Adobe Software - Adobe Technologies

Adobe Systems announced early this week new enterprise document control software, dubbed the Adobe Policy Server, and PDF Job Ready v.1.6 (formerly PDF Transit) for Internet printing and online document delivery.

With the new Policy Server product, according to Adobe, enterprises "can build document services to effectively manage document policies with powerful capabilities for controlling authentication, auditing, expiration and revocation."

"Threats to intellectual property and propriety information have organizations struggling to safeguard their business critical data from intentional theft and unintentional misuse," said Paul Proctor, vice president of security and risk strategies at META Group. "Additionally, new regulations such as HIPAA requiring the privacy and confidentiality of corporate and customer information, place increased demands on organizations to protect and control this data in the enterprise. Enterprise level document control has never been more critical."

Adobe explains the functionality of this latest component of its Intelligent Document Platform:

Adobe Policy Server gives document authors and IT administrators the power to dynamically control who can view a PDF document, and determine whether the recipient can modify, copy, print or forward the document. Moreover, these permissions can be changed after the document has been distributed. Adobe Policy Server provides assurances that only intended recipients can open a protected document inside and outside the firewall. Documents can be made to expire on a specific date, or if need be revoked immediately, regardless of how many copies were distributed. Because Adobe Policy Server enforces usage policies, documents do not need to be redistributed if a policy is changed.

Adobe will be pilot testing Policy Server this summer, and expects to have it available by the end of 2004.

Formerly known as PDF Transit, the renamed PDF JobReady is available as a Software Development Kit (SDK). It lets OEMs and systems integrators build desktop solutions that allow users to easily and reliably create print-ready PDFs, and then send them directly via the Internet to a print shop.

According to Adobe, the essential features in PDF JobReady 1.6 include:

seamless one-click 'print-ready' PDF creation from any authoring application based on pre-configured settings from the print provider
the ability to proof print jobs from the desktop
secure 40-bit encryption file delivery

PDF JobReady also features client-side Job Definition Format (JDF) creation to drive process automation and ensure reliable communication between creative professionals and print providers.

"We've rebranded Adobe PDF JobReady to make clear its increasingly important role in professional print workflows," said James Alexander, director of product management, Publishing Technology and Services at Adobe. "Through technologies such as Adobe PDF JobReady and partners like Datalogics, Adobe PDF has established itself as the premier format for delivering print jobs, securely and with the highest possible quality."

Adobe also announced an expanded partnership with Datalogics, a leading provider of publishing solutions, to deliver Adobe PDF JobReady licensing, maintenance, and customer support for systems integrators and print service bureaus worldwide.