Adobe is updating our application licensing technology in the fall of 2018 to better support the increased integration of cloud services into our desktop applications. New versions of Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, eLearning and Technical Communication products, and ColdFusion released as part of our application licensing technology update, will only be available if deployed via named user licensing. With this change, serial numbers will no longer function starting in late fall 2019.
Benefits
The benefits of the updated application licensing technology and named user licensing for your IT department include:
- Increased network security, which provides the ability to examine and validate all licensing traffic from your networks to Adobe at your institutional firewall.
- Support for modern OS and App platforms, including Apple Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
- The ability to entitle and manage all application licensing from a single web console, called the Adobe Admin Console.
- The ability to update application licensing from the Adobe Admin Console without requiring machine deployments.
- Integration with a range of identity systems, including Active Directory.
- Elimination of the need to re-serialize when serial numbers expire.
The benefits for Education Enterprise users include:
- Access to the latest desktop apps, new apps (e.g., Adobe XD & Dimension), and cloud collaboration services, which will enable students and faculty to collaborate together.
- No interrupted access to applications due to invalid or expired serial numbers.
We plan to release Adobe products, applications, and services on the updated licensing technology starting in the fall of 2018. The rollout is planned as follows:
- Creative Cloud for enterprise: late fall 2018
- Acrobat and Document Cloud for enterprise: late fall 2018
- eLearning and Technical Communication products: spring 2019
- ColdFusion: spring 2020
Action Required
Any products deployed to individual users (faculty, staff, or student) via a serial number must be transitioned to named user licensing to be able to access the latest versions of these products starting with the versions made available in the release dates above. We are fully committed to helping you with this transition.
Education customers who currently deploy software via serial numbers in multi-user lab and classroom environments may continue to use the software and associated serial numbers. However, software released as part of the updated application licensing technology (expected in fall 2018 and later) will not be immediately available for lab use. Adobe expects to offer named user licensing for labs in the first half of 2019, which will provide access to the versions released in fall 2018 and later.
Transition Resources
Adobe Onboarding specialists are available for personalized one-on-one appointments to guide you through the process and to address your questions. Click here to make an appointment. You can also access the Education IT best-practice guide for additional self-help information.
Serial Number End of Life Notification
At the end of 2019, we plan to start decommissioning the use of serial numbers. Once decommissioned, a serial number will not work, and thus the applicable products, applications, and services will no longer work. To continue use of these products, applications, and services, Adobe software must be deployed via named user licensing for individuals and named user enabled licensing for education labs in multi-user computing environments.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for you and your institution, and we look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Bryan Lamkin
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, Adobe
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This table recaps the key changes and dates by solution:
| Adobe Solution |
Serial numbers no longer issued |
Latest apps on updated licensing technology |
Serial numbers
End of Life
|
| Creative Cloud for enterprise |
January 2017 |
Late fall 2018 |
Starting end 2019 |
| Acrobat and Document Cloud for enterprise |
September 2017 |
Late fall 2018 |
Starting spring 2020 |
| eLearning and Technical Communication products |
July 2018 |
Spring 2019 |
Starting spring 2021 |
| ColdFusion |
Spring 2019 |
Spring 2020 |
Starting spring 2021 |
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