Desktop software specialist Adobe has this week stepped up its push into the online meeting space with the launch of an updated version of its Acrobat Connect Pro Web Conferencing suite.

The company said the new eLearning solution will be available by the end of the month and will provide firms and educational establishments with enhanced functionality for hosting online training, allowing them to bolster productivity amongst staff and students and cut down on travel to meetings and training sessions.

The updated version of the suite features new functionality for archiving and editing recorded online meetings, enhanced instant massaging capabilities, and new reporting tools for tracking how the software is being used. The suite also features video functionality that allows trainers and participants to deliver video presentations in real time alongside PowerPoint presentations and other electronic documents.

Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president of Adobe's business productivity business unit, said that the new suite would help firms and educational institutions communicate with "highly distributed workforces or student populations".

Medical equipment supplier Philips Medical, which has been using the previous version of the software, said that the suite had allowed it to provide training to customers without trainers having to travel to meet clients.