Steeple

1. Page 1
An Environmental Analysis for
Adobe
Brian Haney
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
11/3/22

2. Page 2
The STEEPLE Analysis
SOCIOLOGICAL:
Adobe continues to be incredibly transparent in their goal to diversify their workforce. From the end of
the fiscal year of 2017 to the end of fiscal year 2021, the number of Adobe employees self-identifying as
women increased from 5,527 to 8,743 which is a 58.2% increase (Adobe Blog, 2022)
From the end of the Fiscal year 2017 to the end of the Fiscal year 2021, the total population of US
employees self-identifying as US race and ethnicity (URM) increased by 95.8% (Adobe Blog, 2022)
Adobe represents a vision of advancing diversity and inclusion. A statement from heather Devine,
Director with Adobe Acrobat Engineering states “There are more than 500 unique tribes in North
America, and each has played a part in the history of our cities, states, and country. I honor my ancestors
by working to keep the Shawnee culture alive.” (Heather Devine, 2022).
TECHNOLOGICAL:
Adobe continues to improve its image editing software with new AI innovations which make creation
faster, easier, and more powerful. Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president with
Creative Cloud Adobe states “This year, we’ve made Photoshop smarter and more collaborative so you
can easily get feedback and create spectacular images even faster.” (Scott Belsky, 2022). Adobe has
added never before seen AI technology to photoshop that include Selection Improvements, One-Click
Delete and Fills, Photo Restoration Neural Filters, one click Remove Background on the web, and
Masking and Brushing on the web. (News.Adobe, 2022)
ECONOMIC:
Adobe’s mission is to change the world through digital experiences. Revolutionizing imaging and creative
expression with apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe Express. Adobe believes that Figma’s
mission aligns with there’s. With a 20 billion US Dollar deal, Adobe acquires Figma with specific goals
in mind. These goals include the following: reimagining the future of creativity and productivity,
accelerating creativity on the web, advancing product design, and hopes to inspire and empower the
designer and developer community. (news.Adobe, 2022)
Figma has a total addressable market of 16.5 US billion by the end of 2025. The company is expected to
add $200 million in net annual recurring revenue, surpassing the $400 million total ARR existing in 2022.
Figma has gross margins of approximately 90 percent positive operating cash flows. After the acquisition,
Dylan Field, Figmas CEO will continue to lead the Figma Team. (News, Adobe, 2022)
ECOLOGICAL:
Adobe has taken great strides to protect the climate and health of our planet. With the creation of Adobe
Sign, the digital signing application, Adobe has created 95 percent less environmental impact than a paper
workflow. (blog.Adobe, 2021
Every 1 million transactions through Adobe Sign equates to emissions, taking 2,300 cars off the road.
TSB Bank used Adobe Sign and Adobe XD to export 20 forms online when COVID-19 hit the United
States, processing over 140,000 interactions digitally, which reduced 15,000 potential contacts in branch

