The document evaluates the evolving eforms market, highlighting key vendors like Adobe LiveCycle, Acrobat, and IBM Forms, as well as emerging players. It emphasizes the need for enterprises to select eform solutions based on specific use cases, process criticality, and mobile requirements, while also paying attention to rich UI and cloud functionality. The document provides a comprehensive analysis of vendor strengths, pricing, and product features to aid organizations in making informed decisions.

1. Select the Right eForms SolutionIf process is a buster, eForms will automate.

2. The eForms Vendor Landscape is a mix of new and established vendors addressing a field of different scenarios. Use cases will determine best fit.IntroductionEnterprises seeking to select a solution for Forms Automation.Their web conferencing use case may include:Ad Hoc Form AutomationDepartmental Process SupportEnterprise Mission Process CriticalBusiness Process Workflow AutomationThis Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You:Understand what’s new in the eForms market.Evaluate eForms vendors and products for your enterprise needs.Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

3. Executive SummaryThe eForms market is evolving away from the paper form entirely, replacing it with a rich UI and integration with both new digital media and more advanced mobile functionality.Adobe LiveCycle and Acrobat, IBM Forms, and Autonomy LiquidOfficeeForms are all champions within the market space.Once value for money is taken into consideration, Adobe Acrobat and PerfectForms become the most compelling options, though both lack the functionality for the most complex and advanced large enterprise use cases.Each product evaluated has a different set of features designed to cater to different needs based on process criticality and use cases. Choose your solution based on the criticality of your process, your use case, your industry, and your mobile needs.

4. Market OverviewHow it got hereWhere it’s goingBuilt-in Rich UI to optimize data input/output, improve user experience and decrease abandonment.

5. The emergence of digital media, e.g. new cameras and input methods, in personal devices is creating an increasingly digitized world, allowing more rich content to be built into forms.

6. Cloud-onlyvendors are appearing and allowing form data to be stored entirely in the cloud, without offering an on-premise solution at all.

7. Mobile form use, previously only enabling simple workflow participation (e.g. approvals) is expanding to more complex forms and tasks, and onto tablets for field operations, e.g. real estate, insurance, field sales.

8. Stemmed from early electronic facsimiles of standard business forms.

9. Initially forms could be downloaded, then routed to different steps.

10. Next, they could be completed entirely online but were still tied to the look and feel of the paper business form.

11. As electronic use and access increased, forms-driven business processes have evolved to become electronic only and never hit paper.

12. With more external stakeholders gaining electronic access, forms could exist entirely online and no longer be tied to a physical counterpart, i.e. the physical form metaphor is no longer a constraint. As a result, e-forms are employing more rich user interfaces.As the market evolves, so do the features you need to evaluate. Pay close attention to rich UI, cloud vendors, and mobile functionality, as all three improve overall usability and decrease grief.

13. eForms Criteria & Weighting FactorsProduct EvaluationFeaturesUsabilityThe solution provides basic and advanced feature/functionality.FeaturesThe five year TCO of the solution is economical.AffordabilityAffordabilityArchitectureThe solution’s dashboard and reporting tools are intuitive and easy to use.UsabilityProductThe delivery method of the solution aligns with what is expected within the space.ArchitectureVendor EvaluationVendorVendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long-term.ViabilityViabilityReachVendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.StrategyVendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support. ReachChannelVendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong. ChannelStrategy

14. The Info-Tech eForms LandscapeChampions receive high scores for most evaluation criteria and offer excellent value. They have a strong market presence and are usually the trend setters for the industry. Emerging Players are newer vendors who are starting to gain a foothold in the marketplace. They balance product and vendor attributes, though score lower relative to market Champions.Innovators have demonstrated innovative product strengths that act as their competitive advantage in appealing to niche segments of the market. Market Pillars are established players with very strong vendor credentials, but with more average product scores.For a complete description of Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape methodology, see the Appendix.

