Contents
- Adobe Licensing Model Primer - Link
- What is 'Named User Licensing'? - Link
- What are the benefits of 'Named User Licensing'? - Link
- When will our CC Enterprise Serial Numbers expire? - Link
- The Adobe Admin Console - Link
- How are users added into the Admin Console? - Link
- Planning the Transition to 'Named User Licensing' - Link
- Identity + SSO (User log-in and authentication) - Link
- SSO Configuration Tutorial Video - Link
- Security - Link
- Deployment Methods - Providing Adobe Creative Software to your End Users - Link
- Deployment Tutorial Video - Link
- Acrobat Deployment & Software Compatibility Considerations - Link
- Document Cloud Product Tracks - Link
- Reference Material - Link
Adobe Licensing Model Primer
In 2012, Adobe moved from a serialized license model to a subscription-based Named User Licensing model, in which every user of Adobe desktop software would be identified by a unique identifier.
In this methodology, the serialized license is no longer embedded in the desktop software for perpetual use, but rather made part of a subscription model where the desktop applications periodically reach out to the Adobe servers to validate that the application is entitled to the end user.
These identifiers are managed by the Adobe Identity Management Services platform which allows end-users to authenticate to their deployed desktop software and Adobe cloud services.
What is Named User Licensing?
Named User Licensing is a software licensing model where software is assigned to an individual instead of a serial number or a device.
Users sign in with a credential, such as an email and password, upon launching Creative Cloud and/or Document software, and this credential activates the software.
What are the benefits of Named User Licensing?
- Easier License Compliance - user list is the single source of truth
- Avoid License Repurchase - Reallocate licenses instead of purchasing net new
- Compliant Home Use - Major employee benefit. Deactivate when needed.
- Cloud Services Access - Increase productivity of your creative staff by providing access to Adobe Stock and Adobe Typekit.
Creative Cloud for Enterprise is the Modern Creative Platform
Adobe has built a modern creative platform called Creative Cloud for Enterprise and includes the following benefits:
- Give creative teams access to their creative assets anywhere they work, whether on a computer or a mobile device, in the office or with a client.
- Accelerate creative projects by accessing our library of over 50 million stock images and videos and thousands of professional fonts.
- Powerful license management features that give IT the control, support, and security they expect in a modern enterprise platform.
- APIs, third-party plug-ins, and integration with our own Marketing Cloud platform for the most streamlined workflows between creative and marketing departments.
When will our CC enterprise serial numbers expire?
The AdobeExpiryCheck tool is a utility to check whether Adobe CC products on a computer are using serial numbers that have expired or are expiring.
With the AdobeExpiryCheck tool, admins can get the information about the product licensing identifier (LEID), the encrypted serial number, and the expiration date. If the tool does not find any expiring or expired volume serial number, you get the following message: No expiring/expired serial number found on the system. Further reading
You can download the AdobeExpiryCheck tool for Windows or Mac by clicking the links below:
The Adobe Admin Console
The Adobe Admin Console provides a central location for IT staff to create and manage accounts and grant access to both Creative and Document Cloud applications and services across an entire organization.
It also provides access to Help and Support for issues concerning licensing, deployment, and account management.
The Adobe Admin Console URL is https://adminconsole.adobe.com/enterprise
Tutorials:
Tip! The bulk of the work needed to migrate to Named User Licensing requires the Admin Console so please ensure your team are enabled and setup correctly.
The Enterprise & Teams community is your place to ask questions, chat, and learn. This community is a shared space for Creative Cloud and Document Cloud administrators to collaborate and to provide a first-class, peer-based forum. Here you can freely ask, share, and learn from your peers in the industry.
How are users added into the Admin Console?
As shown below, there are a number of ways to add and continue to manage users within your Adobe Admin Console. Each option has pros and cons.
- Manual (individual or batch) note: CSV is limited to 10MB or 5k users
- Custom (develop, maintain and support your own automated solution)
- Automated - Adobe's 'User Sync Tool' - Setup Guide Link
- Automated - Adobe's 'MS Azure Connector' - Setup SSO - FAQ
Planning the Transition to Named User Licensing
The following diagram's show the key tasks and dependencies of the process to transition to Named User Licensing. The first (top) diagram includes the The User Sync Tool and the second diagram includes The MS Azure Connector.
- Identity (domain claim, SSO) setup is key so clarify/identify your email domain(s) and identity type e.g. Federated ID (see the next section for guidance)
- If you're organisation is planning to implement UST then please refer to the previous section (above) and initiate the preparation tasks (VM, LDAP, mappings etc)
Tip! Start planning deployment for Creative Cloud and Document Cloud (Acrobat) as soon as possible.
Tasks
- Setup & Test Identity (Confirm email domains and initiate domain claim and SSO configuration) - please refer to the following section for guidance. Not relevant to Azure Connector.
- Clarify user management method (manual, custom or automated).
