Ed Husic Slams Adobe Over Forced Creative Cloud Move

What we all feared would happen, happened this morning when Adobe announced at its annual conference that it would move away from boxed Creative Suite software and push everyone into a subscription payment model with Creative Cloud. You’d never guess but the Government’s IT pricing crusader, Ed Husic, is displeased with Adobe. Again.

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Adobe was dragged before the IT Pricing Inquiry a few months ago to justify the ludicrously-high mark-ups it hit Australians with for Creative Suite and Creative Cloud software.

It meekly responded that the increased pricing was for a “curated experience” for Australian customers: a response that received a resounding cough-concealed “bullshit” from the public. Husic now counts himself a member of the chorus.

“I don’t think the ‘curated experience’ excuse stands up anymore. A lot of people don’t accept what they’re being charged versus the service they supposedly get for the higher price. Nobody is popping champagne corks over this. It’s just a veneer to justify squeezing Aussie consumers,” he tells us.

Creative Cloud prices have dropped in recent months, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll stay that way. Adobe is now forcing customers into the subscription-based Creative Cloud platform, and while it may be relatively inexpensive now, Husic is worried that Adobe will go back to mark-ups eventually.

“I have had two perspectives levelled as a result of this move: people have welcomed lower prices on Creative Cloud, but other people wonder if this is just a move to entice people over to the cloud only to be confronted by potential price increases to recoup the money lost via Adobe’s initial discount,” Husic told us today.

“There are a lot of people wanting to be convinced that this is a good move and the subscription mechanism is good, but based on everything that I have heard, there’s a long way to go to get the thumbs-up from consumers on this.”

The IT Pricing Inquiry is working on a report to present the government in the coming months.


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