“Adobe Acrobat provides us with the flexibility to meet all of the format and document security requirements for the (United States Patent and Trademark Office) USPTO,” says Lauren Sindt, information disclosure statement (IDS) and reference management paralegal team leader at CPA Global. “With Acrobat, we can meet stringent specifications on document formatting and encryption with just the click of a button.”

With secure PDF files, CPA Global helps prevent disclosure of unfiled patent information, enables the easy reuse and reorganization of pages in long files, and helps identify errors and omissions in documentation.

Learn more about CPA Global and how Adobe Acrobat works for them by clicking here.

Author: Ali Hanyaloglu

Each ad mechanical we produce is a PDF document that moves through our workflow from start to finish. The entire production cycle is documented using Adobe Acrobat.  We time-stamp, log, and track production responsibilities and review cycles. Review cycles go faster as team members no longer have to decipher handwriting and can layer comments together within the file.

All of our print coordinators then run the files associated with an ad through a customized Acrobat preflight process that vets the mechanical for the requirements of hundreds of different publications. Everything is checked in great detail—ink density, dots per inch, missing fonts—you name it.

Our customized workflow is great because it allows us to take advantage of the out-of-the-box functionality of Acrobat   yet combine it with our own in-house production system. It gives us an enterprise-scale solution at low cost of ownership. Our users have more control and our IT professionals worry less about inadvertent errors.

Now, four print coordinators handle the workflow that previously required dozens of people working multiple shifts. We’ve eliminated the use of third-party software for checking final specifications, boosted the degree of quality assurance and predictability, and we’re getting closer to a paperless environment.

The main competitive differentiator for us is this turnkey automated workflow. It delivers highly repeatable, flexible, trusted outcomes that keep our clients happy. It also provides us with a strong sense of confidence and pride about our production services.

Adobe Acrobat brings a Zen approach to our project workflow; managing the job is easier and our employees are more productive.

Bill Lunsford, DBA, Graphics Manager, BBDO

Read the full story here: http://adobe.ly/O8XiSH

General Director Roberto Colletto of Piscine Castiglione says navigating through the detailed product information is quick and easy, “Moving from one section of the document to another is very similar to web navigation. The functionality of Adobe Acrobat X helped us develop a brochure that makes it easy for sales staff to communicate with customers efficiently, with accuracy, and leverage high-quality images and videos for more dramatic impact.” The company has even seen routine requests for additional information from customers drop because the interactive catalog covers so many topics in great detail.

For Piscine Castiglione, the Adobe solution has enhanced the impact of presentations by sales agents to customers and resellers. Now, agents can bring laptops or tablets along to sales calls and show customers polished, multimedia presentations on demand. With the help of Adobe Acrobat X Pro to create and deliver powerful product information, Piscine is further strengthening its image as an industry leader and innovator. Says Colletto, “Using Adobe Acrobat X…nicely mirrors our commitment to innovation.” To learn more about Piscine Castiglione and its use of Adobe Acrobat X, click here.

Ali Hanyaloglu, senior marketing manager, Acrobat Solutions

What’s more, IT life isn’t likely to get any simpler. The perfect storm looks to be on the horizon. A recent study by the Accenture Institute for High Performance and reported by Mike Vizard of ITBusinessEdge suggests that IT departments are “likely to be shaped more by forces outside the control of the IT organization” than by the IT department itself.

While we wait for the big blow, there are a lot of squalls IT has to navigate just to get through the day. I came away from some recent customer visits with this list of IT challenges they face:

• Demonstrate the ROI of all technology investments.
• Ensure solutions don’t indirectly drive up the cost of IT, such as more help-desk calls, unnecessary additions to the IT footprint, or difficult deployments which strain IT resources.
• Buy solutions that fit within the IT infrastructure. Because of the large investment within existing systems, any solution that doesn’t fit within the established standards requires a very strong business justification.
• Acquire programs that can enhance the value of existing infrastructure by driving higher usage are appealing.

So why make IT more complicated than it needs to be? Companies like yours have standardized on Adobe Acrobat to address many of these pain points. They simplified the licensing that supports enterprise-wide deployment and with that software license management. They benefit from enterprise-wide maintenance and support that helps them get the most out of the investment. Plus, Acrobat integrates easily to the IT environment.

For example, Arup, a global engineering and design firm, standardized its operations on the latest version of Acrobat using the Adobe enterprise license agreement (ELA) to distribute software to employees worldwide through the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager suite—a virtual software store. Arup employees can simply request Acrobat, submit the request for approval, and IT support will download the software directly to their desktops in an automated process.

For RSM McGladrey, a tax and assurance consultancy, the enterprise program with Adobe streamlined Acrobat licensing and deployment on an ongoing basis. Today, the company spends about two hours annually tracking and updating Acrobat software licenses—a 98 percent decrease over the previous time spent by IT.

Similarly, since moving to the enterprise contract, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has reduced IT maintenance and administrative costs because everyone throughout the agency is using the same version of Acrobat. In addition, predictable budget requirements result in more effective fiscal planning.

Bottom line, by standardizing on Acrobat across your IT environment you can save a lot of time and money. Check out the Adobe ELA to see where you can cut costs and save time.