- Produce an inventory of current Adobe software, users, groups and machines.
- Start planning deployment - refer to the following sections regarding 'deployment methods', 'packaging', 'deserialisation' and 'Acrobat - Software Compatibility Considerations'.
Identity + SSO (User log-in and authentication)
Once you're setup on the Admin Console, one of your first tasks is to define and set up an identity system against which your end users will be authenticated. As your organization purchases licenses for Adobe products and services, you will need to provision those licenses to your end users. And for this, you will need a way to authenticate these users.
Adobe provides you with the following identity types that you can use to authenticate your end users:
- Adobe ID - Created, owned and managed by the end user
- Enterprise ID - Created, owned, and managed by an organization. Adobe hosts the Enterprise ID and performs authentication, but the organization maintains the Enterprise ID
- Federated ID - Created and owned by an organization, and linked to the enterprise directory via federation. The organization manages credentials and processes Single Sign-On via a SAML2 Identity Provider (IdP)
Tutorials:
SSO Configuration Tutorial Video
This tutorial video includes relevant information about the following key topics:
- How does Adobe's implementation of SSO work?
- Technical Requirements
- How SSO is configured in the Admin Console
- Validation and testing
Troubleshooting SSO
If you're experiencing issues with SSO, please refer to the following guide to help troubleshoot the issue:
Further Reading
Security
Reference Links
- Security Overview
- Security updates for Adobe Acrobat
- Identity Management - Security Overview
- Identity management - White Paper
- Adobe’s Trust Centre
- Adobe’s Trust Centre - GDPR
The following recording is from an IT Roundtable and includes information regarding NUL and Content Security. You will need to install and join via Adobe Connect desktop application.
Security Questionnaire - If your organisation requires a security review and has not yet asked Adobe to complete one, it will need to be shared with Adobe.
Deployment Methods - Providing Adobe Creative Software to your End Users
Once users have been imported to the Adobe Admin Console and assigned to a product profile, you will need to deploy the desktop apps to your end users. There are three methods for delivering the desktop apps to end users and each option offers varying levels of control for IT admins and autonomy for end users.
1/Managed Deployment
- Offers IT maximum control but requires the most work.
- You need to strictly control which software and updates are available to users.
- You have the resources to package and deploy apps, patches, and updates on a regular basis.
- Available for Creative Cloud and Document Cloud
2/Self-Service for non-Admins
- The perfect compromise between IT control and user responsibility for most organisations.
- Reduces IT workload and users don’t need to be an admin on their computers.
- Support for elevated privileges for Mac and Windows lets non-admin users install and update Adobe Creative Cloud apps on their own.
- Available only for Creative Cloud
3/Self-Service for Admins
- Reduces IT workload but users must be admins on their computers.
- You wish to reduce IT workload and avoid packaging apps and updates.
- You don’t need to vet software releases before they are available to your end users.
- Available for Creative Cloud and Document Cloud
Further Reading
Deployment Tutorial Video
The following video includes information on the following topics:
- Learn about the Creative Cloud Desktop Application
- Deployment options
- Package creation
- Network endpoints
- Migration of Existing Application Deployments
- Deserialisation
- End-user log-in experience
Acrobat Deployment & Software Compatibility Considerations
- Will you need/do you want to move to a new version of Acrobat? Earlier versions may have security issues and lack some of the functionality of the latest version.
- Are you reliant on any 3rd-party or proprietary integrations with Acrobat? Have you confirmed compatibility with the version you will be using? If not, we recommend testing as soon as possible.
- How will the deployment be carried out? Will Acrobat be deployed to your entire user-base after a successful pilot or will the roll-out be performed in waves?
Document Cloud Product Tracks
The Acrobat DC product family provides two tracks for both Acrobat and Reader:
- The Continuous Track provides service-based tools as well as new features, security and platform enhancements, and bug fixes as part of frequent (and most often) silent updates. Choose this track if you intend to use named-user deployment, want new features as they become available, use DC web services and want to take advantage of frequent updates for security and functionality reasons.
- The Classic Track provides few (if any) new features in updates. Free services are available, but optional. Like previous releases, a quarterly update cadence delivers security and platform enhancements as well as bug fixes.
Reference Material
Credits:
Created with images by Sensay - "Business creative solution concept jigsaw on the blackboard" • ParentRap - "birds formation flying" • magneticmcc - "Business concept for group of stacked paperclip with another one red plane paperclip is point to another direction as a team leadership" • photoschmidt - "Bücher erweitern den Horizont" • Terrance Emerson - "Expired Parking Meter Against Palm Trees Illustrates Time " • cristalov - "Winner bearded man wearing glasses and looking at the camera holding his notebook and making a winner gesture." • Carson Arias - "untitled image" • Jacob Lund - "Father and son enjoying summer holidays at the beach" • Destina - "Rocket carrying space shuttle launches off. 3D illustration"