Out Of The Box: San Jose's Adobe Goes to Software Downloads

New "Creative Cloud" features subscription model

Get ready to download your next copy of Photoshop, Premier, and Acrobat. Adobe is going completely out of the box.

Jumping all in when it comes to software downloads, Adobe announced on monday that it will no longer sell its software products out of a box. From now on, everything will be downloaded from its "Creative Cloud." That is, you'll bring all of the Adobe products you like to you via the Internet, and will not have to go to a store and buy it from a box.

The monthly subscription, according to Adobe, will be $50.

Adobe has been trying this out for a while; as part of its recent financial update, the San Jose software company says sales of software from the cloud has been growing steadily. This will make it easier for it to go all-in on the cloud.

Yes, we expect some Adobe fans to complain a bit - mostly, though, thanks to things like iTunes and DropBox, we're getting used to snagging our products from the cloud.

The move to the cloud will likely also be felt in the entertainment industry, which seems to adopt more Silicon Valley technology with every passing month. Now, creative types will go straight to the Creative Cloud to get what they want.

Says Adobe's Scott Morris, "During the creative process, on any project, everyone has access to the same files, really a great way to collaborate."

Another benefit to Adobe? Less piracy. Instead of finding out that one sale of Photoshop leads to several people using it (whether in a business, or a neighborhood), the downloads will likely curb much of the piracy that costs Adobe so much money every year. If this really catches on, expect software to be sold only this way - along with video games, etc etc.

Yes, we've been on this "cloudy" path for a while now. Adobe's move is a big one to push the entire industry in that direction.

Scott can be found on Twitter: @scottbudman

Contact Us