SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Feb. 17, 2004-- Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced new enterprise document control software that enables organizations and governments to apply persistent confidentiality, privacy and accountability to electronic documents inside and outside the firewall. With Adobe Policy Server, enterprises can build document services to effectively manage document policies with powerful capabilities for controlling authentication, auditing, expiration and revocation. "Threats to intellectual property and propriety information have organizations struggling to safeguard their business critical data from intentional theft and unintentional misuse," said Paul Proctor, vice president of security and risk strategies at META Group. "Additionally, new regulations such as HIPAA requiring the privacy and confidentiality of corporate and customer information place increased demands on organizations to protect and control this data in the enterprise. Enterprise level document control has never been more critical." This new document services technology is the latest addition to Adobe's Intelligent Document Platform for generating, collaborating, processing and securing intelligent documents in the enterprise. Adobe Policy Server provides new enterprise document control that enables organizations to protect intellectual property, help comply with regulations to better protect individual and corporate information, and reduce communication costs by diminishing the need to send sensitive information on paper via physical delivery. Additionally, the software offers a more secure, easy-to-use solution that integrates with existing enterprise IT investments in document and user management, helping to lower total cost of ownership. Adobe Policy Server gives document authors and IT administrators the power to dynamically control who can view a PDF document, and determine whether the recipient can modify, copy, print or forward the document. Moreover, these permissions can be changed after the document has been distributed. Adobe Policy Server provides assurances that only intended recipients can open a protected document inside and outside the firewall. Documents can be made to expire on a specific date, or if need be revoked immediately, regardless of how many copies were distributed. Because Adobe Policy Server enforces usage policies, documents do not need to be redistributed if a policy is changed. For example, a manufacturer sends a product plan to one of its authorized partners to review. If the partner forwards the plan to an unauthorized recipient, that person will not be able to open the document. Similarly, a bank can send statements as protected PDF email attachments to its customers, regardless of the customer's email client or platform. When the customer opens the statement, it looks identical to its paper counterpart, and it can be saved for viewing offline. "Building on the inherent document security capabilities in PDF, the Adobe Policy Server delivers ground-breaking advancements in corporate confidentiality and consumer privacy for our customers," said Ivan Koon, senior vice president, Intelligent Documents Business Unit at Adobe. "From intellectual property to personal identity to national security, this new software allows organizations to extend their investments in Acrobat and PDF technologies to protect sensitive information in any form." With more than half a billion copies of the free Adobe Reader® distributed to date, the Adobe Policy Server harnesses the ubiquity of the Reader and the powerful capabilities of PDF for secure delivery of business documents. The software offers a more secure and easy-to-use solution that integrates with an organization's existing authentication, policy, content and document management systems, as well as with user management directories, including LDAP, ActiveDirectory, and email directories. The Adobe Policy Server will be piloted during summer 2004, and available by the end of the year through Adobe's desktop and server product line for automating document processes in organizations and governments worldwide. For more information regarding Adobe's document control technology and security solutions, please visit www.adobe.com/security. Pricing will be announced with availability in late 2004.