On Monday, Adobe took that strategy to the next level, launching a Web-based package -- at a price -- that will enable companies that offer PDF-formatted forms online to have people fill out and digitally sign them electronically.
Where computer users previously had to print out PDF-formatted forms and submit the completed documents by fax or post, the new Adobe software aims to keep the entire process online.
Adobe's move could give a boost to digital signatures. Approved by federal law two years ago, they have yet to make major headway in the online business world.
"This is going to enable all kinds of transactions online that weren't possible before," Bruce Chizen, Adobe's chief executive, predicted in an interview. Everything from contracts to tax forms can be signed online with Adobe's new product.
San Jose-based Adobe said it would begin selling its new Acrobat for Web server package to businesses and government agencies by year's end at prices beginning at $20,000.
An estimated 400 million computers worldwide have Adobe's free Acrobat Reader. But in order to write to PDF documents, users need a full version of Acrobat, which costs about $250.
In order to take advantage the new, server-based Acrobat, consumers need only the latest free version of Acrobat Reader, said Julie McEntee, Adobe's director of product marketing.
Several businesses and government agencies are testing the server product, Chizen said.
With the Web server product, Adobe is making an aggressive push into the corporate market at a time many businesses are reluctant to spend on new technology. Adobe, though, expects the product to realize big benefits for businesses in reducing paperwork and lowering administrative costs.
"Most business have already made huge technology investments in their back offices; this is a way to connect those back offices with the front office," Chizen said.
Bundling and selling the Acrobat software on Web servers threatens to cannibalize some of Adobe's sales in the desktop market, but it's a risk worth taking, given the potential size of the corporate and government markets, said IDC analyst Joshua Duhl.
"They figure to get more bang for the buck in a higher-end market like this," Duhl said.
Adobe geared up for this push in April by buying an electronic paper provider, Accelio Corp., for $70.2 million.
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