Adobe FrameMaker Streamlines Network Publishing; SAP Labs, Marconi, Microsoft Press, Moody's Investors Service, and Orange and Santa Clara Counties Rely on FrameMaker.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2001

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE), the leader in network publishing, today announced Adobe(R) FrameMaker(R) and FrameMaker+SGML(R) software, is being widely adopted in multiple industries to streamline network publishing business processes. FrameMaker is a powerful, enterprise-class authoring and publishing solution which enables companies to efficiently manage the entire process of authoring and publishing long, content-rich documents across multiple media, with industry standard technologies, including Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Publishers can re-purpose content and streamline workflows, and output to Adobe PostScript(R) language and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Examples of new FrameMaker customers and their applications include:

SAP Labs 

SAP Labs is a U.S. division of SAP AG that handles software design and engineering, and, through the Simplification Group, also produces the SAP Made Easy line of guidebooks that support SAP products. The SAP Made Easy guidebooks simplify the process of implementing and using SAP products and solutions for customers, consultants and employees. From its formation at SAP Labs, the Simplification Group has produced manuals in Adobe PDF, as well as in printed form, and has recently migrated to FrameMaker 6.0 for its versatile cross-media publishing capabilities. Because FrameMaker files easily output to Adobe PDF files, SAP Labs can use a single format to quickly produce identical manuals for print and the Web.

Marconi

Marconi, a communications technology provider, uses FrameMaker+SGML to create complex technical documents that can be up to 4,000 pages in length. Documents are authored and then converted to XML and Adobe PDF files. With PDF files, field technicians and customers can use wireless devices to access and search for specific portions of Marconi user manuals, installation guides and repair manuals.

"FrameMaker produces reliable output that enhances the quality of the XML data stored in Marconi's database systems," said Beverly Hrablook, director of global standards for Marconi's IT Global Solutions group. "In addition, FrameMaker's support for XML will provide significant time savings by allowing us to produce reliable technical documentation that can be assembled quickly by pulling XML data directly from our database."

Microsoft Press

Microsoft Press publishes graphically rich books and interactive training aids supporting Microsoft products whose content needs to be reused for publishing in different formats including eBooks. With FrameMaker's XML capabilities, different elements -- such as heading, paragraph or graphic -- receive a tag that describes it, resulting in a repository of reusable, tagged document elements. The data can then be reused to quickly and easily create self-tests and eBooks for other publishers.

"FrameMaker+SGML gives us important extras like a structured document view, on-the-fly validation, and the ability to publish to XML or PDF files," said Patty Gardner, program manager for Microsoft Press editorial. "This is much faster than re-entering book information or having to painstakingly cut and paste."

Moody's Investors Service 

Moody's Investors Service, a provider of credit ratings, research and analysis, uses Adobe FrameMaker+SGML to support complex document publishing that includes text, graphics and sophisticated tables. The ability to output to file formats including XML, SGML, and Adobe PDF significantly speeds report generation. Before FrameMaker, it took weeks for Moody's to revise and publish its credit opinion handbooks; now it only takes a few days.

Orange County and Santa Clara County

For California's Orange and Santa Clara Counties, budget reports provide taxpayers with detailed spending analysis packed with charts and complex formatting. By using FrameMaker, the integrity of documents saved as PDF files is preserved so that the reports can be re-published as a mirror image of the original, and can be easily distributed over the Web or in print for mass viewing by taxpayers.

"FrameMaker is a key component in the development of our automated database publishing solution," said Mitch Tevlin, manager of budget development services for Orange County. "Previously, our word-processing program could not reliably format our 500-plus page budget workbooks. With FrameMaker, formatting is no longer an issue."

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com) builds award-winning software solutions for network publishing, including Web, ePaper, print, video, wireless and broadband applications. Its graphic design, imaging, dynamic media and authoring tools enable customers to create, manage and deliver visually-rich, reliable content. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Adobe is the second-largest PC software company in the U.S., with annual revenues exceeding $1.2 billion.