Item: Tungsten Power PDF
Rating: 7
Author: Oliver Cabrejo

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are currently using 2 different PDF solutions, Adobe and Kofax. Many departments are using either one of the solutions. They are using it for the most part to :

Edit documents.
Sign documents.
Rebuild and structure documents.

Pros and Cons

Signing.
Editing.
Building pdf documents from different pdf documents.
Commenting on drawings or even drawing on them.

Collaboration possibilities (like Adobe has).
Profile syncing.
Signature syncing through platforms.

Return on Investment

Positive : Definitely cost savings, as we love the one time purchase fee.
Positive : It's, for the most part, simple to use.
Negative: Our users have found the transition from Adobe Sign to Power PDF signature not user friendly.

Coming from a computer background, it has been relatively easy to use. I was used to Adobe functions, but the transition hasn't been difficult.
All the features I found on Adobe, I was able to find them on Power PDF, but I still find Adobe has the upper hand when it comes to intuitiveness and user friendliness of their PDF tool.
I must say though, that the signature part, was the most talked about issue in our company.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

I would be lying if I said I would choose Adobe over Power PDF. When it comes down to pricing, Kofax has the winning mindset.
As for the features, Kofax has all we need, editing, signing, building PDF documents. The difference relies on habits and user friendliness of the tool.
Once you start using Kofax for several weeks, you start to get comfortable with the tool and forget about the competition.

Support Rating

I was able to contact them no problem. I do not recall having to wait to receive support. They were really fast on problem solving. I felt supported throughout my entire experience with Kofax Power PDF. I contacted them through email.
I'm not sure if they have chat support, but that would definitely be a big plus.

Key Insights

Do you think Tungsten Power PDF delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Tungsten Power PDF's feature set?

Yes

Did Tungsten Power PDF live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Tungsten Power PDF go as expected?

Would you buy Tungsten Power PDF again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Power BI

Features

Since the implementation of Kofax Power PDF, the main features that have been used throughout our entire organisation would consist of:

Signing and certifying PDF documents.
Reconfiguring and building PDF documents from scratch or from different other PDF files.
Reading PDF documents.
Annotations and editing several documents as well..

Likelihood to Recommend

Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance) is well suited:

Where you want to build a document from different other parts coming from other PDF documents (joining them together).
Signing documents.
Annotation of documents.
Drawing on documents.

Scenarios where it is less appropriate :

When you want to certify a document, because the process to configure your certification is far from being user friendly.
There is room from improvement when it comes down to the drawing tool box (looking for more options, like Adobe).

Users and Roles

50 - We have a multitude of people in the organization who uses KOFAX power pdf. It goes from our president to the data entry level employee from all of our departments.

C-Level positions
Directors of all our departments
Coordinators of all our departments
Finance (all levels)
Sales representatives
Estimator
Product designers

Support Headcount Required

4 - Our support IT team which I'm managing as well, is the main point of contact in case of any software issue or questions. I provide all training material which is available in our intranet and from there, if they have any questions they reach out to us. To support this tool, the person must have basic computer skills and a facility for learning everything about software. We do have access to the Kofax suppor team, but it isn't great. They are hard to reach.

Business Processes Supported

Editing financial papers
Editing quotation
Marking up product design

Innovative Uses

Signature (certified)
Annotations
Nothing out of the ordinary

Future Planned Uses

Certification of documents
SharePoint connector that will allow us to save directly on our sharepoint site
Onedrive connector that allow us to save directly to our own cloud space

Likelihood to Renew

The main reason is that Kofax offers a product instead of a service. Meaning that we have the option to purchase a licence with a one-time charge, instead of a recurring fee like the competitor.
The other reason is that Kofax Power PDF provides the same functions as the other PDF tools which makes it easy for our company to go with Kofax instead of the others.

Really good for the price

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Kofax Power PDF (formerly Nuance)