Adobe Launches Online Office Suite and New Flash-Enabled Acrobat 9
Back in March, we said Adobe was slowly building an online empire. Today, that news turns out to be true. Adobe is has just launched their version of an online office suite available at Acrobat.com, complete with word processor …
Context & Ripple Effects
Adobe had already been pushing web documents through Buzzword and Share, and March coverage framed those moves as an effort to build an online presence beyond its desktop software. Acrobat.com turns that direction into a named web destination rather than a collection of document tools.
The paired Acrobat 9 release also connects Adobe's document format to Flash, while Adobe's earlier online-expansion strategy supplied the broader rationale: make Adobe's tools and formats useful wherever work is done.
First-order effects
- Acrobat.com gives Adobe users a browser-based place to create and work on documents, extending Adobe's reach beyond installed Acrobat software.
- Flash-enabled Acrobat 9 makes the Acrobat release a vehicle for richer document experiences, tying Adobe's document and Flash technologies more closely together.
Second-order effects
- Adobe must support a product experience spanning web tools and desktop Acrobat, making interoperability between its online service, document format, and Flash capabilities a central product requirement.
- Users evaluating Adobe's document tools gain an alternative that combines web-based work with Adobe's established document software, increasing pressure on standalone desktop-centric workflows.
Third-order effects
- If Adobe continues moving document creation and sharing onto the web, its competitive position will depend less on one-time desktop releases and more on control of connected services and widely used document technologies.
The trend: Adobe is moving from boxed document software toward web-delivered collaboration built around its document and media platforms.