Adobe Systems Incorporated today introduced Adobe
Acrobat (R) Elements Server, new software that provides customers
greater control over the deployment and maintenance of Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) generation across the enterprise. The product
joins the company’s comprehensive line of Adobe PDF creation
applications, including Acrobat Elements 6.0 desktop software. Now,
organizations have the flexibility to offer PDF generation via the
desktop or server, based on specific IT and document process needs.
Using Acrobat Elements Server, IT managers can centrally deploy
PDF creation capabilities across a company without the need to manage
additional client software on the desktop. Through a selection of user
interfaces — the Web for uploading documents, email aliases for
sending attachments, or watched folders for drag-and-drop submissions
— the product enables Adobe PDF conversion from a variety of common
file types. Using the Web services API, Acrobat Elements Server also
can be integrated into more complex document creation and assembly
workflows driven by enterprise content management systems.
“Enterprise document automation requires document services, such
as document generation, to be centrally managed, yet easily accessed
by end users and customized by IT managers and enterprise systems,”
said Tim Hickernell, vice president, META Group. “Server-based
document creation decreases deployment and support costs and optimizes
document generation performance.”
Regardless of deployment method, Acrobat Elements Server provides
IT administrators the flexibility and power to control the nature of
PDF files generated by certain departments, or the entire company, to
ensure they meet specific document generation requirements. For
example, a finance department may need 128-bit encryption placed on
all PDF files or a marketing communications workgroup might require
press-ready PDF documents. In each case, Acrobat Elements Server can
be configured to automatically deliver the desired result and help
maximize productivity.
“Wharton faculty, students and staff rely on Adobe PDF for sharing
information across the enterprise,” said Kendall Whitehouse, director
of Advanced Technology Development for the Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania, which enrolls thousands and employs
hundreds across 11 academic departments and 17 research centers. “For
a global organization, with faculty and students frequently studying
and working across the continent and around the globe, the flexibility
of offering server-based PDF creation via the Web from anywhere, at
any time and on any computer will be invaluable.”
Acrobat Elements Server supports Adobe PDF conversion from
numerous desktop file types, including Microsoft(R) Word, Excel and
PowerPoint(R), Corel(R) WordPerfect(R), Adobe Photoshop(R) and many
popular image formats. Like the entire Acrobat 6.0 family, Acrobat
Elements Server generates high-quality Adobe PDF files based on the
latest version of the PDF specification.
After an Adobe PDF file is generated by Acrobat Elements Server
and returned to the requestor, it can be more securely and reliably
distributed to colleagues, partners and customers across the extended
enterprise. To view and print PDF files created by the product, users
can employ free Adobe Reader(R) software. The company has distributed
over half-a-billion copies of Adobe Reader since its 1993
introduction.
Pricing and Availability
Acrobat Elements Server for Windows(R) 2000 (SP4), Windows 2000
Server (SP4), and Windows XP Professional (SP1) is available through
Adobe’s Open Options licensing programs, and will be sold on a
per-user and per-server basis. Pricing begins at US$28 per user for a
1,000 user license or at US$22,500 per server. Acrobat Elements Server
will be available in English only and is expected to ship by the end
of November 2003. For more information, please visit
www.adobe.com/products/acrobatelserver. Customers in North America can
call 1-866-766-2256.
