Adobe Creative Cloud Explained

Adobe Creative Cloud
Logo Size:	120px
Developer:	Adobe
Latest Release Version:	CC 2024
Latest Release Date:	^[1]
Operating System:	Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
Replaces:	Adobe Creative Suite 6
Language:	English
Genre:	Software suite
License:	Software as a service

Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications and services from Adobe that gives subscribers access to a collection of software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, along with a set of mobile applications and also some optional cloud services. In Creative Cloud, a monthly or annual subscription service is delivered over the Internet.^{[2] [3]} Software from Creative Cloud is downloaded from the Internet, installed directly on a local computer and used as long as the subscription remains valid. Online updates and multiple languages are included in the CC subscription. Creative Cloud was initially hosted on Amazon Web Services, but a new agreement with Microsoft has the software, beginning with the 2017 version, hosted on Microsoft Azure.^[4]

Previously, Adobe offered individual products as well as software suites containing several products (such as Adobe Creative Suite or Adobe eLearning Suite) with a perpetual software license.^[5]

Adobe first announced the Creative Cloud in October 2011. Another version of Adobe Creative Suite was released the following year.^[6] On May 6, 2013, Adobe announced that they would not release new versions of the Creative Suite and that future versions of its software would be available only through the Creative Cloud.^{[7] [8] [9]} The first new versions made only for the Creative Cloud were released on June 17, 2013.

Current applications and services

The Adobe Creative Cloud retains many of the features of Adobe Creative Suite and introduces new features;^[10] foremost is the instant availability of upgrades, saving to the cloud, and easier sharing. In June 2014, the company announced 14 new versions of the Creative Cloud essential desktop tools, four new mobile apps, and the availability of creative hardware for enterprise, education and photography customers.^{[11] [12] [13]}

The video disc authoring program Adobe Encore and the web-focused bitmap editor Adobe Fireworks were both discontinued by Adobe in 2013, but were still available as downloads via Creative Cloud until May 2019.

Packages

Adobe offers four tiers of the Creative Cloud subscription service for individuals (there are other types for Business and Schools):^[14]

• Photography, which contains some photography-related features of Adobe Creative Cloud and access to Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC.^[15]
• Single App, which contains all the features of Creative Cloud plus access to a single application of the user's choice in the suite out of a list of 11 selected applications.
• All Apps, the main tier of Creative Cloud that contains all the features of Creative Cloud plus access to all applications within the suite.
• All Apps + Adobe Stock, which contains all the standard features of Creative Cloud plus features for Adobe Stock.

Desktop, mobile, and web services

The following contains the services found on Creative Cloud.

Icons	Product name	Latest major version	Available in	Supported OS
	Acrobat	DC 23.0	Standalone package Creative Suite Creative Cloud Technical Communication Suite	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, web
	Aero	Beta (0.23.4)	Standalone product	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
	After Effects	CC 2024 (24.2.1)	Standalone package Creative Suite Creative Cloud	Windows, macOS
	Animate (formerly Flash Professional)	CC 2024 (24.0.2)	Standalone package Creative Suite eLearning Suite Creative Cloud
	Audition	CC 2024 (24.0.3)
	Behance	N/A	Standalone product Creative Cloud	Android, iOS, web
	Bridge	CC 2024 (14.0.1)	Creative Suite eLearning Suite Photoshop Creative Cloud	Windows, macOS
	Capture		Standalone product Creative Cloud	Android, iOS
	Character Animator	CC 2024 (24.2)		Windows, macOS
	Color (formerly Kuler)	N/A		Web (formerly iOS and Android)
	Comp			Android, iOS
	Creative Cloud Desktop app	6.0.0		Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, web
	Dimension	CC 2024 (3.4.11)		Windows, macOS
	Dreamweaver	CC 2024 (21.3)	Standalone package Creative Suite eLearning Suite Creative Cloud
	Dynamic Link	N/A	Standalone package Creative Cloud Creative Suite
	Express	N/A	Standalone package Creative Cloud	Web, Android, iOS
	ExtendScript Toolkit	CC	Standalone package Creative Cloud
	Fonts (formerly Typekit)	N/A		Web
	Fresco	2.0.3		Windows, macOS, iOS
	Illustrator	CC 2024 (28.4.1)	Standalone package Creative Cloud Creative Suite
	Illustrator Draw			Android, iOS
	InCopy	CC 2024 (19.0.1)	Standalone package Creative Cloud Creative Suite	Windows, macOS
	InDesign	CC 2024 (19.0.1)
	Lightroom	CC 2024 (7.1.2)		Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, web
	Lightroom Classic	CC 2024 (13.1)	Standalone package^[16] Creative Cloud	Windows, macOS
	Media Encoder	CC 2024 (24.2.1)	Creative Cloud Creative Suite
	Photoshop	CC 2024 (25.6)	Standalone package Creative Suite Creative Cloud eLearning Suite	Windows, macOS, web
	Photoshop Camera		Standalone package Creative Cloud	Android, iOS
	Photoshop Fix	1.3
	Photoshop Mix
	Photoshop Sketch	3.4
	Portfolio	N/A		Web
	Prelude	CC 2024 (22.6.1)	Standalone package Creative Suite Creative Cloud	Windows, macOS
	Premiere Pro	CC 2024 (24.2.1)
	Premiere Rush	CC 2024 (2.10)	Standalone Creative Cloud	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
	Spark Page	3.1.0		iOS
	Creative Cloud Express	1.0		Web, Android, iOS
	Spark Video	2.1.4		iOS
	Stock	N/A		Web
	XD	CC 2024 (57.1.12)		Windows, macOS

