Adobe mute on further software price drops after cloud cuts
Adobe has cut the price of its cloud-based offering in Australia ahead of appearing before the IT pricing inquiry, but don't expect the company to do the same for offline versions of its creative software.
The IT pricing inquiry, led by the House Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, is looking into why IT companies charge Australians more for the same products that are sold cheaper overseas.
The software vendor recently lowered the individual subscription fee for its Creative Cloud offering just a day after being summonsed to appear before the inquiry, along with Apple and Microsoft. After a AU$13 cut, pricing for the cloud-based service is now closer to that of the US, but Adobe did not cut the prices for boxed or even download delivered versions of its software. Adobe would not make any commitment to do so in the future.
While the timely price cut may appear a knee-jerk reaction to the parliamentary inquiry summons, Adobe president and CEO Shantanu Narayen said that the price drop was to facilitate rapid adoption of the Creative Cloud offering.
"The future of the creative [industry] is the Creative Cloud, so when we look at how we get that access to customers, it's through the offering," he said at the Adobe office launch event in Sydney.
"That really has to be viewed as what the focus is, so the pricing [changes] are very much in line with how we see the future of the company.
"It's just part of the ongoing process to attract more customers to the platform," he said.
Narayen dodged questions on why Adobe was not lowering prices for its traditional boxed and downloaded software.
Communications Minister Steven Conroy, who also attended the Adobe office launch, welcomed the company's decision to lower prices for Creative Cloud in Australia.
"One of the reasons I signed off on the [IT pricing] hearing is so we can get some transparency and get the debate going," he said. "We are very pleased to see some very positive results for Australian consumers.
Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft are due to appear before the IT pricing inquiry in March.