What does the Adobe compliance audit cover?

Adobe audits the deployed Creative Cloud, Acrobat, Experience Cloud, and Substance 3D footprint against the contracted ETLA seat count and module entitlement portfolio. The audit pulls deployment data from the Adobe Admin Console, the Creative Cloud Desktop Application, the License Management Service (LMS), and the Adobe Sign reporting framework against the contracted commercial framework.

What is the Adobe ETLA?

The Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) is the Adobe upper enterprise commercial framework. The ETLA contracts a documented seat count across Creative Cloud, Acrobat, Experience Cloud, and Substance 3D entitlements on a multi year coterminous commitment. The ETLA commercial framework prices on named seat at the contracted product entitlement level, with a documented annual true up against deployed seats.

How does Adobe pull the deployment data for the audit?

Adobe pulls the deployed footprint from the Adobe Admin Console named user provisioning, the Creative Cloud Desktop Application install reporting, the License Management Service (LMS) device serial reporting, and the Adobe Sign reporting framework. The audit compares the deployment data against the contracted ETLA seat count and product entitlement portfolio. The buyer side framework audits the deployment data quarterly against the contracted seat count.

What is the typical Adobe audit exposure at the upper enterprise scale?

Adobe audit exposure typically lands in the eight to twenty five percent range against the contracted ETLA commitment at the upper enterprise scale, driven by named user provisioning drift, machine code device deployments above the contracted device seat count, Acrobat seat drift, Experience Cloud product entitlement drift, and Substance 3D deployment drift. The buyer side framework reduces the exposure with quarterly internal audits.

How does the buyer handle Creative Cloud named user drift?

Creative Cloud named user drift is the most common Adobe audit exposure axis. Named user provisioning inside the Adobe Admin Console drifts as departed employees retain provisioned seats and as new joiners are provisioned without deprovisioning departed users. The buyer side framework audits named user provisioning monthly against the contracted seat count and deprovisions departed users inside thirty days of termination.

What is the Adobe machine code device license framework?

Adobe machine code (formerly device licensing) prices Creative Cloud on a per device basis rather than per named user. Machine code deployments target shared workstations in education, lab environments, and shared creative environments. The audit framework tracks device serial numbers against the contracted device seat count. Device count drift above the contracted seat count drives audit exposure.

How does the buyer protect against Adobe audit penalties?

Contract documented commercial framework definitions for named user provisioning, device deployment, product entitlement portfolio, true up cadence, and audit notice and response windows inside the Adobe ETLA original order form. Run quarterly internal audits against the contracted seat count and product entitlement portfolio. Deprovision departed users monthly. Audit device deployments quarterly.

When should the buyer start the Adobe audit defense program?

On the ETLA signature date, not at the audit notice date. The buyer side framework runs monthly named user audits, quarterly device audits, and quarterly product entitlement audits from day one of the contracted Adobe ETLA commitment so the documented audit defense response is ready before any external audit notice arrives.

Adobe Compliance Audit Defense (Download)

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