Hidden helper tools

• Adobe IPC Broker is an app bundled with Creative Cloud running in the background. This hidden program runs a process that integrates multiple Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop or Illustrator.^[17]

Discontinued products

• Flash Builder, formerly Flex Builder, was an integrated development environment (IDE) built on the Eclipse platform meant for developing rich Internet applications (RIAs) and cross-platform desktop applications for the Adobe Flash platform.
• Flash Professional (now Adobe Animate) is Flash's content authoring application.
• Fuse, formerly Fuse Character Creator, is a 3D character animation application originally developed by Mixamo. It was acquired by Adobe Systems in June 2015 and was discontinued while in beta testing.
• Ideas CC is a mobile digital sketchpad app that lets you design almost anywhere using vectors, layers, and color themes.
• Kuler CC, later called Adobe Color CC, was a color theming app for mobile devices. It was developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. through Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Muse is a discontinued offline website builder used to create fixed, fluid, or adaptive websites, without the need to write code.
• Premiere Clip is a timeline based video editing software on mobile platform.
• Preview CC is an app for previewing mobile designs.
• Scout is a profiling tool for Flash SWF files.
• SpeedGrade was a tool for performing color corrections and developing looks for Premiere projects. SpeedGrade was discontinued on August 22, 2017, but could still be used by subscribers at the time.^[18] Features from SpeedGrade are now found in the Lumetri Color Correction feature in Premiere Pro.
• Story was a screenwriting and film/TV pre-production online application which integrates with the Premiere Pro family. It allows users to create movie scripts for their movies.
• Voco is an unreleased audio editing and generating prototype software by Adobe that enables novel editing and generation of audio.

Reception

The change from perpetual licenses to a subscription model was met with significant criticism.^{[19] [20]} Although Adobe's cloud-based model caused disagreement and uncertainty,^[19] and incited annoyance^[21] and conflict,^[22] a survey by CNET and Jefferies revealed that despite complaints most of its 1.4 million subscribers^{[22] [23]} plan to renew.^{[24] [25]}

Criticism

Shifting to a software as a service model, Adobe announced more frequent feature updates to its products and the eschewing of their traditional release cycles.^[26] Customers must pay a monthly subscription fee. Consequently, if subscribers cancel or stop paying, they will lose access to the software as well as the ability to open work saved in proprietary file formats.^[27]

Although investors applauded the move, many customers reacted negatively.^[28] This shift has been met with mixed reviews by both corporations and independent designers, with many people expressing their displeasure on the web^{[29] [30] [31]} and through multiple Internet petitions.^[32] Among these was a Change.org petition which reached over 30,000 signatures within a few weeks of the announcement.^[33]

