Is SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe Dead?

 
 
 
 
Chris Scott, August 2015

Since publishing my blog “Does mobilization herald the end of PDF forms?” in February 2013 I have been asked whether SAP® Interactive Forms by Adobe (‘IFbA’) is dead as a technology. During that time we have seen the further proliferation of mobile devices, the launch of SAPUI5, SAP Fiori, HANA Cloud Portal and S/4HANA. SAP now offers a range of approaches to meet user experience requirements previously delivered by IFbA.

The use of Internet Explorer has declined rapidly over the past 6 years, while the use of Chrome and Safari has become widespread, driven in part by web consumption on mobile devices.

With the launch of Microsoft Edge, which will not support on-line PDF forms, and with the ending of plug-in support by Google Chrome, the days of the on-line interactive PDF form are surely numbered.

IFbA now only is compatible with Internet Explorer and Firefox, which together represent only around 25% of the browser usage – and falling. Latest figures on w3schools.com show IE use falling from 88% in 2003 to just 6.5% in 2015. Firefox use peaked at 47% in 2009 and is less than 22% today.

Adobe has stopped investing in LiveCycle, the product on which IfbA technology is based.

With built-in PDF readers available on every device, as part of PC operating systems and web browsers, the once-ubiquitous Adobe Reader is becoming conspicuous by its absence. Quite simply, for most people there is no need for Adobe Reader any more.

So where does this leave IFbA as a technology?

Will SAP continue to invest in IFbA?

Will SAP support IFbA after 2020?

Is e-forms dead as a proposition?

To what extent are IFbA customers exposed?

What actions do they need to take and how soon?

Faced with growing evidence and increasing customer anxiety, as a long-term IFbA evangelist I am forced to ask the question ‘Is SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe dead’, and consider the use cases that the technology supports best.

>> It is clear that action is required by all IFbA customers.<<

In this paper I take a careful look at the evidence and the options available for IfbA customers to move forwards with confidence.

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