Adobe Summit: Virtual event stresses importance of digital business and experiences

Adobe's annual Summit event, which was set to take place this week in Las Vegas, was one of the many tech conferences cancelled in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In lieu of the live event, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and a handful of executives released prerecorded videos to provide customers an update on the company's strategy and a look at several products in the pipeline. 

Boiled down, Adobe's strategy hinges on the shift to digital business and experiences. Narayen stressed the importance of digital transformation in the current business environment, and highlighted the way Adobe is helping brands digitally engage with their employees and customers.

"From the ways technology is shaping our daily life, to the digital behaviors we track online, we're in the center of a digital revolution that is shaping our strategy," Narayen said. "With Document Cloud, we accelerate document productivity, even when your teams can't meet in person. And with the Adobe Experience Cloud, we power digital businesses, helping you design and deliver experiences that drive profitability and loyalty."

The Adobe Experience Cloud is one of the key pillars of Adobe's master plan. The Adobe Experience Platform, which unifies data management, segmentation, and data science across the Experience Cloud, acts as the foundation for all the applications and services in the Experience Cloud. Anil Chakravarthy, newly minted EVP and GM of Adobe's Digital Experience Business, said in his keynote video that Adobe's technology vision comes together as the Experience Cloud.

"As we look at the full picture of the Adobe Experience Cloud, we have the application layer, which has the Marketing Cloud, the Analytics Cloud, the Advertising Cloud, and the Commerce Cloud," said Chakravarthy. "This brings together all the capabilities you need to deliver exceptional experiences."

Chakravarthy also announced the general availability of two new Experience Cloud services: Customer AI and Attribution AI.

Customer AI aims to help businesses uncover specific customer segments, and then target each of those segments with the right marketing campaigns. Attribution AI is meant to help companies see the conversion impact driven by owned, earned and paid media, and to make informed resourcing decisions. 

Chakravarthy said Adobe has three additional AI services on the roadmap for later this year, including Journey AI, Content and Commerce AI, and Lead AI. Each of these services focuses on optimizing the customer experience. 

Finally, Adobe introduced the new Customer  Experience Management (CXM) Playbook, which will give businesses a tangible plan for executing digital transformation strategies. 

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