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Not too long ago Adobe Systems changed the way its sells software to reflect the realities of digital distribution. Now, it’s looking for help from the channel to maximize the profitability of that new online distribution model.

Adobe has unfurled a new option for licensing Adobe Creative Cloud under which teams of end users can collaboratively license any one of 14 Adobe applications.

The goal is to make it easier for larger numbers of end users to consume more Adobe application software to the benefit of both Adobe and its channel partners , said Stephen Snyder, vice president of worldwide channel sales for Adobe.

“We want to give partners more opportunities to have a reason to engage customers,” said Snyder. “We also want to give our partners greater access to the Adobe community.”

Under terms of the channel program, Adobe partners can—not only resell Adobe software that they acquire at lower than Adobe retail pricing—but they also receive alerts every time a customer downloads software. Those alerts then form the basis for an opportunity to engage customers in everything from education and training opportunities to new hardware systems to run the Adobe software, Snyder said.

Adobe is seeking partners with digital media expertise that the company can leverage to help customers get the most of their investment in the Adobe Creative Cloud. While Adobe is most often associated with retail sales, Snyder said that the company is now making a concerted effort to reach out to channel partners to increase the consumption of Adobe software modules.

From a channel partner perspective, Adobe represents an opportunity to sell software that, over the course of several upgrades, not only tends to push the hardware limitations of workstations and servers, but also creates a lot of demand for storage and other peripherals required for digital media applications.

The result is that Adobe software distributed via the cloud becomes an interesting channel means to a potentially more lucrative end.

Michael Vizard has been covering IT issues in the enterprise for 25 years as an editor and columnist for publications such as InfoWorld, eWEEK, Baseline, CRN, ComputerWorld and Digital Review.