Every day, thousands of overnight envelopes criss-cross the globe, many containing critical business documents that require someone’s signature. Adobe’s document solutions have historically helped organizations turn inefficient, paper-based workflows – like overnight envelopes – into streamlined electronic ones.  Today, we’re adding a key component to our document exchange services platform that addresses the need to provide better customer experiences by significantly reducing the time, cost, and complexity associated with getting a document signed.

Adobe announced today that we have acquired EchoSign, the leading Web-based provider of electronic signatures and signature automation. EchoSign’s pioneering electronic signature solution will be a key component of Adobe’s document exchange services platform for reliably exchanging documents for universal access, review and approval. It will be integrated with Adobe’s other document services including SendNow for managed file transfer, FormsCentral for form creation and CreatePDF for online PDF creation, enabling customers to significantly accelerate sales cycles, improve tracking and centralize the management of signed agreements through a simple to use cloud service.

With just one click, the EchoSign electronic signature solution automates the entire signature process from the request for signature to the distribution and execution of the form or agreement. The EchoSign solution provides a secure subscription-based service to individuals, SMBs and enterprise customers, enabling real-time visibility into the signature process and automatically storing and managing all signed documents. What’s more, there’s nothing to download or install.

The EchoSign service includes a rich set of APIs for incorporation with company-specific solutions to improve the process of sending, tracking and signing documents online. The EchoSign service integrates with partner solutions, such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite.

We think that bringing together EchoSign’s ease of use with Adobe’s brand, reach, and trust in the document space makes for a perfect match. Our aim is to make electronic signatures the common way for people to sign documents.

Kevin M. Lynch, vice president and general manager of Acrobat Solutions, Digital Enterprise Solutions, Adobe

Adobe Acrobat X  is one of the best tools for organizing and documentation around.  But are you using it to the fullest capacity?  The publishers at Peachpit have created ‘Adobe Acrobat X Classroom in a Book’ to help users optimize their Acrobat experience, and you could win a copy of your own!  Just jump on your Twitter account and tune in for a series of helpful tips & Acro-facts – ReTweet our #DidYouKnow posts and you can be our lucky winner!

Beginning today, Friday, July 15^th, and running until the 22nd, any Acrobat follower who ReTweets our ‘#DidYouKnow’ posts will be entered into a random drawing to win a copy of ‘Adobe Acrobat X Classroom in a Book.’  Peachpit provides this informative and entertaining source of Acrobat info online and as a hard copy, and now’s your chance to win it just by ReTweeting.

Adobe Acrobat X Classroom in a Book is a valuable resource, so don’t miss your chance to get a free copy.  Head on over to the Acrobat Twitter account now.
Be sure to pay attention to the Acrobat account for your chances to RT, and follow us for more information and of course winner announcements.

The contest opens 9 a.m., Friday, July 15th, 2011, and closes 2 p.m., Friday, July 22^nd, 2011. The prize drawing will occur on or before 5 p.m., July 22^nd, 2011, with the winner announcement occurring that day as well. The drawings are open to residents in North America only.

Acrobat product evangelist Ali Hanyaloglu chats with Chris Le Tocq from Crimson Consulting on the recently published report that shows how Acrobat X is a strategic choice for enterprise-wide productivity gains. Check out the full interview on our YouTube channel:

Hungry for more? Download the free report and a cost savings calculator from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/productivity-whitepaper.html

Brad Arkin, Sr. Director of Product Security and Privacy, chats about Adobe’s strategy in the security space and discusses how application security has been updated to include Acrobat 10.1 in this new video:

Still hungry for more? Don’t miss next week’s Tech Talk on Acrobat X and Protected View – learn how the sandbox works and how it can protect you from internet attacks, June 28, 10 a.m. PST. Learn more here.

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate the birth of a technology that helped change the world

On June 15, Adobe Acrobat and PDF celebrate their 18th birthdays. Turning 18 is pretty significant. There are lots of things you can do at 18 that you couldn’t before. Like all the great new features and capabilities Acrobat has acquired over the years. But that’s for another blog.

Today, we want to celebrate. It would be nice to take Acrobat and PDF out for an evening on the town, for instance, but that’s not likely, of course. Instead, we’ve come up with a few ways you can celebrate this important milestone on your own, or with colleagues and friends, perhaps. All in good fun, naturally.

1. Play PDF Scavenger Hunt – Pick a document, the bigger and more interesting the better. Convert it to a PDF if it’s not already. Then create a list of words and race to find them first using the search tool.

2. Host a Shared Wisdom Meeting – If you’re more inclined to celebrate quietly, we suggest a Shared Wisdom Meeting. This one is great for an interactive lunch setting. Here you and your friends share your best Acrobat tips and tricks gleaned over the past 18 years. Use audio and video, collect your wisdom in a PDF Portfolio and share with colleagues.

3. Rent an Inflatable Jumper – This may be a stretch, but if you’ve never bounced around in one of these inflatable “rooms” it’s worth it to try your best Acrobat-ics.

4. Movie Night – Did you know you can incorporate video, 3D, maps, full-color graphics, photos, and more into PDF files? Yes, that means you can enjoy a movie or your favorite YouTube videos in the comfort of your own PDF!

5. Hawaiian luau – Maybe there’s no official Acrobat or PDF connection, but why not design your invites in PDF?

6. Host a Costume Party – Be anyone you want to be! PDF files are viewable and printable on virtually any platform. Create PDF “masks” with redaction capabilities. Give your PDF Portfolios “costumes” by adding your own logos and image with customization capabilities.

7. Take a Weekend Road Trip – Take lots of photos and keep a journal, then create a PDF Portfolio of your road trip memories.

8. Office Challenge – If you’re the competitive sort, try the shared document reviews marathon (track participation, comments…); or an interactive PDF Forms Relay for tracking and managing responses.

9. Toga Party – These are always fun. Bring a bottle or two of Acrobat wine along to impress your friends. If you need tips watch National Lampoon’s “Animal House.”

10. PDF-a-Palooza – Host a digital marketing party by grabbing your cool artwork and ads and editing your favorite customer photos in Adobe Photoshop. Present your best work to senior management in PDF!

There you go: 10 ways to celebrate Acrobat and PDF with Acrobat and PDF. What will you do to celebrate? We’d love to hear from you! Share your favorite PDF feature or celebration idea with us on our Facebook wall.

Stephanie Baartz-Bowman, principal product marketing manager, Acrobat