Adobe Adds Mobile, Collaboration Capabilities In New LiveCycle Release

Adobe Systems is shipping a new release of its LiveCycle development platform with new mobile and real-time collaboration capabilities.

Adobe said the focus of LiveCycle Enterprise Suite 2.5 is helping developers build rich Internet applications that businesses use to better serve their customers.

"Our big bet is really around customer experience management," said Ben Watson, principal marketing manager for enterprise user experience, in a phone interview.

The new mobile capabilities are perhaps the most significant addition to LiveCycle ES2.5, according to Watson. The LiveCycle Mobile Client ES2.5 extends process management, data capture and content services to mobile devices such as Android, BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows devices and links them with back-end systems.

LiveCycle ES2.5 also makes it easier to embed real-time collaboration capabilities, including chat, voice, video and application sharing within rich Internet applications, Watson said. The new software also includes the ability to build application links to Microsoft SharePoint 2010.

NEXT: New Solution Accelerators Boost Development Efficiency

Adobe also unveiled three new solution accelerators that run on LiveCycle and help businesses reduce development times. They include a correspondence management solution accelerator for creating personalized correspondence such as a customized claims letter; an interactive statements solution accelerator for developing customer bills and statements; and a managed review & approval solution accelerator that allows multi-party participation in content review processes.

The announcements were made this week at Adobe MAX, the company's worldwide developer conference in Los Angeles.

Adobe plans to further extend its customer experience management offerings though its planned $240-million acquisition of Day Software, a developer of Web content management tools.

Earlier this week Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen denied speculation that his company might be in talks with Microsoft for the software giant to acquire Adobe. The two companies have been discussing ways to cooperate to blunt Apple's growing domination of the mobile phone market.