not aware of any unusual security issues with Adobe software… Earlier this month there were some scheduled patch releases for Flash Player and Acrobat Reader, as there occasionally are for any massively used software – similar to Windows or Office or Java.
There’s no security issues with Creative Cloud to our knowledge. As stated above in Myth #7, use of the online Cloud storage is completely optional – you don’t have to store/share anything there if you don’t want to.
As for what to tell your clients and the public if they have any concerns – you can not use the storage, or tell them the above, or point them to this page:
Data Security: How Secure Is the Storage Space on Creative Cloud?
@ProDesignTools
ProDesign, you come off as being a direct representative of Adobe and are answering questions on behalf of Adobe, so venting here will get the word out to those who come to see what you are telling us. And yes, I will contact Adobe directly. I might be a little voice but I know I’m not the only voice with a disappointment towards Adobe’s decision. There are thousands of others with the same valid concerns.
LOL, we’re just a little fish running a technology blog to help users of Adobe products (and other design tools), answer questions, share information, tips & tricks, tutorials, etc.
But since we’re in touch with Adobe regularly and plugged into this stuff 24×7, we often find ourselves in the position of trying to explain what’s new so that our visitors can better understand what’s going on, especially in times of change… However, that should never be taken as us answering for them or on their behalf – they always speak for themselves.
This may be helpful – here is why Adobe is making this shift. It may not perfectly fit or suit all people, but this is their most basic explanation:
Apples, Oranges, & Creative Cloud: My Thoughts on CC
Feel free to leave feedback at that page, the company is responding.
To me it is a question of freedom. I don’t make a ton of money, and my wife and I stick to a tight budget, so budgeting in an expense like this would have to be justified in a huge way. As a freelance photographer, I take on photography jobs as a side business to supplement my income. With that money, some goes into the bank, and some goes back into photography. So here’s my dilemma: Adobe claims that you actually save money in the long run with the automatic updates. For me, that may or may not be true, but the trouble is, I don’t have a choice. Previously, when an update was released, I could decide whether the new features would be worth the money. If they weren’t, I could then use my money to put towards gear, web site, etc. In this model, Adobe is telling me what I have to do with that precious funding that comes in from photography work, and I don’t have a choice. So whereas I might have stuck with a prior version a little longer in order to upgrade my camera, now the only way to afford this would be to dramatically increase my profit so I can afford the cloud and still manage to save money for gear upgrades. Right now that just isn’t going to happen. I have Photoshop CS6 and I’ll stay with it for quite some time, but when it comes time to upgrade, I’ll probably see where the competition is at.
In other words, I like to buy products and software using only the money I have made to afford it. In dry times, I’ll be using money from elsewhere that hasn’t been saved for this purpose. With PS CS6 already in hand, it just doesn’t work out for me.
I don’t know a lot about it, but basically it’s a good idea. The big problem is the price. In all of the examples it shows the person upgrading every year, sounds like most negative comments are like me and do not upgrade for quite a while! Like I say, I kinda like the concept, but I can’t afford it. Honestly I can’t afford to upgrade my current program right now :( My problem though, and I hope some medium ground is reached!