But things have been changing fast in that company and the dramatic changes they kicked off in the digital publishing world in the 1990’s are being duplicated in the collaboration, content management and application development worlds.  This post provides a few opinions on those areas.

Collaboration:

• I’m not sure what the largest single collaborative environment is, but a contender must be Defense Connect Online.  DCO has about 150,000 registered users and does about 20 million meetings per month.  This system scales well.  DCO is based on Adobe’s flagship collaboration tool, Adobe Connect.  Connect works via your web browser.   It is built to leverage the Adobe Flash player that is probably already in every browser you have.   It provides well thought out web conferencsing, eLearning, web seminars, document sharing, application sharing, video and of course audio.
• Adobe has built a collaborative tool that has been proven to meet the needs of the smallest and largest groups.

Content Management:

• Adobe continues to enhance Adobe Acrobat and many other capabilities related to content creation, development, dissemination and rights.  PDFs can now contain 3D renderings, videos and all sorts of other content.  The Army sends GeoPDF DVDs to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan already, and many advanced 3D modeling and mission rehearsal capabilities are provided right in PDFs now.  Flash and Flex can also be used in PDFs (see section below on Application Development).
• Adobe’s enterprise class content management and business process system is Adobe LiveCycle.  LiveCycle and PDF together have a comprehensive solution for solving many content deployment issues including security, accountability and need to share.  LiveCycle provides an end to end solution for creating, editing and sending info forward to others using defined policies where there can be confidence in the identity of senders, the authentication of the receiver, the authorization of their user, the logging/auditing of their activity, and the enablement of their offline use.
• LiveCycle enables workflow development and deployment that goes across boundaries in your organization, as well as to other organizations outside your firewall (customers, suppliers, clients, users, employees).   LiveCycle software is a server based solution that blends data capture, information assurance, document output, process management and content services to help create and deliver applications.
• Adobe also builds in enhanced document security for information sharing and content management. Imagine having information you provide to a customer and then when you want to remove that customers ability to read that info, for what ever reason, you do so. Or you give info to a customer or external partner and want to limit who else can see it. That can be done as well, which, although this sounds counter to information sharing guidance, actually will increase the amount of info that can be shared, since now there will be less fear of compromise.

Application Development:

• For years, Adobe has provided web developers with capabilities for rapidly developing and fielding applications to any user with a browser.  Flash has an incredibly low barrier to entry and low cost of deployment and low total cost of ownership.
• But Adobe now provides development solutions that are changing things in even more positive ways.  Adobe Air, for example, allows developers to use the same skills they learn in web development to field desktop applications.   It is a runtime environment that lets developers build rich Internet applications that run outside the browser in multiple operating systems. Adobe Flex is a free open source framework for enterprise applications that is based on the same application development and deployment principles as Air– Flex dramatically accelerates the ability to deploy applications in an enterprise (I have built Flex applications myself- it is really easy to work through examples and tutorials provided in the SDK).
• While on the topic of application development I should mention the fact that there is no such thing as perfect code. Even code you write might need to be updated or patched one day to deal with a new threat. So, even good code like those provided by Adobe needs a good management system in place to ensure it is well maintained and, when required, patched.
  

The “So-What” for CTOs:

• Adobe has adopted a philosophy of being able to work with every other capability in the IT stack. So if you are using Sharepoint or Oracle Fusion Middleware or Java or Endeca or whatever else, Adobe is likely going to work just fine.
• It is certainly ok to think of PDF when you think of Adobe.  It is a great, open format.  But think also of the other great enterprise-class capabilities they are providing.
• Stand by for change.  We IT folks are used to change.  But Adobe is helping kick off change that goes far beyond the IT department.  When users are empowered with capabilities like these they quickly learn that they can band together to serve the mission in ways that their bosses never predicted.  This can produce significant workflow changes.  User empowerment is coming, and once this revolution gets underway it will set off second order requirements we should be anticipating now:  like the need for always on five-nines comms to every device everywhere.  No one is going to want to be disconnected ever again.  Tolerance of IT department performance “issues” will become lower and lower and lower.
• Stand by for faster application development/deployment.  Imagine deploying applications in a third the time you used to.
• Get ready for new ways to empower decision-makers.  For example, consider using these content management systems to create dynamic dashboards for decision-makers.  A dashboard that auto-synchs with a server can provide decision-makers with always updated information.

Concluding Thoughts:

There are some big moves afoot in the enterprise IT world. Enterprises everywhere, including, the federal enterprise, are making pushes to be more open and transparent on items that should be open and more secure and protected on items that need to be kept private. These mega trends are important factors that will keep driving IT forward. Adobe seems well positioned to serve as these trends continue.
http://ctovision.com/2008/06/enter-my-office-using-adobe-acrobat-connect/

With Connect Pro, Adobe has combined its multimedia features to allow businesses and individuals the world over an opportunity to present, demonstrate, teach, train and collaborate in a secure, real-time virtual environment. Adobe Connect Pro has set the high-water mark for web conferencing programs. By building upon its Flash technology, which is installed on 98% of internet-connected computers, Adobe has managed to integrate audio, video, chat and advanced web demonstration and collaboration features that can be seen and heard by virtually everyone.

