6 Ways Electronic Signature Technology Benefits Your Business

Written by Joan Honig | Dec 12, 2019

DocuWare has always provided the most advanced security possible in order to protect our customer’s confidential documents and data. Now we’ve taken a significant step forward, by integrating with ValidatedID, a verified Trust Service Provider, to offer electronic signatures. These signatures can be used anytime an organization is required to prove that a signature is authentic and ensure a document has not been altered. An electronic signature can be used on proposals and sales contracts, employee benefits forms, vendor agreements, and other documents that require a verified signature for audit and compliance purposes.

Electronic signatures are widely recognized as a necessity for modern organizations.

According to Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) research:

Authorization signatures are considered essential or very important for 84% of responding organizations.
At least 70% see this as a regulatory compliance requirement while 63% cite legal concerns. 49% need signatures from people outside the organization.
Nearly half of all respondents indicate a third or more of the documents they print are for the sole purpose of adding signatures.

With DocuWare, the process of obtaining, receiving and archiving electronically signed documents can be made part of a workflow. The document is sent directly from the workflow to an external signature provider such as ValidatedID. Once an individual’s identity has been verified, the signer is automatically notified by email that a document is ready for signing as part of a DocuWare workflow. Then the signed document is sent back to into DocuWare where the document and its index data are updated, and the workflow continues.

Setup is an easy, one-time only process - customers simply contact their Authorized DocuWare Partner (ADP) or their Regional Sales Director at DocuWare, to register their business with Validated ID. Customers work with their ADP to select the type of signature service that best fits their business. Pricing options range from a flat fee, an annual package, or a fee based on usage.

The Advantages of Adopting Electronic Signatures

1. Tighter Security

Electronic signatures eliminate the risk that a document has been changed, signed by an unauthorized person or is unsigned. With a qualified electronic signature, your documents are legally binding and meet current security requirements.

2. Easier Compliance:

Automates processes that enable adherence to state, federal and international compliance standards. Immediate access to documents necessary to prove compliance.

3. More Efficient Workflow:

Eliminates bottlenecks caused by requiring participants to print, sign and scan documents emailed to them or by waiting for signed paper documents to be returned by mail.
DocuWare can send email reminders when a document hasn’t been signed within the specified period. This keeps the workflow moving.

4. Mobile Access

Serves the needs of remote employees and geographically distributed customers and vendors.

5. Cost Savings from Less Paper Use:

Provides savings on postage, mailing supplies, as well as eliminating time staff spends filing, keying in data, archiving and retrieval.

6. Space Savings

Because of the switch secure to digital storage the need for file cabinets that store paper documents is eliminated.

The range of electronic signatures that this new integration with ValidatedID offers

The type of electronic signature your organization chooses to implement varies according to whether signers visit your location in-person; what type of device they will be using for access; and the level of security needed.

Validated ID’s VIDsigner offers the following options:
Remote: For use anytime, anywhere. When a document is sent to ValidatedID in a workflow, the responsible employee receives a message and releases the signature from a smartphone, for example, using an SMS code. To ensure security, a double validation is performed via e-mail and a One Time Password (OTP) which is sent to the signer and enables them to confirm their identity.

Biometric: For face-to-face situations. Biometric signatures are handwritten electronically on tablets that can record the speed, angle and pressure applied by the signer. The biometrics are based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requirements.

ValidatedID’s VIDsigner encrypts biometric data and embeds it into the document, using a public key whose counterpart (private key) is stored in a notary’s office. In addition, to guarantee the integrity of the document, a timestamp and a one-time use digital certificate are used.

Centralized: A digital certificate stored in the cloud. Used via any tablet, smartphone or PC. With the centralization of keys and digital certificates, the complex generation of certificates is delegated to the service provider. The user simply authenticates through ValidatedID to sign his or her pending documents. Users can access ValidatedID from a smartphone app or or a web page via their PC, laptop or tablet. The centralized model provides the highest level of security and the most options for accessing the system.

In a report overview, Fortune Business Insights notes that, “Digital market growth is driven by the growing use of digital signatures to eliminate fraud, encourage technological innovations, and improve data integrity, scalability and transparency.” These concerns are shared by any organization that executes contracts, administers employee benefits, or works with vendors and in many other situations.

Find out more about DocuWare’s electronic signature capabilities.

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