Adobe announcde that it has made its long-standing LiveCycle ES software accessible through Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3), figuring that this “sandbox in the sky” scheme will create more LiveCycle ES apps faster.

Developers who are members of Adobe's developer program will be able to use the fat Adobe widgetry, some 24 modules comprising 6GB, on the Amazon cloud to prototype, develop and test LiveCycle ES applications.

They won't have to install or configure the LiveCycle ES themselves, a pain-in-the-neck exercise given its size.

Adobe calls the stuff LiveCycle ES Developer Express and says applications are pre-configured as ready-to-run server instances on EC2, which should cut the time needed to boot new server instances to minutes so enterprise developers can quickly begin to test and modify applications.

And they won't have to invest in a development environment or test lab.

Adobe says old projects can be deleted or saved for future access and new projects can begin without any cleanup required from the last install.

LiveCycle ES, which draws on PDF, Abode Reader and Flash, is a server solution that combines data capture, information assurance, document output, process management and content services to create and deliver rich apps.

Adobe means to absorb the cost of using Amazon and pay for it out of the fees developers already pay as part of the program. It figures that will normally involve 10 hours a month. If developers demand more, it may bill them; it's not sure yet.

Livecycle ES has been around about two years and has attracted 5,000 enterprises and government users.