Adobe Systems Inc is overhauling the way it sells its most popular software to spur more frequent purchases by distributing programs such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver over the Internet.
Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch plans to release what Adobe calls its Creative Cloud software package early next year. The company will let customers rent programmes on a monthly basis and share their work across PCs and mobile devices, rather than make larger purchases that can cost more than $1,000.
The move may help San Jose, California-based Adobe, the largest maker of graphic-design software, rely less on biennial releases to spur sales and record more consistent revenue growth. The Creative Cloud products make it easier for Adobe users to share their ideas over the Web, Lynch said in an interview.
“The reason we’re still here is we’re willing to change,” Lynch said in his San Francisco office, surrounded by the six computers, two tablets and a massive digital drafting table he keeps to test new product ideas. “If you look at Adobe software historically, it’s a person using a computer to make something. It’s no longer a solo experience. You’re not alone in the cloud.”
Creative Cloud will move Adobe tools including the Photoshop photo-editing software, website-design tool Dreamweaver and publishing application InDesign to versions that customers can download for a subscription over the web.