Adobe's Acrobat Act Adds Flash

The real format war isn't between OOXML and ODF, it's OOXML vs. PDF. Today, Adobe launched a devastating attack against Microsoft.

As long had been anticipated, Adobe has added Flash to PDF creation—and much more. The move extends PDF beyond its paper origins firmly into the digital realm. Microsoft lags far behind. Today Adobe announced Acrobat 9 and Adobe Reader 9, with support for PDF with Flash.

For years, I've contended that Microsoft's real file format competitor was PDF and not Open Document Format. PDF is a productivity format, too, but one often ignored when analysts evaluate Microsoft file format competitors. There's misguided perception that businesses largely need just one file format. For productivity documents, PDF also is widely used, just often ignored in analysis of the competitive desktop. In fact, I assume that PDF penetration, among businesses and consumers, is at least as great as Microsoft binary file formats and a whole lot more than Office Open XML.

There are reasons why Microsoft has so recently launched so many healthcare initiatives, for example. It's not for love of doctors. Healthcare is an enormous Adobe stronghold, bolstered in part by government regulations. For example, pharmaceuticals submit drug trial information to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration digitally, in PDF format. Elsewhere, PDF/A, the archival version of the format, is endorsed by U.S. National Archives.

Acrobat 9 takes PDF someplace Microsoft simply isn't ready to compete. Flash also is everywhere and now it's ready to spice up digital documents, to truly transcend any paper origins. Microsoft has XPS (XML Paper Specification) and Silverlight, but the two lack the market penetration or creation tools of Acrobat, AIR, Flash and Flex.

Adobe's Acrobat 9 approach highlights the flaws in Microsoft's desktop, digital content creation strategy. Adobe has done much better building tools supporting its principal file format. Microsoft has too many tools producing content for too many silos, such as animation and Web site creation. Adobe tools embrace similar developer and content creation domains, but with pull back to its principal file format.

Adobe and Microsoft both share fault. Adobe took too long incorporating Flash into PDF. Competitively and customer constructively, Adobe should have reached this pinnacle one product version ago. Microsoft should have known that Adobe would incorporate Flash into Acrobat, supported by PDF. Adobe has set up Flash to invade the desktop even more strongly, right smack where the injury will competitively be greatest for Microsoft. Meanwhile, Silverlight chases Flash on the Web.

Microsoft's near obsession with attaining ISO standardization for OOML may be part of the problem. The priority should have been extending the utility of Microsoft desktop formats in areas where Adobe was sure to go and which made more sense for customers—incorporation of animation and collaboration elements into Office file formats. There, Microsoft relied too much on PowerPoint and SharePoint, methinks. Adobe has got a more elegant solution that doesn't require the purchase of new server software, although it's an option.

Acrobat 9 also extends earlier collaboration features and, more importantly, support for disparate file types. Since version 7, Acrobat has allowed end users to put together documents from almost any source and save them as a single, PDF file. So a PDF file could include a CAD drawing, Excel spreadsheet, Web page and Word document that anyone could collaborate on using Adobe Reader. Acrobat 9 motif "PDF Portfolios" extends the multi-document, multi-format support concept.

Microsoft executives harp on about the company's software-plus-services strategy, but too often the approach is server software plus services. Many new desktop features require purchase of additional server software. While Adobe also pushes server software, Acrobat provides collaboration and other non-traditional document creation features as part of Acrobat. Today, Adobe also launched Acrobat.com in beta, providing facility for more easily sharing and collaborating on PDF files. I'll more fully comment on the new service in a subsequent post.

Today's Adobe announcements further advance the company's near-certain enterprise collision with Microsoft. I give this round to Adobe, which has provided facility for creating more modern, digital documents. Surely, the transition was difficult for Adobe, which built its Acrobat and PDF businesses around mimicking paper documents. Surely there were cultural and management obstacles to change.

Competitively, Microsoft simply has nothing comparable to offer, unless SharePoint and supporting server software are considered. But SharePoint and supporting Microsoft software make for a hefty infrastructure upgrades. And Adobe's tools are better honed for truly digital document creation.

Microsoft should never have let Adobe move so swiftly and so far into Office territory. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates long ago identified the importance of controlling file formats. Perhaps Adobe is learning too well from Microsoft and accordingly applying the lessons.