Global organizations have been implementing e-signatures for nearly a decade. Most corporations accept that technology helps run business processes more efficiently, saving them money and time—two precious commodities.
Statistics show that the industry grew substantially between 2016 and 2017. In 2016, 492 million e-signature transactions were made, compared to 754 million in 2017.
However, cybercriminals have become increasingly crafty with their attempts to steal information and added element features to e-signatures have developed. This is the digital signature, which serves as a way to ensure that documents remain authentic.
What is a digital signature?
People offer to confuse e-signatures with digital signatures. While they are both marks made on documents via computer, a significant difference makes digital signatures more powerful.
With an e-signature, individuals can put their mark on a contract or agreement and have it be legally binding, but it is not always as secure as it could be. That is where digital signatures come in, as they can attach extra data to the mark. This includes information on who signed the document and when and where.
Digital signatures use public key infrastructure, which adds an extra layer of security and makes it difficult to copy.
Growth prediction
Research completed by P&S Market Research predicts that the global digital signature market will grow by 26 percent by 2022. That means the industry will be worth $3,318.6 million by that time.
“The market is seeing substantial growth thanks to the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors, all of which are seeking ways to reduce fraud,” Vancouver-based digital security expert Thierry LeVasseur said.
“Advances in encryption-based security and biometrics have fueled the growth among these industries.”
Benefits of digital signature technology
According to Vancouver’s Thierry LeVasseur, there are several benefits to using digital signature technology in business practices, including affordability and high security.
Here are some of the main reasons organizations have been adopting technology.
- Cost – It can be costly for companies to create contracts and other important documents, from the printing costs to the courier or mail costs; these can add up to big dollars. By using digital technology to secure signatures and documents, businesses can boost their bottom line by cutting their expenditures.
- Stewardship – companies that use digital signature or e-signature technologies in their business processes are taking actions that will help preserve the environment. The issue has become a major one for today’s consumers and businesses; thus, reducing the amount of paper waste an organization consumes can go a long way in building a good reputation in others’ eyes.
- Time – Thanks to the digitization of documents and the ability to securely sign them and send them back means a reduction in the number of time employees spend on some business processes. Rather than entering the information manually, programs can extract valuable information from the documents. This cuts down on the time workers need to spend on these tasks and frees them up to do more important jobs for the company.
In the 21st Century, technological advances will continue to make our lives and businesses run more smoothly. This includes dealing with contracts and other documents quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively for corporations. Digital signatures are becoming the most advanced way to securely sign documents in today’s corporate landscape.