15. Every vendor has its strengths & weaknesses;Pick the one that works best for youProductVendorFeaturesUsabilityAffordabilityViabilityStrategyChannelReachArchitectureAdobe LiveCycleAdobe AcrobatAutonomy CardiffIBM Lotus FormsMS InfoPath Form ServicesMS InfoPath ClientPerfectFormsFormattaLincDocHarvey Ball scores are indicative of absolute performance ratings but are not an exact correlation. Exceptional performance receives a full ball, poor performance an empty one, with a range in between.

16. What is a Value Score?Adobe Acrobat and PerfectForms provide the best bang-for-your-buck, but may not have all the features you needOn a relative basis, Adobe Acrobat maintained the highest Info-Tech Value Score of the vendor group. Vendors were indexed against Acrobat’s performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings.The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to their price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.Vendors that score high offer more bang-for-the-buck (e.g. features, usability, stability, etc.) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower. Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes.Sources:To calculate the Value Score for each vendor, the affordability raw score was backed out, the product scoring reweighted, and the affordability score multiplied by the product of the Vendor and Product scores.

17. Every vendor in the game has the basic table stakes, but who goes above and beyond in the areas that matter to you?The Table StakesWhat Does This Mean?Product supports its own signature system, a pubic certificate standard, or both.Digital SignaturesThe products assessed in this Vendor LandscapeTM meet, at the very least, the requirements outlined as Table Stakes. Many of the vendors go above and beyond the outlined Table Stakes, some even do so in multiple categories. This section aims to highlight the products capabilities in excess of the criteria listed here. Product allows users to create and design their own eForms. Form DesigneForms can be pre-populated and integrate with data sources.Data Integration & Pre-PopulationProduct provides a client for eForms users to fill out forms.Form FillIf Table Stakes are all you need from your eForms solution, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs.

18. Table Stakes aside, vendors were evaluated on their individual advanced feature offeringWhat We Looked ForFeaturesAdvanced features scoring methodology:Self-Serve Design & CollecteForms design and collection can be done with a rich UI and doesn’t require IT.Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features offering as a summation of their individual scores across the listed advanced features. Vendors were given 1 point for each feature the product inherently provided. Some categories were scored on a more granular scale with vendors receiving half points (see Partial functionality criteria).ArchivingArchive form submissions to PDF/A. Partial: Archive to an image archive format (e.g. TIFF)Sample FormsProvide sample business process forms to be customized.State TransformationImage capture through OCR/ICR, barcode generation. Partial: Through third party tool.SharePoint IntegrationFormal library services integration with MS SharePoint.Create forms on the fly based on existing form components.Dynamic AssemblyRich UIeForms themselves can be designed with a rich UI for enhanced user experience. Industry Standard SupportSupports industry standards, e.g. ACORD, MISMO.Data Analysis & Survey FunctionCan capture survey data and multiple data sets may be output for analysis.WorkflowOffers a rules and routing engine for eForms workflow.MobileiOS, BlackBerry, and Android or Windows Phone 7. Partial: Any mobile client.

19. LiveCycle8,660San Jose, CAAdobe.com/LiveCycle1982NASDAQ: ADBEFY09 Revenue: $2.95BProduct:Employees:Headquarters:Website:Founded:Presence:Adobe LiveCycle is a best-of-breed product, but with a price point firmly outside entry level eForm needsChampionChallengesOverviewStrengthsAdobe’s enterprise eForms and business process automation solution; a different product than Acrobat Forms.

20. Contrary to popular belief, LiveCycle offers full XML and HTML, not just PDF forms.

21. Adobe and partners are building out a library of vertical solutions, continuation of which will be critical to continue to compete with vertical ERP and ECM vendor forms solutions.

22. While its product offering is far above the standard offering in the landscape, so is its price point; LiveCycle is definitely not priced for enterprises with light eForms needs.

23. Comprehensive eForms management solution with data integration at every level.

24. Dynamic assembly lets you use form parts to build new forms on the fly and capture, OCR and 1D/2D bar code support.

25. Security & DigiSig available in LiveCycle portfolio as add-on.

26. Supports industry standards, e.g. ACORD, MISMO, PISCESPriced between $100,000 and $250,000Info-Tech Recommends:If you need a comprehensive and dynamic enterprise eForms solution for mission-critical form-based workflows, then Adobe LiveCycle is Info-Tech’s highest recommendation.