The electronic signature software segment is one of the fastest-growing markets around the world. And, it is heading into this year with a healthy head of steam, due in large part to repercussions from COVID-19. In 2020, the global digital signature market size reached $2.8 billion and is projected to grow to $14.1 billion by 2026. Pre-pandemic, the demand for e-signature solutions was driven by a larger number of companies moving to digital document processes, more universally accepted legal practices for the use of e-signatures, workflow efficiencies, and an increasing demand for more security around documents and the information they contain.
Electronic signatures, also known as e-signatures are “any electronic process that indicates acceptance of an agreement or record.” They provide one of the easiest opportunities for organizations to digitally send, sign and approve documents in minutes—from anywhere, at any time. No more printing, scanning and emailing or physically circulating or shipping documents to and from interested parties. No more constant follow-ups triggered by slow responses. No more changes outside of legal review or missing information on forms, leaving staff struggling to account for these things. And no more time spent filing, managing and searching for paper-based documents stored in towers of file cabinets.
Whether your organization needs to close deals; onboard new hires; enroll students and customers; or gather consent and execute any contractual processes, the right e-signature solution offers the speed, simplicity and precision to carry out these business-essential activities.
Benefits to Make John Hancock Proud
A digital signature may seem trivial, but it is a major stepping stone in the business world’s push toward digital transformation. It helps millions of companies realize a number of operational benefits. Among them, the ability to:
- Ditch the pen and paper. And the errors, costs, risks and delays they create across your business.
- Enable mobility. Collect signatures, access documents and manage the process from anywhere.
- Modernize Workflows. Bring speed, efficiency, and visibility into every step of the signing process.
- Create Stronger Relationships. Deliver a digital signing experience that makes working with your business effortless.
- Demonstrate compliance. Keep information protected, enforce your rules and produce an audit trail of every action taken.
Organizations of all sizes, from large enterprises to small- and medium-sized businesses, across a multitude of industries, have joined the e-signature movement to improve document management, streamline workflows and build efficiencies into their operations. Industry research supports these successes:
- Businesses using e-signatures have experienced an 83-percent performance improvement in getting approvals, along with an 86-percent savings in document costs, according to the Electronic Signature and Records Association.
- Companies that use e-sign tools are able to cut down document-handling costs by as much as 85 percent.
- Organizations have achieved 70- to 80-percent efficiency improvements after removing manual processes to adopt digital technologies such as e-signature solutions.
- A Forrester use case report indicated one enterprise saved 22,000 staff hours annually by implementing an e-signature solution.
While these types of metrics are important and make a strong business case, the environmental impact of e-signature technology is also significant. Paper documents (and their negative impact on the environment) simply send the wrong message in today’s more altruistic digital age.
The industries that stand to benefit most from e-sig solutions include healthcare, legal, financial services, insurance, education and telecommunications. But make no mistake, the use of digital signatures can positively affect every type of business.
E-Sig Solutions Transformed by the Cloud
On their own, electronic signatures provide one of the easiest opportunities for accelerating transformation by enabling businesses to digitally send, sign and approve documents in minutes.
A major factor behind the impressive growth in electronic signatures is the technology’s increasing adoption through Software as a Service (SaaS). Aside from being easy to implement, this SaaS-based adoption growth is being driven by the growing cloud deployments of e-signature solutions. A large number of SaaS-deployed e-signing tools are used in HR, sales, logistics and legal departments of businesses that frequently require signatures of third-party partners.
The days of completing paperwork only in hard copy—when deadlines are tight—can be virtually eliminated. Today’s businesses require a hybrid approach for managing signatures on human-created documents and machine-generated content within distributed applications and across workflows. By automating document workflows across departments, e-signatures can provide substantial efficiencies in helping businesses eliminate paperwork bottlenecks. Along with cloud-based document management and process automation platforms, e-signature solutions are digitizing documents, which is significantly more efficient when compared to the conventional pen-and-paper method.
Additionally, e-signatures will be one of the essential technologies required as the business world moves toward a more hybrid workplace model, especially in the realm of HR.
Playing a Role in Digital Transaction Management
More than just a matter of convenience, the most innovative e-signature solutions take one-off digital signings to a whole new level through integrations with cloud-based document management and process automation platforms. These capabilities allow companies to more easily add signature requests and capabilities to help move them further along their digital transformation journeys—removing the need for any paper-based documents and empowering them to implement full digital transaction management (DTM).
Where does your company stand with its digital transformation?
Learn more about how an e-signature solution can start you on your journey.
