Tech-inspired Prestige Group Marches into Future

India’s leading real estate developer delivers superior quality design content using Adobe Creative Cloud for teams



The Prestige Group (Prestige) is one of the leading real estate developers in the southern states of India working across the residential, commercial, retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors. Since its inception in 1986, Prestige has completed 177 projects which include apartment enclaves, shopping malls, and corporate structures, across all asset classes.

Prestige is a long-time Adobe customer, using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator as key business software in various stages of project execution. In the initial stage of idea creation and project conceptualization, the design team makes a presentation of project concept. “It’s a collage of various photos and ideas to depict the overall project,” says Aditya Muley, Business Development and Design Manager at Morph Design, part of the Prestige Group. “In this stage, we use Photoshop extensively to edit multiple photos from the inventory and also from the Internet.” The team also uses Illustrator if there is a need to create ideas from scratch. “Illustrator is useful when there is a requirement to create wall paper and other designs of interior items,” says Muley.

Once the concept is approved, the property floor plan and the layout is developed using AutoCAD or 3ds Max software. In this stage of concept development, the Prestige design team once again uses Photoshop extensively. “We use Photoshop to import or edit photos, provide multiple textures to the layout, add special effects, and finally to design different views, such as a top view or side view,” says Muley.

Maintaining Version Consistency with Effective License Management

Although the firm has been using Adobe creative tools rigorously, there were multiple challenges in terms of using the latest versions of these tools and managing the licenses. “Our traditional approach was to install new versions one, two, or three seats at a time. As a result, we might have designers using one version and the architect team using another, which could cause IT administration issues associated with maintaining multiple software versions,” says Venkat Rao, General Manager, IT, Prestige. “We wanted our employees to uniformly use the latest and leading-edge solutions.” The use of the latest versions of the creative tools was vital for Prestige also from a compliance point of view.

Prestige decided to adopt Adobe Create Cloud for teams. “For a rapidly growing firm like ours, the biggest challenge is giving everyone access to the latest software and then tracking application allocations,” says Rao. “That’s why we were excited when we heard about the automated administration in Adobe Creative Cloud for teams. “Prestige also realized that the latest versions of Adobe’s creative tools offer incredible integration, more features, and a greatly advanced yet familiar user interface with which its designers can work with higher efficiency. “As the designers work on the latest versions of the software, the incompatibility issue was automatically resolved to work in a collaborative environment,” says Rao.

Streamlined Migration Process

The migration to Adobe Creative Cloud for teams went smoothly. Post-implementation, Adobe held multiple training sessions for the design team on the usage of Adobe Creative Cloud tools.

Now with simplified access to all of the components in Adobe Creative Cloud for teams and no lag time between versions or upgrades, the designers are always updated. Adobe Creative Cloud for teams gives Prestige upgrades of the software upon release of new versions, plus exclusive features between releases, enabling them to stay up to date on the creative tools integral to their daily workflow.

Multiple new features of Adobe Creative Cloud tools are of great value to Prestige. Adobe Photoshop CC features include effects such as sun glare or artificial light, the ability to edit background and insert images, and ease of obtaining multiple views, which are extensively used by Prestige. “With Photoshop CC, one can directly edit and import textures into AutoCAD or 3ds Max,” says Muley. With Illustrator CC, Prestige can create new images from scratch, which can then be enlarged to a larger size and sent out for printing. “We are thrilled with the newly added features of Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC,” says Muley. He further added that in fact, with access to the latest versions of the software, we are empowered to experiment and invent new ideas in project design and execution.

Helping ensure security and integrity of design using Adobe Acrobat

During various stages of the project; from conceptualization to design to execution, multiple project designs are required to be shared with internal and external groups of users for review and acceptance. Thus, helping ensure the security and integrity of these designs is vital. Also, sharing AutoCAD or 3ds Max design files with a wide group of users created issues. “We wanted the final output to be secured and optimized in its size in order to share it with the internal or external users,” says Muley. Prestige effectively addressed these challenges by standardizing on Adobe Acrobat.

The company has become more productive by adopting Adobe Acrobat. With Acrobat, Prestige can collaborate on projects across teams and with clients more easily. “We have never faced compatibility issues and the overall workflow has greatly improved with Acrobat,” says Muley.

Simplified Management, Big Savings

The streamlined deployment and administration in Adobe Creative Cloud for teams has greatly helped the IT team at Prestige to eliminate many time-consuming manual processes, such as installing packaged software or maintaining version consistency.

“We no longer need to perform updates one by one on machines as we now have the flexibility to install software onto computers on demand and activate new subscriptions as needed,” says Rao. Adobe Creative Cloud for teams has helped Prestige raise the productivity of the IT team by simplifying software administration with license management, automatic tracking, and version upgrades.

Adobe Creative Cloud for teams eliminates the need to manage software upgrades. Every employee has automatic access to the latest versions, which supports compatibility between workers. With access to the latest Adobe products via Creative Cloud for teams, the company can take advantage of new features without worrying about the cost of upgrades.

For Prestige, Creative Cloud for teams has significantly reduced the total cost of ownership for Adobe solutions by creating a standardized model for purchasing and deploying the most current versions of Adobe Creative Cloud tools. “We like paying annually for Adobe Creative Cloud for teams. It’s a much more effective approach to budgeting as it eliminates lump-sum software purchases,” says Rao.

Scalable solution for future expansion

With better control and higher visibility on license utilization, Adobe Creative Cloud for teams is a scalable solution. “As our design and architect teams expand, Creative Cloud for teams readily supports us as licenses can be added on the fly without major cost implications,” says Rao.

Adobe Creative Cloud for teams helps support the company’s rapid growth and its ability to efficiently manage the workflow of large and complex real estate projects. “Adobe Creative Cloud for teams helps us become more productive by simplifying software administration with license management and automatic tracking,” says Rao. “The predictable, easily managed model in Creative Cloud for teams allows us to budget for software purchases accordingly and grow as our team grows.”