IT firm Adobe Systems today launched the new version of its Acrobat XI software, which will help users create, collaborate and edit PDF documents across devices, including smartphones and tablets.
The new software will now feature Portable Document Format (PDF) editing and export to Microsoft PowerPoint, along with new capabilities and functionality designed for tablets and mobile devices, like touch-friendly capabilities allowing users to add comments, fill in, save and sign forms.
“The compounding complexity of work has never been more pressing. As the number of mobile devices and the use of cloud services surge, information workers must be empowered to work more effectively with documents anywhere on any device.
“Acrobat XI is designed to help people collaborate inside and outside organisation,” Adobe Managing Director (South Asia) Umang Bedi said.
While Acrobat Reader is available for free download, Acrobat Standard will be priced at Rs 19,227. Acrobat Pro will be priced at Rs 28,803 and all the software will start shipping within this month.
Talking about Acrobat software, Umang Bedi said 98 per cent of internet-connected PCs globally have Adobe’s PDF solutions installed (Acrobat or Reader). Also, 41 million Acrobat units have been sold till date.
Adobe is betting big on the Indian workforce, a significant portion of which today works from remote locations.
According to a survey by Adobe, nearly 50 per cent of respondents said they spend at least one-quarter of their time at work on document-related issues and 62 per cent said they were highly concerned about a breach in document security.
About 47 per cent said they have already faced a security breach.
Also, 68 per cent said they use their smartphones/tablets to access documents, while 58 per cent said they already use their devices to create, manage and review documents.
Interestingly, 90 per cent said they believed that in the near future they will use smartphones and tablets to create, manage and review documents, which would translate into a big business opportunity for companies like Adobe.