Adobe’s Creative Suite 5.5 has been out since May, and has generally been well-reviewed and even lauded as a must-have release…  Nevertheless, some folks are still looking for or require older versions of the software, like CS5.0 or CS4.  Why?

Two common reasons are the higher system requirements – 64-bit for some components of CS5 like After Effects & Premiere Pro, as well as cases where the rest of a customer’s site is still running an older version and would like to add a new setup with the same compatibility. And occasionally some folks say they prefer the earlier, simpler versions over newer ones with more features.

The challenge is, once a new release comes out, Adobe no longer officially sells the older version. So if you need a prior release, what do you do?

If you want the trial version to use for 30 days, that’s easy – Adobe actually keeps most older original trials still available for download on their servers – including all of CS4 and CS5, plus earlier releases of Acrobat, Lightroom, Elements, etc… You can find those trials all linked for download here.

But how about when you want to actually buy CS4 or CS5.0?

If you ask Adobe, they’ll usually tell you to check their official list of authorized resellers & retailers to see if someone still has the version you want in stock. The problem is it’s inconvenient to search as often those stocks are thin or sold out, and no longer available.

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With Adobe Creative Suite, if you’re just looking to set up and run CS5.5 on either a Windows PC or a Mac OS system, the instructions for that are easy. And in fact, as we discussed here last month, it’s relatively straightforward to install and activate the software on up to two computers of the same operating system type – in other words, either two Mac machines, or two Windows PC’s.

But in most cases, with the platform selection for Creative Suite and Acrobat products, it’s “either-or.” Either Apple or Microsoft. Either Mac or Windows. That’s the story for the retail and education versions of the software. And, if you want to change or swap platforms entirely, and move your tools from one o/s to the other, you can do that with an Adobe CS “crossgrade.”

However, there is one other possibility if you want or need to have the applications available on both operating systems (Windows plus Mac OS) at the same time – and that is to buy (or upgrade to) an Adobe volume license. Despite the name, anybody can do it (not just businesses and even for just one copy), though it does offer discounts for larger purchases… and there are some additional advantages too.

These volume products are offered “multiplatform” and are supplied with two license keys – one for each operating system – and you can install the software on both platforms at once… Just select “Multiple Platforms” on the online order page, it’s right there. Upgrades from most older versions, including standard retail and education editions, will work as well – with the same discounted upgrade pricing for all. Here is the relevant section from Adobe’s volume licensing policies page:

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Creative Suite 5.5 was released last week and is now available on Adobe’s Business Store, which was formerly called the Volume Licensing Store. But this volume license program is not just for businesses – it’s for anybody who would like to run more than one copy of the CS5.5 software at one time, or has multiple concurrent users. The standard licensing for Adobe’s off-the-shelf retail products permits only a single user running on up to two installed computers – which is usually not enough for most members of a company, group, office, team, school, or enterprise. And it’s occasionally not enough for some homes!

Regardless, the benefits of going with an Adobe CS5.5 volume license even for a simple or small purchase are numerous and clear:

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One of the most popular articles on our site is How Many Systems Can I Run Adobe CS5 On? That covers Adobe’s rules for their standard off-the-shelf retail software purchased for home or home office use. But how about for the rest of the world – for businesses, companies, studios, groups, departments, schools, and other organizations? What if you need an open license to run Creative Suite 5 (or other products) concurrently with multi-users on a number of computers on your network?

Fortunately Adobe has an answer for this that makes sense – that’s easy and saves money both with product discounts as well as reduced maintenance via simple license management across your site… Why shuffle and keep track of individual serial numbers between different machines? Why pay more than you have to, when price discounts can begin with as little as one copy?

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[UPDATE (5/3/2011) – CS5.5 is now available in the Business (Volume) Store!]

Adobe has just launched a new Volume Licensing Store in the UK and Europe, to go along with the one it opened online last year for North American customers. These sites can save you money, time, and provide benefits not found elsewhere – and make it easy for organizations of all sizes large or small to gain the advantages of volume ordering.

If you use multiple copies at your location (or may in the future), volume licensing is a good idea to consider – in addition to getting a discount on your software, you also simplify maintenance and upgrades enormously, as there is only one license key to deal with for all your systems… Administration becomes a snap and almost all Adobe products are eligible – and discounts can begin with as little as one copy.

It’s simple because it’s all online, and there are no membership requirements or signature “contracts” to sign. Plus you can conveniently charge your order instantly to a major credit card or PayPal, and download your software right away. Then once you’re registered it’s easy to add users via the flexible online management tool.

Further there is an option called Upgrade Plan where you are assured of automatic access to all Adobe upgrades for your covered products during the life of your plan – at your convenience and all at a single cost per licensed product.

If you like, there’s a new tool to get an Instant Quote for the products you’re interested in. And right now there’s also an offer going on where you can get 5 copies for the price of 4 – check it out at the Adobe Specials page.

Learn more with our full coverage page on Adobe’s Volume Licensing program.