Electronic signatures – and the way they’re used – have evolved in recent years to offer huge value to organizations. Although it hasn’t received the same fanfare as other technologies, eSignature should be recognized as the groundbreaking innovation that it is – and one that continues to transform how people across the world do business. With that in mind, this article will examine how eSignatures and automated signature processes are making a difference in 2021.
The signature’s evolution for a digital world
Globalization and mass-digitization are continuing at a rapid rate. eSignatures and automated signature processes are vital to allow one of humankind’s oldest marks of authorization and authentication to continue in a world that will soon be post-paper.
In this world, automated signature and document processes keep people connected across great distances and keep business moving at the speed of digital data, not mail. When used in combination with a cloud-based process automation platform, eSignatures can be provided and collected by anyone, anywhere, and at any time, via easy-to-use mobile apps or simply via their web browser of choice.
Now, electronically signed digital documents can be transmitted with a few clicks or taps of a mobile device’s touchscreen – instead of traditional methods like the mail or clunky, outdated fax machines. And that means businesses can operate with the pace and convenience that workers, customers, and partners expect today.
Ensuring compliance and proper storage
In order to comply with electronic signature regulations, when eSignatures are taken, the collector must document intent and consent. Today’s sophisticated eSignature solutions do just that, ensuring the signatory has agreed to provide their signature and also that making sure that they provide their agreement to the terms contained within the document.
They can also be provided with an option to opt out of providing an eSignature, and instead register their preference to sign by hand. It’s all recorded to provide proof that regulations have been complied with. Then, using an automated workflow, your compliantly-signed documents can be automatically transmitted to all the necessary parties and stored. Less hassle than manually attending to storage and distribution, and it ensures that everything is saved in the correct places if you need it later.
Bringing new efficiency to signing processes
With digitized and automated signature processes, every step can now be planned out meticulously. Earlier, paper-based signing processes may have been long-winded, with needless steps and holdups – but when they take place via workflows, everything occurs via an orderly and efficient procedure.
For example, let’s look at how automated signature and document processes can help with documents that require multiple stakeholders to review and sign them. With this technology, participants are presented with a digital document, prompted to review it and provide their signature. When this has occurred, the next participant is alerted, and the process moves onward – swiftly, smoothly, and automatically.
More visibility and a digital paper trail
Automated signature processes also provide greater visibility. With each step digitally documented, you now have an audit trail. You can check who has signed a document and when they signed it, when it was reviewed by someone else, and so on.
If there’s a hold-up in a signature process, you can easily check where it’s occurring and then action it quickly to get everything moving again. Then, if it’s an unforeseen bottleneck in the workflow, you can correct that workflow so that the same issue doesn’t occur next time. With the right platform, it’s simple and quick to make these adjustments if they’re needed, meaning your automated signature and document processes can be continually optimized to be the best they can possibly be.
Choosing a state-of-the art platform for automated signature processes
In order to gain the kind of capabilities and benefits described here, a truly state-of-the-art eSignature and process automation platform is needed. Here are some of the criteria that will set a platform apart from the competition:
- Low-code: creating automated signature and document processes is easy for non-technical staff
- Cloud-based and web-accessible: not only to access workflows but also to build and tweak them
- Integration possibilities: works seamlessly with document generation solutions and CRM platforms
Our own solution meets all these criteria and more. In fact, Nintex was named a leader in the Aragon Research Globe™ for Digital Business Platforms (DBP), 2021. In this review of 16 major providers, we were among only a very select few to be placed in this category. You can read the report here to see how Aragon came to their conclusion.
Taking eSignature technology even further for organizations
At Nintex, we’re dedicated to making automated signature processes as valuable for our customers as possible and advancing the technology in any way we can. That’s why we’re pleased to announce that Nintex has acquired eSignature leader AssureSign® and their technologies have been added to our platform.
Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, we hope this article has been useful in exploring what the latest automated signature and document technology can deliver for organizations today.
Want to learn more about how your organization can combine eSignatures and process automation? Just get in touch with Nintex.