3. Page 3
visits to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as well as reduce paper waste gas emissions. (blog.Adobe,
2021)
British banking company NatWest Group saved 9 million sheets of paper, 960,000 gallons of water, and
336,000 pounds of wood with digital documents and workflows thanks to Adobe Sign. (blog.adobe,
2021)
POLITICAL:
With the war in Ukraine taking into effect, Adobe has announced that they will stop all sales leading into
Russia. Adobe released a statement that says “Over the past several days, we have continued to witness
unprovoked, violent attacks on Ukraine and the tragic loss of innocent lives. The images are horrifying
and heartbreaking. As we see this tragedy unfold, we believe we have a responsibility to ensure our
products and services are not used in support of this unlawful war.” (Shantanu Narayen, 2022).
Adobe has taken steps to support humanitarian crisis and refugee situation with grants of over 1 million
US Dollars. The Adobe Foundation will focus on direct aid and medical assistance to communities in
Ukraine. (blog.adobe, 2022)
LEGAL:
Adobe being sued in a California court for filing bogus DMCA notices with eBay to prevent a seller,
Green Savannah, from reselling Adobe Software. The ability to purchase Adobe software is limited to the
official Adobe store, third-party sellers like eBay are not authorized vendors. Adobe attempted to use the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act but submitted bogus copyright infringement notices stating the seller
was infringing on copyright act to eBay which resulted in the removal of the third party’s account and
loss of sales from eBay. The actual laws according to the DMCA allows a person who lawfully acquires
ownership of a genuine copy of copyrighted software to resell the product/software without committing
copyright or other infringement. The seller, Green Savannah has been taking advantage of this legal
concept on eBay for six years and has followed the copyright law. Green Savannah is demanding
injunction against Adobe restraining it from the alleged unfair business practices and demands
compensation for the bogus DMCA notices Adobe sent to eBay. (Andy Maxwell torrent freak, 2020)
ETHICAL:
The first thing you see when you open Adobe’s ethics page found on the front page of Adobe’s home
website states, “At Adobe, good business begins with our commitment to the highest ethical standards.”
(Adobe, 2022)
Adobe takes its efforts seriously and is a leading example of diversity and workplace fairness. In Adobe’s
year-end review for 2021, Adobe sets what should be the standard for fortune 500 companies, stating:
“Adobe for All represents our vision for advancing diversity and inclusion. Everyone deserves respect
and equal treatment, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, cultural background, or religious beliefs. We believe that when people feel appreciated and
included, they can be more creative, innovative, and successful.” (Adobe diversity review, 2022). Adobe
For All is a program that inspires and encourages diversity in the workplace.

4. Page 4
The SWOT Analysis
HELPFUL HARMFUL
INTERNAL
STRENGTHS
1. Adobe is the leading application for
creative design apps and are the go-
to on Universities and Creative
colleges all over the country
2. Adobe created PDF’s and has
revolutionized the way we digitally
sign documents. Not only creating
more secure ways to sign official
documents but also reducing
environmental costs and reducing
environmental waste.
3. Adobe is a leading diversity
company. Making strides to
increase diversity in their
company, they have increased
the total number of US
employees who identify as URM
(US Race and Ethnicity at
Adobe) from 746 to 1,461
showing a 95% increase.
WEAKNESSES
1. Adobe Express continues to be a
weakness at Adobe. With
competition like Canva, Adobe tried
to compete with the creation of
Adobe Express. Adobe Express has
been unable to compete. Based on
ratings and reviews, Canva has
10528 reviews to Adobe Express’s
800.According to software Advice
Canva has significantly more users.
2. 88 percent of customer reviews on
trust pilot regarding Adobe’s
service are negative. (trustpilot,
2022) Most customers complaining
about monthly services and
obnoxious subscription fees that are
very difficult to cancel.
3. Adobes strategy of acquiring
Figma resulted in serious
backlash from wall street,
resulting in a 20 percent loss in
stock value. Regardless of
Adobe’s profit increasing by 15
percent from last year the stock
continues to lose value.
(Wallstreet Journal, 2022)

5. Page 5
EXTERNAL
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Although it may seem like a loss
now. The 20-billion-dollar deal
Adobe made to acquire Figma will
eventually result in strong growth.
Adobe can compete against Canva
and will continue to expand Figma
as a successful creation platform.
2. Competitors like Davinci Resolve
lack something strong that sets
Adobe a head. And that is ease of
access. Adobe makes it incredibly
easy for anyone to use the software,
providing easy tutorials and a lot of
extra handholding to get users
familiar with their product. Editing
software like Davinci and Apples
Black Magic do not do this, which
as a result is turning customers
away.
3. Adobe also continues to expand
it Ai technology. Constantly
adding easier and new ways to
improve its Ai tech.
Improvements to lightroom and
photoshop will make the photo
editing process much easier and
will bring tons of new customers
who were otherwise intimidated
by the difficulty of learning these
creative apps.
THREATS
1. Adobe may be leading in innovating
creative software. They should not
feel the need to compete so heavily
with software like Canva. So far, the
competition has cost them 20 billion.
2. There are becoming tons of free and
lower quality competitors that
Adobe must face. As we progress
technologically the creation of
newer and less expensive
competitors will always put Adobe
products on the decline with
consumers who aren’t willing to pay
Adobe’s steep prices.
3. Adobe Systems has a major debt
issue. With liabilities of US$6.93
of debit within a year, a debt
increase will drastically prevent
Adobe from growth. With debt,
comes limitations in planning
and compliance with business
change. (Yahoo, 2022)

