Adobe Systems Incorporated has introduced Adobe Document Center, a new hosted service that enables knowledge workers to protect, share and track the usage of its PDF, MS Word, and MS Excel documents as part of day-to-day communications and collaboration.
The web-based service enables business professionals to grant and revoke access to documents distributed inside or outside the firewall, as well as audit actions such as opening, adding comments, or printing documents. Users can also set expiry dates on documents, supersede an older version once a new version is distributed, and revoke access after distribution. They can also track the recipients of the document and what they have done, or attempted to do with the files.
"Business collaboration relies on exchanging important information between companies. Individuals in SMBs, however, often have difficulty controlling information once it has been distributed. Other security solutions offer control only for the first time a file is accessed by recipients, leaving critical documents such as proposals and legal agreements vulnerable to being shared further without the knowledge of the author," said Tom Hale, senior vice president, Knowledge Worker Business Unit, Adobe.
Business professionals can create PDF files and through a new one-click connection to the service easily apply security settings to documents to protect Word and Excel 2003 files. Users will soon have to ability to convert files to PDF and apply security and control settings to them directly from Adobe Document Center.
An Adobe ID will enable recipients authenticate themselves with a password each time they view a document and ensure that the email address matches the one indicated by them earlier.
The company has also announced Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server 7.2, an enterprise solution to protect and control documents. It is a license-based enterprise rights management solution that enables organizations to protect and control documents across multiple formats including PDF, Word, Excel, and Dassault Syst m CATIA V5 through their entire lifecycle.
Available now, the company is offering a free trial of Adobe Document Center for policy protecting an unlimited number of documents. The commercial release of Adobe Document Center is expected to be available in English in early calendar 2007 for a special six-month introductory subscription price of $19.99/ month, or $199/ year per user. The introductory subscription enables users to protect up to five documents for a period of one year. Pricing after the introductory period will be announced at a later date. Additional language versions are expected in 2007. The ability to convert files to PDF and apply security and control settings to them directly from Adobe Document Center is expected to be available in early 2007. Adobe Reader 8 is expected to be available in early December 2006.
