Adobe Creative Cloud focuses on affordability

Adobe has decided to offer two team plans for its Creative Cloud suite that was launched six months back. There is the complete option that delivers 14 Adobe desktop applications and cross-device collaboration and publishing capabilities. The second is the new single app plan that includes access to one desktop application along with 20GB of storage and the ability to showcase work on 'Behance', the social media platform for the creative community.

While the complete option for a single user is available for Rs 16,700, the new single app plan of Adobe Creative Cloud for teams is available for Rs 2083 per user per month.  Existing customers with CS3 or later are eligible for single app membership at Rs 1392 per user per month. Both the complete and single app plans are available via reseller partners. Currently, Creative Cloud is being sold by 200 of Adobe's Certified Gold and Platinum Partners.

"With the availability of the new single app plan for Creative Cloud for teams, we are making it even easier for work groups to create and collaborate; in fact, there has never been a better time for SMBs to access our products," says Gaurav Kanwal, head, distribution channels, Adobe South Asia.

Affordability is another trump card for the Creative Cloud-for example a licensed Photoshop version (in-premise) will cost upwards of Rs 50,000. More importantly, while a Master Class (licensed versions of all applications will cost Rs 1,90,000 (includes one on one support and collaboration and upgrades), the same for a Creative Cloud will come for Rs 48,700 for one year.

Both plans for Creative Cloud for teams radically simplify license management and deployment for IT departments. An intuitive, easy-to-use web portal, the Admin Console, lets administrators centrally purchase, deploy and manage all seats across an organization - whether single app or complete - under one membership agreement.  

The new single app plan for teams delivers many of the benefits of full Creative Cloud for teams membership. Customers will receive updates to their favorite desktop application as new features become available. Creatives can share files with colleagues, whether inside or outside the organization; and cloud-based storage of 20GB can be used to view, edit, store and share a larger set of files across the team.  Designers can also publish a customized online portfolio with Behance ProSite, and solicit feedback from the worldwide creative community. Over 1.6 million creatives globally are part of the Behance network.

While currently 35% of Creative Cloud sales are coming from existing customers, Kanwal expects that with the single app plan more new customers would be coming into the fold. He also expects that this would bring down the piracy level of Adobe from the current 63% (as per BSA estimates).