New technology continues to redefine the way business is done. Adobe, a huge provider of software, has long licensed their software as a one-time fee per user. As technology and business has changed, however, they saw a new path. Adobe went with a monthly subscription fee as opposed to huge, one-time fees.

At first, there was a lot of backlash over the change, but the model has proven surprisingly popular. They now have 1.8 million subscribers, 405k of which were added just in the last quarter.

This model offers several benefits for consumers including constant upgrades at no charge; you always have the latest version. This is also great for Adobe since they have a constant stream of revenue.

As business continues, I’m sure we’ll see more and more companies moving to a subscription model as opposed to one-time fees.

Source:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-19/adobes-controversial-subscription-model-proves-surprisingly-popular