Adobe 2004 Annual Report Download - page 10

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The opportunity for each of these document services, and our strategy to realize these opportunities is described
below in more detail.
Document Generation
There is a significant document generation market opportunity for transforming raw business data from
enterprise applications into visually rich, dynamic, customer-focused documents for delivery on most platforms. In
many cases, documents are the main source of interaction governments and businesses have with their constituents,
partners, and customers. Documents are used to generate revenue (such as catalogs, brochures, mailers), conduct
transactions (such as tax forms, invoices, loan documents and account statements), and transfer knowledge (such as
user manuals, product specifications and financial reports). We believe the key to producing documents that drive
business is an enterprise class document generation solution that takes content from multiple sources, dynamically
generates documents, and securely and reliably delivers those documents over a variety of systems and devices.
Our solutions for document generation are intended to: improve customer satisfaction by enabling customized
and personal dynamic document generation for multiple devices and platforms; ensuring that documents appear
exactly as intended and are protected from unauthorized changes; and reducing costs by automating document and
image production processes. We provide both desktop and server-based solutions for document generation.
On the desktop, the Adobe Acrobat product family creates Adobe PDF documents from everyday office
applications such as Microsoft Office, to specialized technical applications such as Computer Aided Design
(“CAD”) programs. In fiscal 2003, we expanded the Acrobat product line to three distinct products to meet the
needs of the different types of customers that require Acrobat functionality:
• Acrobat Elements ― a low-cost version of Acrobat that contains Adobe PDF creation features targeted for
enterprise knowledge workers. It provides easy, one-button Adobe PDF creation from Microsoft Office
applications such as Excel, Word, and Outlook, allowing knowledge workers to reliably share electronic
documents within and outside the walls of their organization.
• Acrobat Standard ― targets business professionals with its Adobe PDF creation, collaboration, and digital
signature features. Workgroups and entire enterprises can utilize Acrobat Standard to implement electronic
document workflow solutions that improve business processes.
• Acrobat Professional ― contains expert features targeted for customers such as Creative Professionals,
print service personnel, IT personnel, engineers, architects, and other similar users. They use Acrobat
Professional for advanced capabilities such as complex electronic document creation from multiple source
formats, pre-flighting of documents that are to be professionally printed, color separation preview and
output, electronic form creation, and one-button PDF creation from software applications such as
AutoCAD, Visio, and Microsoft Project. Acrobat Professional also contains all of the features found in
Acrobat Standard.
On servers, we offer a combination of products to generate documents in batch mode. Our server products
merge output, including XML-based data, from enterprise applications such as Customer Relationship Management
(“CRM”), Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”), content management, and legacy systems with highly formatted
document templates to generate personalized, reliable documents for print or secure electronic delivery.
Adobe server-based document generation products include:
• Adobe Acrobat Distiller Server
• Adobe Acrobat Elements Server
• Adobe Central Pro Output Server
• Adobe Document Server
• Adobe Output Designer
• Adobe Output Pak for mySAP.com
• Adobe Output Pak for Oracle e-Business Suite
• Adobe Web Output Pak