6. Page 6
Conclusions:
Adobe has always been on top of sociological issues; this is something that sets the company out from its
competitors. With strong support for ethnic issues, diversity, and women in the workplace, Adobe is
constantly showing its support and getting involved with communities around such topics. Shantanu
Narayen states ““Adobe’s unwavering focus on people, purpose, and community has guided our evolution
and growth over the past four decades and inspires our over 26,000 employees to make an impact and
invent the future. We are committed to using our resources and unique strengths to help build a more
diverse and inclusive world “(Adobe diversity and inclusion year in review, 2022). It’s statements like
these that will allow Adobe to continue to be successful, matched with 13% revenue growth each year,
Adobe is a powerhouse.
Investors may have been upset with Adobe for the 20-billion-dollar acquisition of Figma, but the result of
this deal will only be positive. Adobe continues to advance their product line and will do so with Figma.
Combining Adobe’s and Figma’s communities will bring designers and developers close together to
unlock the future of collaborative design. (News.Adobe, 2022) Adobe’s stock is down now but it will rise
back up with their constant 13% percent growth per year estimation. Moves like these will continue to
push Adobe forward, the company continues to change, grow and adapt in the best possible way.

7. Page 7
References:
Adobe is rated "bad" with 1.3 / 5 on Trustpilot. Trustpilot. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022,
from https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.adobe.com
Adobe sued for sending 'bogus' DMCA notices to take down genuine software * torrentfreak. Go
to TorrentFreak. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://torrentfreak.com/adobe-
sued-for-sending-bogus-dmca-notices-to-take-down-genuine-software-200815/
Adobe to acquire Figma. Adobe. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-to-Acquire-Figma/default.aspx
Adobe unveils powerful new collaboration and AI capabilities in Photoshop. Adobe. (n.d.).
Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://news.adobe.com/news/news-
details/2022/Adobe-Unveils-Powerful-New-Collaboration-and-AI-Capabilities-in-
Photoshop/default.aspx
Adobe: Creative, Marketing and Document Management Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved November
3, 2022, from https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/cc/en/diversity/pdfs/adobe_diversity-
and-inclusion_year-in-review_fy2021.pdf
Communications, A. C. (n.d.). 15 mind-blowing stats about Adobe's impact on Environmental
Sustainability. Adobe Blog. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2021/06/04/mind-blowing-stats-adobe-impact-on-
environmental-sustainability
Dow Jones & Company. (2022, September 15). Adobe shares drop after Figma Acquisition
Announcement. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-09-15-2022/card/adobe-
shares-drop-after-figma-acquisition-announcement-
b4ZSOBPnK38CY2AcXcxy#:~:text=Shares%20of%20Adobe%20fell%2014,500%20and
%20the%20Nasdaq%20Composite.
Ethics and Integrity - Adobe Inc.. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://www.adobe.com/about-adobe/ethicsandintegrity.html
Miller, B. (n.d.). Adobe's FY2021 Diversity & Inclusion Year in Review. Adobe Blog. Retrieved
November 3, 2022, from https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2022/04/12/adobes-fy2021-
diversity-inclusion-year-in-review
Narayen, S. (n.d.). Adobe stops all new sales in Russia. Adobe Blog. Retrieved November 3,
2022, from https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2022/03/04/adobe-stops-all-new-sales-in-
russia
News. TorrentFreak. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://torrentfreak.com/

8. Page 8
Yahoo! (n.d.). Adobe (nasdaq:ADBE) seems to use debt rather sparingly. Yahoo! Retrieved
November 3, 2022, from https://www.yahoo.com/video/adobe-nasdaq-adbe-seems-debt-
093350997.html#:~:text=The%20latest%20balance%20sheet%20data,b%20due%20within
%2012%20months.