Apple Inc. (AAPL): Steve Jobs Was Incorrect About This Trend

Will Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) follow Adobe’s footsteps?

It’s worth wondering whether or not Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will choose to follow Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) down this route. If the switch to Creative Cloud goes over well, the Windows maker might do the same with Office.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) first released Office 365 in 2011. Like Creative Cloud for Creative Suite, Office 365 is a monthly subscription service for Microsoft Office.

So far, Office 365 adoption seems to going well for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). On the company’s last earnings call, Microsoft’s CFO said the company was pleased with the service, and believed that more Office users would continue to migrate to Office 365. Right now, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) believes Office 365 is on pace for an annual revenue run rate of $1 billion.

With Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reportedly working on a cloud-based version of Windows, it’s worth wondering if — at some distant future date — the Windows business could become a cloud subscription as well.

Not full cloud computing

Of course, neither Creative Cloud nor Office 365 is a true cloud application. While both give users access to cloud storage and the ability to install the software on many devices, they still require just that — installations.

Contrast that with a true cloud application like Google Docs — it exists fully in the cloud and requires no local software (except for a web browser).

But if Adobe can get users to go along with the move to a monthly subscription, full cloud is certainly the next logical step. If they’re already paying a monthly fee to get it, why not just keep the software wholly on Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE)’s servers?

That would cut down piracy even more so. For now, however, that seems to be far off. But with new fiber Internet networks giving more users blazing fast Internet every day, it likely isn’t as far off as many would believe.

Are subscriptions the future?

Steve Jobs was right to denounce subscription services in 2003 — the subsequent success of iTunes proves it.

But now, as the world becomes more connected and Internet bandwidth speeds increase, the trend seems to be shifting away from ownership and to monthly subscriptions. Many consumers might not like it, but ultimately, companies might not give them a choice.

The article Thankfully Steve Jobs Was Wrong, or Adobe Might be in Trouble originally appeared on Fool.com.

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