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IBM and Adobe Join Forces to Deliver Enterprise Solutions Based on Document Services

Posted on: Monday, 20 October 2003, 06:00 CDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. & ARMONK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2003--Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and IBM today announced that the two companies have signed an agreement to develop solutions to help customers improve data capture, document generation and delivery across the enterprise, by creating intelligent, digital document processes. This agreement expands the current relationship to include joint sales and marketing of document services to the enterprise.

This expanded sales, marketing, and development relationship brings the breadth of Adobe's document services together with the cross functional scalability of IBM software offerings to customers worldwide. Combining these technologies into a heterogeneous infrastructure enables organizations to integrate document intensive processes into new next-generation computing environments. As part of the expanded agreement, the two companies will further integrate technologies across IBM's portfolio of software offerings, beginning with IBM's DB2 Content Manager and DB2 CommonStore for SAP, and moving to integration with IBM's WebSphere and Tivoli software brands.

"Documents are a key currency of business and the ability to digitize, centrally store and manage them enables businesses to respond to employees, customers and business partners faster and with more efficiency," said Steve Mills, IBM senior vice president and Group Executive, IBM Software. "Adobe's server products and PDF technologies, along with the over half a billion copies of the Adobe Reader distributed around the world, make Adobe an important partner for developing solutions to manage business content in an on-demand environment."

The first phase of IBM and Adobe's software agreement has been the integration IBM DB2 Content Manager with Adobe(R) Form Server, Form Designer and Reader(R), allowing forms to be created, managed and processed within DB2 Content Manager environments. The joint solution will integrate capabilities for intelligent Web-based forms giving organizations and governments the ability to automate their existing paper-based processes. This expanded relationship broadens Adobe's customer base and expands IBM's Enterprise Content Management capabilities.

For example, applying for a mortgage has traditionally been a highly manual, labor-intensive process where information is captured, duplicated and communicated on paper. With IBM DB2 Content Manager middleware, Adobe Reader on the front end, and PDF as the interactive format for delivering a personalized mortgage agreement, the entire process can be completed on and off line. Because the entire workflow is electronic, overall processing, storing and retrieval costs can be lowered and the disparate content of the application can be unified into one format and digital process.

"IBM is widely recognized as the leader in enterprise infrastructure and its commitment to delivering solutions for an ever-dynamic marketplace is the future of enterprise computing," said Bruce Chizen, president and CEO, Adobe. "With Adobe's expertise in document technologies and IBM's breadth of distribution channels the companies will deliver document services that empower organizations to more efficiently manage information between people and processes to produce measurable business results."

This press release contains forward looking statements, including those related to Adobe's product offerings, the performance and capability of Adobe's products and the benefits derived by customers from utilization of Adobe's products and solutions, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the ability to integrate Adobe's products with IBM's middleware and platform technologies and respond to evolving customer requirements, the ability of Adobe's products to deliver the return on investment or other benefits identified, introduction of new products by existing and new competitors, delays in development or shipment of our new products or major new versions of existing products, difficulties in transitions to new markets, including the enterprise, government and corporate business markets, and lack of market acceptance of new products and upgrades. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, individuals should refer to the Adobe's SEC filings, including the 2002 annual report on Form 10-K and 2003 quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Adobe does not undertake an obligation to update forward looking statements.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology (IT) company and provider of IT services. IBM and its partners provide their clients with a complete range of products in advanced information technology: from hardware and software through services and complex application solutions through to outsourcing projects and training facilities. Additional information can be found at www.ibm.com.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com) offers a comprehensive line of software for enterprise and creative professional customers. Its products enable customers to create, manage and deliver visually rich, compelling and reliable content. Based in San Jose, Calif., Adobe is one of the world's largest software companies.

Adobe, the Adobe logo and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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