Creative Cloud has been criticized for broken file syncing, one of its core features.^{[34] [35]} In May 2013 Adobe announced that it was suspending the file-sync desktop preview "for the next couple of weeks". Reviewers of Creative Cloud were disappointed with the functionality of the cloud storage^{[36] [37] [38]} and were "far from convinced by Adobe's subscription model".^[39] Some users were concerned that they would be forced to upgrade their computer hardware when it is no longer supported by the current version of the Creative Cloud software.^[40]

Some of their customers experienced a loss of trust in Adobe as a company and an attendant rise in anxiety.^{[41] [42]} Despite significant customer criticism over Adobe's move to subscription-only pricing,^[43] the company announced that it would not sell perpetual licenses to its software alongside the subscriptions: "We understand this is a big change, but we are so focused on the vision we shared for Creative Cloud, and we plan to focus all our new innovation on the Creative Cloud".^[44]

In May 2014 the service was interrupted for over a day due to a login outage leaving graphics professionals locked out of Creative Cloud.^{[45] [46] [47] [48] [49]} Adobe apologized for this global Creative Cloud failure.^{[50] [51]} When initially asked whether customers would be compensated, the company's Customer Service responded: "We cannot offer compensation for the outage. I'm so sorry again for the frustration."^{[52] [53]} Adobe later announced that it would review compensation on "a case by case basis".^[54] The outage was heavily criticized, as was Adobe's software as a service model in general.^[55]

Online articles began offering examples of replacements of Adobe products,^{[56] [57] [58] [59] [60]} with competing products directly offering alternatives, and launching promotions for dissatisfied Adobe customers.^[61] Adobe, however, claimed that Creative Cloud is its "highest customer satisfaction product in the creative space" and that even prior to Adobe's move to a pure subscription model, "more than 80 percent of customers who bought products from Adobe's Web site picked CC over CS."

Although Creative Cloud was expected to curtail the piracy of Photoshop,^[62] which is one of the most pirated pieces of software,^[63] Creative Cloud was hacked and its applications made available via unauthorized means a day after it officially launched.^{[64] [65]} Adobe claimed that the subscription payment plan would make its software more accessible to users who previously pirated it.^[66]

On May 14, 2019, some Creative Cloud users received emails from Adobe stating that licenses to previous versions of Creative Cloud applications had been terminated and that users could face civil action from third parties if they did not update the software on their personal computers. A representative from Adobe confirmed the letter's authenticity. The situation prompted renewed criticism of Adobe's subscription-only business model.^[67]

Adobe users who sign NDAs could be in trouble after Adobe updated its terms of service to force users to share their content with Adobe, a clause that will compromise any NDA.^[68]

