Adobe made some pretty big announcements over the last year. First was the news that Adobe retired its “LiveCycle” brand; the enterprise suite which encompassed document workflow and rights management features. They further explained that all LiveCycle capabilities are now incorporated within Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform (ADEP), their customer experience management (CEM) platform. Most notably, a post issued last month in Adobe's Enterprise Blog stated, “The Adobe LiveCycle business will continue to pursue enhancements and new customers in select verticals such as government and financial services” and that “we will continue to support customers in all verticals.”
Our interpretation is that Adobe is now maintaining current LiveCycle customers while encouraging them to upgrade to newer versions of the software. Customers are still able to upgrade to the latest capabilities available for their specific LiveCycle module, as well as purchase additional modules to expand their applications.
What does this mean for customers who just need to deploy DRM functionality in the Adobe Reader? ADEP is a comprehensive content management system for enterprise customers who need an end-to-end solution; but it can be overkill for someone just looking to distribute documents securely.
As one of a select few Adobe Security Partners licensed to load “security handler” plug-ins in the free Adobe Reader, FileOpen offers a targeted DRM solution which you can integrate into your existing workflow. As we demonstrate below, there is quite a bit of overlap between Adobe LiveCycle’s DRM feature set and FileOpen’s. We’ve put together a comparison chart to help in determining if migrating from LiveCycle to FileOpen makes sense for your organization.
|
FileOpen DRM Solutions
|
Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management ES
|
|
|
Licensing Methods
|
||
|
Client/Server Based Licensing
|
Yes
|
Yes |
|
Software as a Service (SaaS)-Based Licensing
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Authentication
|
||
|
User-Based Identification
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Computer-Based Identification
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Domain Authorization
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Smart Card Authentication
|
No | Yes |
|
Cookie-Based Authentication
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Policy Management
|
||
|
User/Role/Group-Based Access
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Create New Policies
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Change/Revoke Access
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Usage Logging & Metering
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Copy/Delete Policies
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Add/Remove Policy Administrators
|
No | Yes |
|
Rights
|
||
|
Offline Viewing
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Open/View Rights
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Print Count
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Copy/Paste Rights
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Embargo/Expiration Rights
|
Yes | Yes |
|
View/Print with Watermark
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Screen Grab Protection
|
Yes | No |
|
Protected Changes
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Version Control
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Security
|
||
|
Encryption Levels
|
128-bit RC4, (128/256-bit AES Q1 2015) |
128-bit RC4, 128/256-bit AES
|
|
Key Management
|
Pseudo Random Number Generator
|
Pseudo Random Number Generator
|
|
Integration
|
||
|
Enterprise Directory/LDAP Integration
|
Yes | Yes |
|
Client side integration (components, plug-ins, etc.)
|
Solutions available with and without client integration.
|
Website’s certificate must be installed to access Rights Management ES through the client applications.
|
|
Operating System (Encryption)
|
Microsoft® Windows Server®, Sun™ Solaris™, Linux ®, freeBSD®, HP_UX®, .NET, JAVA
|
Microsoft Windows Server, Sun Solaris SPARC®, IBM® AIX®,Red Hat®,SUSE®
|
|
Application Server
|
Any Application Server
|
IBM WebSphere®, Oracle® WebLogic, JBoss®
|
|
Operating System (Client)
|
Windows, Mac OS , Linux
|
Windows, Mac OS , Linux
|
|
Supported File Types
|
PDF, Excel, Word (Powerpoint Q1 2015) |
PDF, Excel, Word, Powerpoint and CAD files
|
|
Supported Devices
|
Desktop and Mobile OS (iOS**, Android**) |
Desktop and Mobile OS (iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile)
|
|
Pricing
|
||
|
Direct Licensing
|
FileOpen DRM Solutions are available as a hosted solution, a licensed server, or through individually licensed modules. View all>>
|
Available as core functionality within the Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform Standard Edition or as individual components to Government or Financial markets.
|
|
Indirect/Partner Licensing
|
FileOpen DRM is available on a limited basis through these partners.
|
Available indirectly, as core functionality within the Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform Standard Edition, or as individual components to Government or Financial markets only.
|
| *With respect to Non-FileOpen Products, the information presented is based on publicly available information. We accordingly make no representations with respect to the accuracy or validity of the information, but merely provide it for comparison purposes. **Beta |
||
If you have anything to add or correct about this analysis, please leave a comment.