Conferencing Features:

The appeal of web conferencing has been that, unlike its peers and predecessors ,telephone and video conferencing, it allows its host to present, demonstrate, lead whiteboard sessions and interact with his audience using materials and methods that have, despite advances in information technologies, remained in offices and meeting rooms. Adobe Connect Pro delivers on this promise.

Adobe Connect Pro creates a conference room that audiences, co-hosts and participants can access through a unique URL. There, slideshows, demonstrations and presentations can be given, with hosts lending audio commentary, highlighting information or sections using various tools and even delegating different responsibilities and tasks to designated parties such as answering questions from attendees or cueing different materials.

Audio/Video Features:

With Adobe Connect Pro’s Turbo Screen Sharing feature, which boasts an exceptionally low bandwidth consumption rate, rapid multi-media and video are displayed at real-time proficiency. Adobe Connect Pro supports audio and video streaming, which are integral to any true web conference or interactive whiteboard session.

With integrated audio conferencing, hosts can control audio conference calls directly through the meeting room. There, a central point for scheduling meetings and web and phone services can be synchronized for maximum proficiency.

One of the few weak points of Connect Pro is in its outsourcing of integration to Premiere Global Services, Avaya and Cisco MeetingPlace. However, this also enables hosts to shop around for better rates between the 3 companies, potentially saving them a considerable amount of money in the long run. Moreover, with the development and refinement of VoIP technology, Connect Pro users can also use VoIP services in lieu of call-in/call-out or other telephone methods.

Security Features:

Though Adobe offers Connect Pro licenses to businesses that wish to run it using their own servers, one of Connect Pro’s greatest strengths comes in the form of Adobe’s Connect Pro server, which provides 128-bit, end-to-end encryption and is DCTS JTIC certified.

To protect meeting spaces from security threats, Connect Pro requires user authentication, taking additional steps to increase security by providing password strength optimizers for presenters and attendees alike.

With advanced controls, hosts and presenters can pick and choose all levels of attendee access, from media files and voice privileges to select controls. In addition to this feature, Adobe Connect Pro keeps full logs of meetings including date, time and source information and even audits them for potentially malicious use or data corruption.

Summary:

Adobe has set the web conferencing standard with Connect Pro, building on the strengths of its other ubiquitous multimedia software programs to provide a web conferencing suite that can be accessed and used by virtually anyone with an Internet-connected computer. In delivering a program that is seamless from beginning to end and is further reinforced by expansive resources and help/support materials and portals, Adobe Connect Pro has set the standard for web conferencing.

Top TenReviews

Formerly known as Macromedia Breeze, Adobe Connect is a software used to create information and general presentations, online training materials, web conferencing, learning modules, and user desktop sharing. The product is entirely Adobe Flash based. All meeting workspaces are organized into ‘pods’; with each pod performing a specific role (i.e. chat, whiteboard, note, etc.)

http://ahussam.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/the-beauty-of-adobe-connect/

Acrobat Connect Pro 7.5 can now hold webinars or online lectures for as many as 80,000 participants, up from just 1,500 before. That ’s more people than most football stadiums in the U.S. can seat.It’s certainly bigger.

Acrobat Connect Pro’s expanded audience size could be useful for companies or governments holding public events, or universities hosting large freshmen lectures.

Acrobat Connect Pro can now also stream telephone-based audio to participants listening on a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) line. Connect Pro meetings is also more tightly integrated with teleconferencing services such as Premiere Global Services, Meeting One and a new partner, InterCall, Arun Anantharaman, vice president for Adobe’s Connect Pro group, said in an interview.

The latest version also lets users schedule meetings from inside IBM’s Lotus Notes, in addition to Microsoft Outlook.

And it now also lets hosts create white-lists of apps that participants can share during Web meetings.

One of the advantages Acrobat Connect Pro offers, according to Peter Ryce, a technical evangelist for Adobe, is the ubiquity of the needed Flash player, which Adobe said is deployed on nearly 99% of all PCs. Many corporate PC userss are blocked from installing additional apps or plug-ins that would be needed for competing webconferencing services, he said.

Adobe is getting Flash onto many other devices. For instance, Playstation 3 owners can use their Flash software to join a Connect Pro meeting. Adobe has also created an iPhone app for Connect Pro so users can attend Web meetings via their smartphone. The app is in the process of being approved by Apple’s App Store, Ryce said.