See also

• List of Adobe software

Notes and References

1. Web site: Adobe MAX: Adobe Unveils the Future of Creativity and AI at Adobe MAX 2023. October 10, 2023. December 15, 2023. Adobe Newsroom.
2. Web site: Adobe launches Creative Cloud subscription service . . . May 11, 2012 . February 24, 2014 . Stephen . Shankland.
3. Web site: Creative Cloud or Captive Consumer? . Keptlight . May 8, 2013 . May 8, 2013 . Ekin . A. Cemal.
4. Web site: Adobe and Microsoft partner in the Azure cloud to help businesses transform customer engagement. September 26, 2016. News Center. May 10, 2017.
5. Web site: Adobe Abandons Its Creative Suite to Focus on Creative Cloud . The Next Web . May 26, 2013 . July 8, 2014 . Weber . Harrison.
6. Web site: Adobe launches Creative Cloud 2014 — its first massive update since killing the Creative Suite . . June 18, 2014 . July 13, 2014 . Harrison . Weber.
7. Web site: Adobe Ditches Creative Suite for CC: Creative Cloud . . May 6, 2013 . July 13, 2014 . Muchmore . Michael.
8. Web site: Adobe's Creative Suite is dead, long live the Creative Cloud . . May 7, 2013 . Cunningham . Andrew.
9. Web site: Say Goodbye to Creative Suite: Adobe CS Is Now Creative Cloud . . May 6, 2013 . July 8, 2014 . Campbell-Dollaghan . Kelsey.
10. Web site: Adobe Announces All New 2014 Release of Creative Cloud . . June 18, 2014 . July 13, 2014.
11. Web site: Photoshop Mix for iPad, Lightroom for iPhone Arrive With Adobe Creative Cloud 2014 Update . . June 18, 2014 . July 13, 2014 . Nathan Olivarez-Giles.
12. Web site: Adobe launches sweeping upgrade to its Creative Cloud lineup . The Next Web . June 18, 2014 . July 13, 2014.
13. Web site: Adobe's 2014 Creative Cloud update: Desktop upgrades, new mobile apps, creative hardware . . June 18, 2014 . July 13, 2014.
14. Web site: Creative Cloud pricing and membership plans . . October 17, 2016.
15. Web site: Lightroom and Photoshop - Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan . . adobe.com . August 4, 2015.
16. Web site: Compare pricing & plans Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan . 2022-09-06 . www.adobe.com . en-US.
17. Web site: AdobeIPCBroker.exe Windows process - What is it?. 2021-05-20. www.file.net.
18. Web site: Modern Color Grading Software. April 22, 2020. gamut.io.
19. Web site: Adobe's Creative Cloud Move Causes Outcry And Confusion . . May 9, 2013 . July 8, 2014.
20. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud: Reactions, responses and reassurance . . May 13, 2013 . July 8, 2014 . Ashleigh Allsopp . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183741/http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/?newsid=3446802 . October 29, 2013 . dead .
21. Web site: Adobe shares soar to new record on cloud hopes . . December 13, 2013 . January 20, 2014.
22. Web site: Adobe exceeds 1M Creative Cloud subscriptions; stock rises . . . September 17, 2013 . January 18, 2014 . Stephen . Shankland.
23. Web site: Adobe's Creative Cloud Surpasses 1M Subscribers, But Q3 2013 Revenue Falls To $995.1M . . September 17, 2013 . July 13, 2014.
24. Web site: New Extended Version Of Creative Cloud To Bolster Adobe's CC Subscriber base . . July 13, 2014 . Maundze . Aderito.
25. Web site: Despite complaints most Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers plan to renew . . . March 13, 2014 . July 13, 2014.
26. Web site: Adobe Abandons Its Creative Suite to Focus on Creative Cloud . The Next Web . May 6, 2013 . Summers . Nick.
27. Web site: Adobe casts cloud on budgets . . May 23, 2014.
28. Web site: Adobe's Subscription-Only CC Release Carries Obvious Upside But Big Risk . . June 17, 2013 . May 23, 2014.
29. Web site: Adobe exec: Creative Cloud complainers will love us once they try us (interview) . . May 11, 2013 . Sebastian . Haley . August 29, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180802132107/https://venturebeat.com/2013/05/11/adobe-creative-cloud-interview/ . August 2, 2018 . dead .
30. Web site: Adobe's Move to the Cloud Incites Anger and Other Top Comments . . May 13, 2013 . Jess . Fee.
31. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud: Reactions, responses and reassurance . . May 24, 2013 . Ashleigh . Allsopp . October 27, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183741/http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/?newsid=3446802 . October 29, 2013 . dead .
32. Web site: Analysis: The real reason Adobe ditched Creative Suite for Creative Cloud . . May 15, 2013 . Bennett . Neil . DigitalArts . August 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170703043614/http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-software/analysis-real-reason-adobe-ditched-creative-suite-for-creative-cloud/ . July 3, 2017 . dead .
33. Web site: Some Artists Give Adobe's Cloud Switch a Critical Review . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130613075458/http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2013/05/17/some-artists-give-adobe-cloud-switch-critical-review . June 13, 2013 .
