– they’re working remotely more than ever, and that brings a host of new challenges with it. How will they share information? How will they collaborate? How will they ultimately get things done as part of a team?
There’s another challenge that’s part of this process, yet so often it goes overlooked, and that’s signatures. It’s not a glamorous or exciting part of this, but it’s nonetheless a routine part of everyone’s work day – people need to sign for stuff. Whether it’s giving one’s approval on a document, agreeing to a legal contract, or whatever else, signatures are a part of doing business. And it’s hard to give your signature to someone who could be located across town – or across the world.
There are numerous challenges that may come up along the way. Buying committees may be needed to sign off on a key purchase. You may need multiple signatures from people who are all in different locations. And so on, and so forth. Given all the logistical hurdles involved here, it’s worth taking a moment to assess your strategies for getting signatures and ask if there’s anything you could do better.
For even the most savvy IT leaders, there’s often a lack of clarity on the two. What’s the difference, anyway? Which is better for your business?
An electronic signature is just that – electronic. It allows employees to indicate acceptance of an agreement or a record in a paperless manner, using a computer or mobile device. The signer can verify their identity using personal records of theirs that are stored electronically, such as an email address, ID number, password, or phone PIN. A standard electronic signature will use single-factor authentication Digital signatures, meanwhile, go one step further, using a very specific method to let people sign documents.
Digital signatures use a certificate-based digital ID to authenticate the signer’s identity, and they’re able to demonstrate proof by binding each signature to the document with encryption. Validation processes are then performed through trusted certificate authorities (CAs) and/or trust service providers (TSPs). This highly secure, reliable process is truly the next level when it comes to signatures, and it’s one that can drive your business forward.
You’re probably entering into a sales agreement or legal contract that will have a serious impact on the future of your business. And with that being the case, you want to have a process for signatures that you can have 100% faith in. You want to be sure the signing process is secure, and the document is sound from a legal standpoint.
First and foremost, any contract needs to be legally binding. This needs to be perfectly clear, with no possibility of a dispute that you’ll need to go back and relitigate after the fact.
Secondly, you need to have robust authentication processes in place. This means you should have the ability to find, at a moment’s notice, clear information about who’s signed what document, when they signed it, how they signed it, and so on.
So what’s the best way to deliver highly reliable, legally binding, authentic signatures? This is where Adobe and Zones come in. We’ve got a plan for you.
You’ve got to work quickly and efficiently with people, whether they’re in your local area or distributed across the globe. Thankfully, Adobe has a solution that makes it easy to do either one. Adobe Sign is uniquely designed for this.
Adobe Sign supports the broadest range of electronic and digital signature requirements, helping you do business everywhere – all you have to do is choose the approach that works best for each of your business processes. Adobe Sign helps you build end-to-end workflows that include electronic signatures, digital signatures, or both – and it also includes industry-leading support for signer authentication and validation.
The process is simple. Each signer authenticates their identity before opening each document, using either single-factor or multifactor methods. They add signatures using a password or PIN-protected private key, and both signer and document authenticity are then validated through TSPs. This process is tried and true – Adobe Sign has proven to work with over 200 TSPs globally.
Your people are busy on a daily basis, and you don’t want them needing to adjust to an entirely new technology framework on the fly. Ideally, their new solution would integrate smoothly with the programs they already know and love.
Fortunately, Adobe Sign makes this easy. The solution comes with pre-built integrations baked in – there are over 70 of them, and they’re simple and quick for anyone to configure. Whether you’re working with Microsoft Teams, Box, Dropbox, SharePoint, Salesforce, Dynamics, Workday, or just about any other business solution, Adobe Sign is already pre-configured to work harmoniously with it.
When you adopt Adobe Sign, you will never have to fundamentally change anything about the way you do business. You can simply add digital signatures quickly into your systems of record, and you’ll have richly featured, pre-integrated, custom applications built in to everything you do. It couldn’t be easier.
Adobe Sign was designed specifically to offer strong, seamless collaboration with Microsoft, and that work has paid off – Adobe Sign is now recognized as Microsoft’s preferred e-signature solution.
When you put Adobe Sign to work for your business, you will notice an immediate increase in workforce productivity among employees who use Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Dynamics, and more. The opportunities here are endless – for instance, an employee could create and share PDFs right in their Microsoft 365 applications, then use Adobe Sign to have co-workers sign them. They could also similarly share documents and track their signature status in Word, PowerPoint, or Outlook.
Millions of businesses around the world use Microsoft solutions on a daily basis to get things done. With the support of Adobe Sign, those processes will work more smoothly than ever, and you’ll never have to worry about the logistical headaches that come with signing documents.
No matter who you are, where you work, or what you do, Adobe has the power to make your work life easier. Signatures aren’t the most glamorous or most talked-about aspect of doing business, but they matter, and Adobe Sign is a solution that can benefit everyone.
The bottom line is that digital documents and e-signatures are redefining the way we work. According to Adobe’s data, these technologies saw triple-digit growth year over year during the period between June and September of 2020. This is partially because of a temporary shift while people are working through a pandemic, but it’s also fairly likely to stick. Millions of people have gone digital, and they’re not going back.
At Zones, we support this movement wholeheartedly. That’s why we work proudly alongside Adobe to drive digital transformation for businesses everywhere. Companies and their employees are going to continue signing documents digitally, and we will do everything we can to help. Adobe solutions, combined with Zones services, offer you the perfect path forward in today’s digital world.
