????2011年9月初的一天，Adobe公司的首席執行官山塔努?納拉延和十幾個公司高管在加州卡梅爾山谷的一個溫泉浴場里搞“團隊拓展”。每個人都要說幾句，談談自己在2011年印象最深的事兒。據在場的人講，活動開始不久，發生了奇怪的事情。“討論突然熱烈起來，”負責數字營銷的高級副總裁布拉德?蘭切爾說。沉悶的氣氛被打破后，大家的情緒很快傾瀉出來，開始討論起公司面臨的一些更緊迫的問題。他說：“大家都認為，我們有一些艱難的決策要做。”

????那次反思后，CEO納拉延啟動了Adobe公司30年歷史上最大的一次轉型。Adobe公司為數字藝術家、影像制作者、網絡管理員和內容創建者等提供多種軟件工具，并因此而聲名赫赫。而現在這樣一家知名公司卻宣布將裁撤750個工作崗位，裁掉、限制或合并一些業務部門。Adobe的高管們表示，公司將把更多精力放在發展數字營銷業務上。而Adobe最具標志性的軟件業務則會進一步向云計算領域轉型，收費模式也會從預先支付模式轉變為按月訂購模式。納拉延說：“只想維持現狀的企業肯定會失敗。”

????不過這次重大戰略轉型卻嚇了投資者們一跳。Adobe不僅正在向新的收入模式轉型，同時也在努力擠進競爭極為激烈的在線營銷領域。Adobe采取的這些舉措發生在它與蘋果公司（Apple）的Flash大戰失敗之后。其后三周內，投資者們紛紛“解套”，Adobe的股價猛跌了15%。

????一年后，Adobe的新政日益顯示出正確性，而且明年很可能帶來積極的效果。去年由于分析師們認可了納拉延的方案，導致Adobe的股價一年來增長了34%。由預先支付模式轉變為按月訂購模式將有助于提高2013年的利潤，最終有助于確保公司獲得更穩健的收入。Cowen & Co公司分析師彼得?古德曼徹指出：“向按月訂購模式轉變是降低價格的一個聰明而且深思熟慮的辦法。”

????Adobe在塑料薄膜包裝的軟件如日中天的時代取得了巨大的成功，成了企業應對科技變革的成功范例。像其他科技巨頭一樣，Adobe也必須在云計算、移動設備和社交網絡的興起中謀發展，同時高度瞄準在線營銷。同時Adobe的轉型也迫使它必須和全球幾家最強大的科技公司競爭，其中有些還是Adobe自己的忠實盟友，比如它必須與微軟（Microsoft）和蘋果（Apple）在一些生產力項目上競爭，與IBM和谷歌（Google）在數字營銷上競爭。

????納拉延和科技總監凱文?林奇先從公司最拿手的業務下手。Adobe的創意套件Creative Suite的年產值達20億美元左右。Creative Suite作為公司的旗艦產品包含了Photoshop、Acrobat以及用于雜志出版的InDesign等16個軟件，許可證費用高達2,600美元，光是升級費用就達到了1,400美元（通常每18個月進行一次升級）。今年年初，Adobe推出了Creative Cloud，通過網絡在線提供與Creative Suite相同的產品。Creative Cloud很像谷歌或Dropbox等新銳公司提供的類似軟件，也是通過云端存取文檔。如果訂閱用戶停止付費，存取權限就被切斷。這項服務每月收費20到50美元。

????Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen and a dozen of his top executives were sequestered in a tony Carmel Valley spa in California. It was early September of 2011, and the group was running through a corporate bonding exercise. Everyone was to take a penny and recount what they were doing during the year stamped on the coin. Eyes began to roll, according to those present. Then something strange happened. "It just blew up," recalls Brad Rencher, a senior VP in charge of digital marketing. The icebreaker quickly turned into an outpouring of emotion about the far more pressing issues facing the company. "Everyone felt we had some hard decisions to make," he says.

????After the retreat CEO Narayen unveiled the biggest transformation in Adobe's 30-year history. The firm best known as a purveyor of tools for digital artists, filmmakers, webmasters, and content creators would shed 750 jobs, shutter or limit business units, and combine others. Adobe (ADBE), executives said, would focus more on growing its digital-marketing business. Its iconic software, meanwhile, would transition further to the cloud, shifting from a pay-beforehand model to monthly subscriptions. "Companies that simply try to preserve the status quo will fail," says Narayen.

????But the dramatic shift spooked investors. Not only was the company making a risky transition to a new revenue model, but it was also elbowing its way into the competitive arena of online marketing. All this was happening in the wake of the company's ugly public?battle with Apple over Flash?-- which Adobe had lost. Its stock plunged 15% during the next three weeks as investors bailed out.

????One year later Adobe's moves increasingly appear shrewd and likely to produce positive results next year. The stock has risen 34% over the past year as analysts have been won over by Narayen's plans. Switching to a subscription model will weigh on profits through 2013 but could eventually ensure steadier revenue. "The move to subscriptions is a clever and thoughtful way to lower the price point," says Cowen & Co. analyst Peter Goldmacher.

????Adobe, which grew powerful during the heyday of shrinkwrapped, boxed software, has become a model for companies coping with tech's changing landscape. Like other giants, Adobe must navigate?the rise of the cloud,?mobile gadgets,?social networking, and highly targeted online advertising. Adobe's transformation also pits it against the world's most powerful tech firms -- some of them its most ardent allies: Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) in productivity programs, IBM (IBM) and Google (GOOG) in digital marketing.

????Narayen and Kevin Lynch, the company's chief technology officer, started with their bread and butter: Creative Suite, a business worth some $2 billion annually. The company's flagship product bundles as many as 16 programs, such as Photoshop and Acrobat, as well as InDesign for magazine publishing. Creative Suite licenses ran as high as $2,600, or $1,400 for upgrades, which usually came out every 18 months. Earlier this year Adobe introduced Creative Cloud, the same suite of products accessible online. Much like software from younger companies Google or?Dropbox, documents are stored and accessible via the cloud. If a subscriber stops paying, access is cut off. The service costs $20 to $50 a month.