34. Web site: Adobe's Creative Cloud fails at being a cloud . . May 17, 2013 . Clark . Jack.
35. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud FAIL; Suspends File Sync Service | BWWGeeksWorld . Wisdom Digital Media . Forward Geek . May 19, 2013 . August 27, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180142/https://www.forwardgeek.com/article/Adobe-Creative-Cloud-FAIL-Suspends-File-Sync-Service-20130519?article=Adobe-Creative-Cloud-FAIL-Suspends-File-Sync-Service-20130519 . February 10, 2018 . dead . mdy-all .
36. Web site: Burns . Michael . May 24, 2013 . Adobe Creative Cloud review . Macworld.
37. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud Review . blurMEDIA . August 28, 2012.
38. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud Review . Maclife.com . June 29, 2012.
39. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud review . Dennis Publishing . . May 23, 2014.
40. Web site: DV Fanatics Blog: My Problem with Adobe Creative Cloud . Blog.dvfanatics.com . June 3, 2013.
41. Web site: The Creative Cloud Chronicles: Freeing the Captive Consumer . Graphics.com . August 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130912062037/http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=1044 . September 12, 2013 . dead . mdy-all .
42. Web site: Why I won't subscribe to Creative Cloud . Dennis Publishing . . May 23, 2014.
43. Web site: As Adobe customers howl, Corel offers education discount . . . March 25, 2014 . Shankland . Stephen.
44. Web site: Dislike Adobe's Creative Cloud subscriptions? Tough beans . . . March 25, 2014 . Shankland . Stephen.
45. Web site: Adobe's 'Creative Cloud' Goes Offline—and Takes a Million Designers With It . The Daily Beast . May 15, 2014 . Kyle . Chayka.
46. Web site: Adobe ID failure takes Creative Cloud down for nearly 24 hours . appleinsider . May 15, 2014.
47. Web site: Graphics pros left hanging as Adobe Creative Cloud outage nears 24 hours . . May 15, 2014 . McAllister . Neil.
48. Web site: Adobe Creative Cloud Login Outage Takes Users' Productivity With It . Consumerist . May 16, 2014 . Laura . Northrup.
49. Web site: Outage of Adobe Creative Cloud, more than a day old, locked out app users . . . May 16, 2014 . Goodin . Dan.
50. Web site: Adobe apologises for global Creative Cloud failure . The Daily Star . May 18, 2014.
51. Web site: Why Adobe's Creative Cloud is a really, really bad idea for the sheeple . . May 16, 2014.
52. Web site: Destructive DRM Strikes Again: Creative Professionals Blocked From Using Adobe Products For Days . . May 19, 2014.
53. Web site: Creative Cloud outage leaves Adobe users unable to work . . May 30, 2014 . Adam . Banks . May 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140521002718/http://www.macuser.co.uk/9015-adobe-creative-cloud-outage-leaves-adobe-users-locked-out . dead .
54. Web site: Adobe Offers Refunds for Customers Impacted by Creative Cloud Outage . NDTV Convergence Limited . NDTV Gadgets . May 19, 2014.
55. Web site: Cloud computing is FAIL and here's why (Stick that online service up your SaaS) . . May 16, 2014 . Dabbs . Alistair.
56. Web site: 7 Adobe Photoshop CC Alternatives . . . June 21, 2013 . Muchmore . Michael.
57. Web site: Build Your Own Adobe Creative Suite with Free and Cheap Software . . . January 17, 2013.
58. Web site: Bring out the GIMP: Adobe Photoshop and Creative Suite to become subscription-only . . . Sebastian . Anthony . May 8, 2013 .
59. Web site: Alternatives to Adobe's Creative Cloud . . May 24, 2013 . Duncan . Evans . August 30, 2014 . November 5, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105004914/http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac-creative/news/?newsid=3452957 . dead .
60. Web site: Gaines. Kendra. 15+ alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud. WebdesignerDepot.com. June 26, 2013.
61. Web site: Adobe competitors pounce after subscription backlash . . . March 25, 2014 . Shankland . Stephen.
62. Web site: Will Adobe's Move to the Cloud Finally Keep the Pirates at Bay? . . . May 6, 2013 . Michael . Hession.
63. Web site: Adobe's subscription-only Photoshop CC has already been pirated . . . June 20, 2013 . Ziegler . Chris.
64. Web site: That was quick: Adobe's Creative Cloud already pirated . . . June 20, 2013 . Reisinger . Don.
65. Web site: Cracked With a Vengeance: Photoshop CC Pirated In One Day . . June 21, 2013 . Lee . Adriana.
66. Web site: Adobe: Photoshop Pirates Aren't Bad People Who Like to Steal Things . . May 9, 2013 . Andy.
67. Web site: Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop. Bode. Karl. Koebler. Jason. 2019-05-14. Vice. en-US. 2019-05-15.
68. https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/06/adobe_users_upset_over_content/ Adobe users just now getting upset over content scanning allowance in Terms of Use