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The graphics software of choice Chances are, Adobe is part of your everyday life and you don't even realize it. Many of the graphics you see in today's newspapers and magazines are created by Adobe programs like Illustrator and Photoshop. The opening scene of the blockbuster movie Men In Black was created using Adobe's After Effects application. When you surf the Net, many of the web sites you see offer Adobe Acrobat portable document files (PDFs), which are universally readable. And the PostScript inside your laser printer was also probably created by Adobe. Finding their calling Adobe CEO John Warnock and President Chuck Geschke first met at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Together they developed PostScript, a computer language that translates code into printable pages of type. After failing to convince Xerox to market the application, the two left to start their own company, called Adobe. But Canon came out with a cheap laser printer before they could, so they were forced to alter their path. Luckily, Steve Jobs approached them and convinced them to develop the PostScript technology for the Apple's Macintosh. The result was the Apple LaserWriter - and so began the story of desktop publishing. A visual portfolio PostScript quickly became the industry standard for desktop publishing, and Adobe later developed the software that would become Internet standards - including Adobe Acrobat, PageMill, and its WebType Fonts. Scan the employment ads of any newspaper, and the name Adobe will come up on just about every listing for a desktop publishing or web design job. Another of the company's major products, Photoshop, allows users to create designs and manipulate digitized photographs. The company also makes Adobe Premiere, an application used for video editing. Adobe offers applications that are completely compatible across platforms, allowing files to be moved easily between systems. Heeeeere, PC-PC-PC Adobe's products weren't always so compatible. In the 1980s and early 1990s Adobe established a strong relationship with Apple, but basically ignored the PC market. The company changed its tune after an $11.8 million loss in 1995, caused largely by the problematic acquisition of software maker Frame Technology Group. By 1996, with Apple foundering, the pressure was on for Adobe to tap other markets to improve its software's compatibility with other systems, particularly Microsoft Windows. Adobe expanded its software line with in-house development and aquisitions of other companies. It also made successful efforts to promote its brand in Windows-dominated corporate and government arenas. Today, 56 percent of Adobe revenues come from sales of Windows applications. Though Adobe has concentrated its efforts on wooing the Windows user, the company insists that its ties to Apple remain solid. Economizing their bricks With a firm foothold among graphics professionals and in the corporate world, Adobe's latest target is the home PC consumer - a larger, more lucrative market. The company has developed user-friendly imaging software like PhotoDeluxe, and bundles its products at reduced prices to entice buyers. PhotoDeluxe retails at $49, versus $609 for Photoshop. Adobe plans to release more "consumer versions" of its professional software in the near future. Recognizing that less than half of Adobe's customers are located North America, the company is looking to broaden relationships with computer resellers in Asia and Latin America. In March 2000 Adobe increased availability of its e-commerce products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat in Japan. These are now offered in both English and Japanese versions. Face this! Two of the biggest problems Adobe has had to face are software piracy and copyright infringement. It won a landmark case (for typeface designers, at least) against Southern Software in 1997. As a result of the judgment, fonts are now classified as intellectual property, and subject to the same copyright laws. Adobe won a similar lawsuit against Southern Sofware in 1999. Gearing up for a comeback After sustaining losses early in 1998, Adobe's profits increased with the introduction of several upgrades and new products. (Part of Adobe's trouble is that it is facing a mature market in the U.S., and weakening markets in Asia.) Adobe acquired GoLive, a company that makes web publishing tools. The company also released two major new products in 1999 - a page-layout technology (code name: K2), and a workflow system (code name: Stilton). K2, formally announced as InDesign software in 1999, has been labeled the "Quark-killer" because its functions and features far exceed the capabilities of Adobe's formidable rival in desktop publishing software, Quark Xpress, and sells for less than a Quark upgrade. Quark actually made an offer to buy Adobe in November 1998, only to withdraw it later. Starting off the millennium Adobe has already received several prestigious awards this millennium recognizing its exemplary software and web site, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of CEO John Warnock. These new awards nicely complement the 1999 Inventor of the Year Award won by Mark Hamburg, lead developer of Photoshop. Adobe's new LiveMotion software was granted the Best of Show Award at the Spring Internet World 2000 conference, and is one of several products introduced in 2000. LiveMotion is used in creating interactive graphics and animation, while Acrobat Messenger is expected to become standard in the corporate world for editing and distributing files via e-mail, Internet, or fax. Also new from Adobe is CoolType, which the company claims improves text resolution on LCD screens by as much as 300 percent. E-books - the Next Big Thing? In March 2000, best-selling horror novelist Stephen King released a new book. What makes this newsworthy is that it was available only on the Internet. The overwhelming customer response resulted in overloaded servers. This is good news to Adobe, since its software is used to display the text and art for e-books. Adobe is anticipating increased electronic distribution of content in forms such as novels, how-to guides, and business reports, and has the software to make it possible. PDF Merchant is used for encrypting and selling files online, and Web Buy inhibits piracy by allowing authors to control the distribution of their works that are downloaded. These applications together enable publishers, distributors, retailers, and consumers to acquire and transfer content online with greater security.
Adobe recruits on college campuses, and posts job listings on its web site. When applicants submit resumes online, the company sends back applications to fill out. Upon receipt, the resumes are scanned into a database that hiring managers can search when they're looking for new talent. Employees say the company also hires many of its interns as full-time employees, so an internship is a good foot in the door. Interviews usually consist of two rounds, more if you?re applying for an engineering position. Sometimes a hiring manager will call for a "phone screening," to determine whether they should bring a candidate in, insiders say. Insiders say interviews are usually not very stressful, "though some managers are more prone to put you on the spot technically than others."
Employee-centric culture In general, Adobe is an "innovative," "employee-friendly" place, with "excellent managers." Repeatedly ranked as one of Fortune's "Top 100 Companies to Work For," Adobe does its best to accommodate workers, offering flexible schedules, telecommuting, and "a great many training classes to get up to speed with the products." Employees also enjoy "a great cafeteria," access to a company gym ("they even have aerobics classes"), and free fresh-squeezed orange juice, soda, Starbucks coffee and "various other goodies" every day. Toil well compensated If you work best under pressure, Adobe is the company for you - "most of the time is pressure time," says one stressed Adobe inmate. "Our hours fluctuate between 40 and six million a week," reports one engineer, "but the marketing, sales, and administrative people have different work patterns." Though they work a lot, engineers and other technical specialists "pretty much come in when they want if they're working on a long-term project," and get to "dress how they want." Plus, their salaries are "typical of the geek scale" (that means high). Tech professionals can start "anywhere in the high 30s," and "if you know C++, you can make up to $50 an hour!" The corporate employees who "get away with working 40 hours a week" also enjoy good salaries, but "they have to come in by 9, and dress professionally." Benefits are "excellent," including "very generous" stock purchase and profit sharing options, quarterly bonuses, full insurance, and a 401(k) matched 25 percent. Adobe insiders also get up to five weeks of vacation, eight paid holidays, and paid sick/personal days. Insiders also feel fortunate to have "access to cutting edge computers and software." Brushes with greatness Finally, insiders say Adobe is a "progressive," "laid-back company" that "knows its people are its strongest asset." "The level of intelligence of the people here" is also a big draw. "We have some incredibly artistic people working here," says one programmer, "and just being able to talk to some of the engineers who wrote PhotoShop is a perk to me." Working at Adobe is also extremely challenging: "It's a good place to work, and work you will," says one insider. "We run a lean company - every single one of us has the job of at least two - but it keeps us on our toes.
Professional Staffing 408-536-6818
Desktop Publishing Software;Home, office, and networking products;Printing systems
Corel;Quark More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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