User usage statistics

[athulr95398630]

Hi

This qn  has been asked several times and adobe is clearly ignoring the same. Is there any option to check the usage statistics of a creative cloud app? I would really like to see if my employees are actually using the product that we bought for them.

[arij2010]

Hi ,

I don't think it's possible because the apps can be used offline and in this case the stats will be incorrect .

[Mylenium]

That's not possible. Adobe has no knowledge of how and when the apps are used beyond the anonymous crash reports and usage data that is sent in sporadically when needed to diagnose problems. There's a million technical and legal reasons for this. If you want to check program usage, you have to install local tracking software on your computers that monitors your employees, but that in itself could be totally illegal depending on your country's privacy and employment regulations.

Mylenium

[freves]

Do you by any chance have expenrience with using "Software Tagging in Adobe Products" to obatin product usage per user?

https://blogs.adobe.com/deployment/2009/11/software_tagging_in_adobe_prod_1.html

[Nancy OShea]

Why don't you simply ask your employees if they use the products?

[freves]

Because very few will give up a product license they have once obtained!

[Davo-Naviq]

I'm in the same boat. We installed Adobe Acrobat Pro on all new PCs, because I can't see the usage for this very expensive product, I'm inclined to remove it and install as required. 

[John Waller]

Exactly what we do where I work.

Most people are happy with free Adobe Reader. A minority get an Acrobat Pro license on request.

[Test Screen Name]

I imagine that people have occasionally carried this suggestion into planning meetings at various companies.

- we propose usage tracking for our products, so that admins can see who is using our products!

- what's the business case?

- admins are asking for it

- why do they want it

- it would let them find who doesn't need the licenses they are assigned

- and?

- reduce their outgoings

- (tumbleweeds)

- doesn't that mean your proposal will reduce our revenues

- um

- (long pause)

- this is going on your permanent record

[Nancy OShea]

Expensive?  $14.99/mo is not expensive. I spend more than that on coffee.

If you want to talk about expensive, Maya and AutoCAD cost $225/mo EACH. 

https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview

https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/overview

If you don't know which tools your employees use, perhaps you don't know enough about what they do.  Try asking them face-to-face.  Cover your tracks.  Have them update their job description and list the tools they use in performance of their duties.  Keep a copy in their personnel file and another in the organization's employee training manual.

[John Waller]

Can't really compare specialised tools like Maya to general purpose office tools like Acrobat.

Maya licenses would be closely tracked in any office.

Acrobat Pro could be on everyone's device - often installed automatically on all new devices as is the case here - and those monthly subscriptions soon add up across dozens of devices.

[Nancy OShea]

My point is that communication with employees first can mean the difference between a contented employee who remains on payroll and an unhappy one who quits to find green pastures. What we know about The Great Resignation.

[freves]

Well the issue here is that Adobe a few years back went with the very popular Cloud subscription model for their software instead of the former annual licensing.

The annual licences we could move around and we could see if they were used and how much with MS System center tools.

The Adobe subscription model is monthly and we do not want to pay for unused licenses!

We want to hand out licenses when needed for a typical 3 month period and redraw them when they have not been used for 3 months (!).

And to an earlier reply - yes Adobe knows exactly when the licenses are used becasue the software whenever it is used checks on the license in the cloud and Adode does register this.

But Adobe unlike other vendors with the monthly cloud based licensing model do not offer any usage statistics  for licences and that is the issue and they need to fix so we can get the right licening with the right Adobe products for the user and not pay fpr something that is not used!