The move by Adobe Systems to acquire Macromedia creates a clear leader for development of document management, Web publishing and online video delivery tools, analysts say.Adobe has traditionally been strong in the offline graphical design business, such as desktop publishing, while Macromedia has a presence in graphical user interfaces for the desktop with its Dreamweaver and Flash products. The merging of these two businesses would give Adobe new capabilities for delivering rich media tools, IDG News Service said.“The combination of Adobe and Macromedia strengthens our mission of helping people and organizations communicate better,” Adobe said in a statement posted on its Website. “Through the combination of our powerful development, authoring and collaboration tools – and the complementary functionality of PDF and Flash – we have the opportunity to drive an industry-defining technology platform that delivers compelling, rich content and applications across a wide range of de-vices and operating systems.” Some see the move as a pre-emptive strike at Microsoft. “I see this as both companies bulking up against Microsoft,” said Steven Brazier, an analyst at Canalys. The first step will be both vendors supporting each other’s formats, and Adobe will likely start integrating Flash into its products, Brazier said. Adobe also stands to benefit from Macromedia’s base of ColdFusion Wed developers, allowing it to integrate and automate new offerings, according to RedMonk analyst James Governor.Governor predicted that dynamic forms that allow users to create, change and share information online will be one of the first products of the marriage. Graphics automation is also in the cards. Both of these capabilities would fly in the face of Microsoft’s plans, according to Governor. “Adobe’s ambition in this acquisition looks like a bit of a Longhorn killer to me,” Governor said.Microsoft has been working on dynamic form technologies and a graphics system called Avalon as part of its upcoming operating system, Longhorn. By moving into these areas, Adobe may be trying to cut the software giant off at the pass, both analysts said. “There is no doubt that this is a significant competitive threat to Micro-soft and one of Adobe’s goals is to predict future battles,” Brazier said. The combined company would be able to create a variety of rich media and Internet applications that use Flash, bumping into areas that Microsoft has shown interest in, said Ovum analyst Bola Rotibi.“When you think of where Microsoft is headed with the future of its Media Player and Media Center PCs, this goes head-to-head,” Rotibi said. The difference, however, is that the Microsoft offerings are locked into one platform, whereas Adobe will be trying to get its products on multiple platforms, she added. The company is looking to deliver content and applications not just to desktops, but to cell phones and other devices. One analsyst said the Microsaft card may be exageratred. Adobe is in the graphics tools business and Macromedia has arguably the best web based graphical tools businesses,” said Rob Enderle, founder and president of the Enderle Group. “It makes sense for Adobe to expand its business lines to cover the Web-based tools more completely and expand its product line. Microsoft is clearly a tools company as well and you would think Macromedia would be on their short list of companies to acquire as a result so this could partially be a block against Microsoft (or Apple) moving more solidly into this space but, generally, I see this as more of a natural expansion then a competitive attack. ” But while Adobe and Macromedia have a lot of strengths and products between them, the question now is what the big strategy is, according to Rotibi. “Integration of products is one thing, but creating a new lineup is something else,” she said. Technology Industry