Adobe launches LiveCycle ES 2

Adobe's LiveCycle platform lets firms build applications for process automation

Adobe will today unveil an updated version of its LiveCycle Enterprise Suite (LiveCycle ES), designed to help organisations create more interactive applications that make use of LiveCycle's business process automation capabilities.

LiveCycle ES 2 will be announced at Adobe's MAX conference in Los Angeles, and is due before the end of 2009, according to Adobe. Already out in a beta release, the new version has been developed in response to feedback from Adobe customers and industry trends, the company claimed.

"People now expect applications to be easy to use, so there is a bigger focus on user experience," said Rupert Knowles, enterprise consultant at Adobe.

Because of this, LiveCycle ES 2 features an integrated development and design process that enables a designer creating the user interface to work more closely with those building the application.

"We have created a link between what the designer does and the developer," said Knowles.

LiveCycle ES 2 also integrates more tightly with other Adobe technologies, such as Flash and PDF, he added.

As a demonstration of LiveCycle ES 2's potential uses, Adobe showed a mock-up application for paperless bank statements, where the user receives an interactive statement by email built around Flash and AIR technologies, protected using two-factor authentication with digital certificates.

The end user would not need anything other than the standard Adobe Reader to view the document, according to Knowles.

Among the new features in LiveCycle ES 2 is the ability to extend business processes out to smartphones. LiveCycle Workspace ES 2 Mobile supports Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry and Windows Mobile handsets.

"Your boss could be on the golf course, get a message about your expenses claim, look at a PDF of the form and then approve the claim on the spot. It allows you to use mobile to engage with enterprise applications," said Knowles.

A LiveCycle ES 2 plug-in for Adobe Flash Builder 4, which is currently in beta, will also let developers seamlessly embed LiveCycle ES 2 technologies into Flex-based applications, according to Adobe.

Also new is Launchpad, a desktop client that provides access to LiveCycle services, described by Knowles as "very easy" and involving simple "drag and drop".

LiveCycle ES 2 also has forms automation to enable customers to build wizard-based data capture forms, an improved set of solution accelerators, pre-defined building blocks and guides to speeding up development time.

A cloud deployment option for Adobe LiveCycle ES 2 is expected sometime in early 2010.