Mark Grilli, senior director of Acrobat Solutions product marketing

One of the ways that Epona sets itself apart from other IT consultancy firms is by concentrating on enhanced collaboration across its diverse workforce and clients worldwide. Epona president Bart van Wanroij recently talked with us about how the company is using Adobe Acrobat X Pro with Microsoft SharePoint, saying “Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft SharePoint are unparalleled at enabling more efficient collaboration.”

Epona is staying at the forefront of technology by operating in a cloud-based environment that helps safeguard proprietary information. Adds van Wanroij, “Working with SharePoint-hosted, Adobe PDF files, teams collaborate seamlessly in cloud-based environments as they share, review, and comment on materials.”

Today, Epona converts many of its business documents to PDF and uploads them to Microsoft SharePoint, as part of a process that not only saves paper, but also speeds up review and approval because all documents are centrally located and easily available in a single, reliable file format.

With Acrobat X, Epona is using a lot less paper, helping the company realize cost savings and environmental sustainability goals. By taking advantage of the PDF workflows supported by Acrobat X and Microsoft SharePoint, Epona is improving productivity all around. For instance, the company has found that fewer employees can now manage ten times more accounting transactions per month, thanks to the new efficiencies.

To read more about Epona and its use of Adobe Acrobat X Pro with Microsoft SharePoint, check out the full story here.

Nexen used Adobe Flash Builder and Adobe Creative Suite software, including Adobe Flash Professional and Dreamweaver, to create a central online portal for storing important documents for seamless, dependable access to information and even travel planning from anywhere. The online portal also dramatically decreased errors in contractor applications, which greatly reduced employee turnover.

Equally important, the project management portal simplified delivering critical project information to managers, employees, and contractors, keeping all parties up to date on any changes or project developments. Using the dynamic online portal, project updates can be communicated more securely in real time, eliminating delays. As a result of Nexen adopting Adobe software throughout its organization, the company is improving worksite efficiency, enhancing employee safety, and completing jobs faster. To learn more about Nexen and its use of Adobe Acrobat Pro and other Adobe solutions, click here: http://adobe.ly/GKawiU.

Using Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Creative Suite, we’ve developed vast amounts of interactive
content—rich with video, high-definition images, and deep product information—to make our
message clearer and more readily available across a variety of devices. The simple integration
between Adobe products has enabled us to create e-brochures, marketing materials, and other
product content, as well as repurpose other projects.
Using interactive electronic documents, has enabled us to convey more information to medical
professionals and patients in a much more understandable way—making both doctors and
consumers more comfortable with and confident in the therapeutic products offered. For
example, if there is an update to product information, we can quickly change the materials
without generating twice as much printed literature for the product—something our customers
and the environment can appreciate.

We recognize how impactful dynamic PDF documents are when we present a new product to
medical professionals and their clients, helping them understand the true value of the product. By
incorporating video content into a set of product instructions, we can show—beyond just the
written word—the proper ways products should be administered. Additionally, 256-bit
encryption technology helps to ensure that documents are more secure and that the message
being received is as close as what we’re trying to communicate as possible.

—Marty Hardin, SVP, Director of Emerging Media and Technology, Palio

Palio appreciates the intuitive design and functionality of Adobe software, which has enabled print designers at the agency to create interactive materials with minimal support. Using Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium, print designers can add interactive elements and animations to documents that enable sales representatives to deliver dynamic, engaging presentations conveniently on tablets and other devices to quickly gain attention.

Palio is also experimenting with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to further simplify publishing dynamic, engaging content across devices. To learn more about how Palio uses Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium, and Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to help reach a variety of audiences, click here.

For employees, standardizing desktops has offered additional flexibility and functionality to keep the business moving forward. Canon employees leverage the “quick tool” function in Acrobat X to tailor the toolbar for job-specific use—placing the most frequently used capabilities at employee’s fingertips. This functionality has helped improve employee efficiency, accelerate training, and reduce support costs.

Adobe Acrobat also helps improve collaboration across project teams worldwide with dependable PDF documents. With the majority of collateral originally developed at Canon’s headquarters in Tokyo and customization occurring locally, commenting and markup features enable local managers to note changes to materials, and securely share collateral with agencies for layout—creating a seamless workflow. To learn more about Canon and its use of Adobe Acrobat X, click here.

To help achieve that goal, the innovative firm adopted Adobe Acrobat software to accelerate assembling case documents, more securely redact information, improve collaboration across legal teams, and support completing and processing business forms. In just assembling case documents alone, the firm is using Acrobat to cut the time needed to build and repaginate case books from hours to minutes.

An added advantage of using Acrobat is the ability to more securely share information across legal teams, inside and outside the firm. In addition to reliably redacting sensitive content from case documents, the firm’s staff can encrypt and password protect PDF files that are delivered to outside teams, helping better safeguard sensitive case details. For Herbert Smith, Acrobat is becoming an integral tool to support many everyday operations at the firm—to learn more about the time and efficiency gains the busy legal teams at Herbert Smith have achieved click here: http://adobe.ly/mPRhPl