News Releases

Adobe PDF Server Solution from Adobe Systems and HitachiSoft
Well Received in Every Industry as a Security and Compliance Solution
Large-Scale Introduction by Ena City Government in Gifu,
and at Aflac, Otsuka, and Nippon Steel

TOKYO, May 12, 2005 The Adobe Document Server with Renopulse, a corporate server software product produced by Adobe Systems Co., Ltd., and HitachiSoft for the preparati on of Adobe®PDF (Portable Document Format) files, has been well received by the market and is being adopted by companies in many different industries to meet security and compliance needs for document creation and distribution. Most recently, the software was adopted by Ena City in Gifu Prefecture, which has incorporated five neighboring towns and villages, Aflac Japan, a major foreign-capital insurance company, Otsuka, a prominent information service company, and Nippon Steel, a leading steel manufacturer.

Adobe Document Server with Renopulse is a product that can realize a systems environment for the creation of Adobe PDF documents, at a low cost and in a short period of time. The product allows companies and organizations to create Adobe PDF documents using a simple operation from frequently used applications such as Microsoft® Office, by integrating the Adobe Document Server software and the Renopulse PDF Server series developed by HitachiSoft. Since the Adobe PDF documents produced can provide strong security settings to accommodate 128-bit encryption, they allow for electronic document management that meets an organization's needs for information security and compliance. Due to its wide applicability to various industries and sectors, this product has been adopted by many local governments and companies since its launch in September 2004, and has become an invaluable part of their business streamlining processes.

After introducing the Adobe Document Server with Renopulse, the Ena City Government, Aflac Japan, Otsuka, and Nippon Steel provided the following reviews of the product and explained the advantages they obtained.

Case Studies for Adobe Document Server with Renopulse

Ena City Government, Gifu Prefecture

In October 2004, Ena City merged with five neighboring municipalities. Since the city had decided to continue using its PDF-based electronic payment system after the merger, it first needed to introduce a PDF creation environment for the clients at the five new municipalities.

Based on this decision, the City introduced the Adobe Document Server with Renopulse, and realized a PDF preparation environment whereby all staff could use an electronic payment system. In addition to supporting a wide range of operating system versions, including Microsoft Windows® XP, 2000, and 98, the Renopulse/Extension Client using Adobe Document Server offered a licensing system that is not based on the number of users. Therefore, it was possible to inexpensively introduce software to all the PCs in the city government, even though they run on many different OS versions.

By implementing the Adobe Document Server with Renopulse, the City was able to maintain stable operation of its internal information systems during the merger, and was able to streamline administrative tasks such as management of paper documentation by using it in combination with Adobe Acrobat® documents that the City had been employing previously.

Aflac Japan

To comply with the Personal Information Protection Law that went into effect on April 1, 2005, Aflac Japan strengthened its security measures for electronic documents containing customers' personal information, such as insurance policies. Since these electronic documents are not only distributed in-house but also to its insurance agencies, the company wanted to strengthen its security measures and adopt the system in order to use Adobe PDF as the company's electronic document format. The benefit of this was that Adobe PDF supports 128-bit encryption and enables the viewing and printing of documents from any PC that has the free Adobe Reader software installed.

Since Renopulse/Extension Web using Adobe Document Server offered a licensing system not based on the number of users and enabled the use of the Web server environment, the installation costs were greatly reduced. Moreover, as Renopulse/Extension Web is a package product, Aflac Japan was able to carry out installation and operation startup in a short period of time.

In addition, since it provided a PDF creation function on the Web, an Adobe PDF electronic document environment was realized whereby users could learn to use the application with minimal effort.

Otsuka Corporation

To coincide with the implementation of the Personal Information Protection Law, Otsuka launched new security measures, adding the preparation of all documents to be sent outside the company in Adobe PDF format, which supports 128-bit encryption, to the delivery and storage of product specifications in Adobe PDF format, which had previously been prepared and submitted on paper by technical staff.

As a prerequisite to building this new system environment, Otsuka required that: (1) it could be used by all employees; (2) the installation costs would be low; and (3) a usable system could be implemented in a short period of time. Adobe Document Server with Renopulse was chosen as the product to meet these needs.

At the time of installation, the necessary client modules were put on the server, and by setting up a single server, an environment was created where all 6,000-plus employees could create Adobe PDF files. In addition, since the method for creating Adobe PDF files is so easy, the need for any special employee training was eliminated and the instruction effort was reduced by putting the users' manual on the Internet for employees to access.

As a result, the effectiveness of the in-house system was increased, and employee understanding of how to ensure document security was improved. In the future, Otsuka plans to apply the Adobe Document Server function to its estimate and internal memo systems, and to further improve the convenience of task performance, starting with the automation of PDF document creation.

Nippon Steel Corporation

As part of a corporate policy, Nippon Steel was working to strengthen its electronic document security in order to comply with various regulations and ensure the security of internal documents. Under this policy, Adobe PDF was adopted as the format to realize the prevention of information leaks through password encryption, and the avoidance of electronic document falsification, while in-house security policy establishment and employee education were carried out at the same time.

Along with these efforts, Nippon Steel decided to build a software environment for Adobe PDF creation. That was when the company discovered that the Adobe Document Server with Renopulse offered an easy-to-understand user interface, and simple setting of passwords and revision prevention on Adobe PDF documents, that anyone could perform.

Nippon Steel was able to realize the implementation of this system at 20 locations including its head and branch offices in a short period of time, just by providing a simple users' manual, and without any special training for employees.

Adobe Document Server

Adobe® Document Server software enables businesses to dynamically generate customized Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents for more targeted and effective customer communications.. In conjunction with the Renopulse PDF Server series, users are able to simultaneously convert a number of documents, prepared with a common application such as Microsoft Office, into Adobe PDF files with selected specifications. Security settings can then be established for the prepared Adobe PDF files.

Renopulse PDF Server Series

The Renopulse PDF Server series includes the client server version Extension Client product for users seeking operational performance, and the Web version Extension Web product, which requires no installation on the client PCs. When paired with Adobe Document Server, Adobe PDF documents can be produced from Microsoft Office products. Due to a licensing system that is not based on the number of users, this product can inexpensively create an Adobe PDF preparation environment that can be used by all employees.

Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems Incorporated is a world leader in the provision of software solutions for the effective preparation, management, and distribution of digital content with high a degree of reliability. Adobe Systems Co., Ltd., is the firm's Japanese headquarters. It is led by President Miki Ishii and headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. For further information visit http://www.adobe.co.jp/ on the Web.

Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd.

Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (HitachiSoft), led by President and CEO Takeo Ogawa and headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, was established in 1970 as the first software development company in the Hitachi Group and is now among the leading IT service companies in the industry. The firm mainly deals with basic software for mainframe computers and large-scale systems and networks for government agencies as well as the financial, insurance, and securities industries. In addition, the company has continued to take on new challenges in various fields such as business applications for multi-vendor, multi-platform open systems, the Internet, life sciences, and embedded technology. In July 2003, HitachiSoft became a master solutions reseller for Adobe. For more information on HitachiSoft visit http://hitachisoft.jp/ on the Web.

For inquiries about this news release, contact Adobe or HitachiSoft as shown below.

Ms.Yo Tsujimura, Public Relations, Adobe Systems Co., Ltd.
Tel: 03-5740-2622 Fax: 03-5740-2623

Mr. Toru Takehashi or Ms. Miki Takano, Corporate Communications, Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd.
Tel: 03-5780-6450, Fax: 03-5780-6455, e-mail: press@hitachisoft.jp

Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Adobe PDF 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. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners