Why Do You Need Digital Signature in Your Documents?

With almost everything online, companies are now adopting digital transformation into their business process. Whether a large enterprise or a small business, everything is online. Even collaboration and documentation benefits from the power of digital transformation.

However, as we transition to a more digital world, it becomes an unsecured place. There are plenty of cybercriminals trying to gain access to company data for different reasons.

For companies that handle paper works and documents, digital format is vital to make it easy to access and collaborate. However, it is prone to changes and experiences other threats.

But it doesn’t mean that digital documentation will always remain unsafe. There are plenty of ways companies can secure and maintain the authenticity of a document, and that’s by using a digital signature.

What is Digital Signature?

Digital signature utilizes a cryptographic process that combines the electronic signature with the data necessary to verify the signature process. It uses encryption technology from the public key infrastructure to provide an audit trail and confirms that the signature was not altered during the transaction. Digital signatures improve security and speed up document circulation for both senders and recipients.

It’s a digital version of a handwritten signature, but it’s more secure because it’s designed to prevent manipulation and deception in digital interactions.

But, a digital signature is not only used for security and authentication. There are plenty of benefits it can bring to a company.

Why Do You Need a Digital Signature?

Speedy Transaction for Better Customer Service

It is challenging to maintain customer satisfaction in today’s industry since everyone expects faster results. But, you don’t have to worry about that. Allowing your consumers to sign and send forms online will make your business interactions more efficient and friendlier. It demonstrates that your business is considerate of your customers’ busy schedules. By giving your consumers this kind of control, you may increase client retention while also establishing new customer ties right away.

Instead of waiting for signatures, you can ask customers can sign a document faster and on any device.

Environmental Impact

Deforestation is a serious issue that companies and governments must address. One way to do so is to find environmentally friendly options. Using digital signatures makes businesses save from the number of papers to deal with and contribute to a greener work environment. Furthermore, companies that implement green practices have far more advantages than their competitors.

Fewer Errors

There is no space for errors when it comes to contracts. Errors in documents can be a sign of tampering, which makes them invalid. Paper-based files are more prone to errors and typos than digital format. It can even lead to typos on signatures. 

But with a digital signature, there is a demand checking every step to validate the process and reduce errors. It’ll save time for you and your clients.

Additional Security

A digital signature uses an encryption verification technology – Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Two keys in Public Key Infrastructure are  “public key” and  “private key.” A private key is by the person who makes the digital signature and protects signature documents. The ‘MD algorithm’ encrypts the message into a “hash value” before encrypting the signed document. This hash value uses a private key. Only the person with a public key can decrypt the document.

When the public key is available, it will compare the hash value from the original sender and the receiver. If both match, you can view the document.

The approach of securing your documents with a digital signature provides a high standard of security. The file remains intact and secure until it reaches the recipient.

Widely Acceptable

As companies slowly embrace modern technology in their work process, a digital signature is accepted in our times. Plenty of companies locally and in other countries prefer digital signatures when dealing with their clients.

The pandemic has made digital signature possible for more companies to accept it.

Requires Less Time

Compared to the traditional signing process, which can take days, getting a document signed with a digital signature involves relatively little time. Users can sign quickly, and the time can be saved and used in other areas of the company. A timestamping mechanism is included in digital signatures, ensuring non-repudiation. Furthermore, you can sign remotely from any location. Hence, it eliminates the need for physical presence, saving time and money on travel.

5 of the Best Digital Signature Applications

DocuSign

DocuSign is a popular e-signature app compatible with multiple operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac).

Companies use it because of its simple and easy-to-use interface. It is accessible at all times and on any device. So, work can be done faster and easier. Users can integrate it to create contracts, letters, invoices, and more.

DocuSign makes things easier by allowing integration on leading APIs. If you have an Adobe Acrobat License, you can add DocuSign to secure your PDF files or contracts. It can work with over 350 applications.

They have a 30-day free trial on their paid plans if you want to give DocuSign a try.

HelloSign

HelloSign is now by Dropbox. It’s another e-signature name that has made its way on top of others. Once you log in to your account, you can send or sign a document. There are even templates you can choose from.

It is easy to use like DocuSign, with no need for any expertise. Also, it can be used to legally bind a contract and secure documents.

Teams using HelloSign improve productivity by enhancing the completion rate by integrating it into other sales apps and mobile devices.

You can personalize your signature by adding your company’s logo, tagline, and more. There’s also a team feature for admins to manage documents and give permission to team members over a centralized dashboard.

PandaDoc

PandaDoc is a digital signature app for a one-time contract signing or to have papers signed regularly for your company. It has something for everyone and is quite simple to use. You can manage signatures even on your mobile devices.

It is compliant with ESIGN and UETA to ensure documents are certified and authenticated. The file is secured with HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II certification.

You can create contacts, invoices, and more by choosing from over 450 templates available. Furthermore, you’ll receive instant notification when someone opens, views, comments, or signs a document.

Integrating PandaDoc to applications you frequently use is possible. It’ll be easy to collect signatures and sign documents quickly.

You can embed Custom-built forms on websites or share them for faster registration and payment processing.

PandaDoc has a free unlimited plan.

Adobe Sign

Adobe Sign is a cloud-based, enterprise-class e-signature service that allows you to substitute paper and ink signing with an automatic digital signature. You can use a browser or a mobile device to send, sign, track, and manage signatures. You may also integrate into apps and systems using turnkey connectors and APIs.

Signatures are used on any digital document, such as Microsoft 360, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

It has security standards for legal compliance and binding documents.

signNow

Everything you’ve read about the digital signature, signNow can handle it. But it even goes a step further from its competitors. SignNow also makes it easy to accept payments with its integration with airSlate.

It’s easy to create an account, upload, sign a document, and send it to the intended recipient.

It’s an excellent choice for most small to mid-sized businesses. It improves productivity by allowing team collaboration. There is the use of templates for creating documents, and by sharing a link is possible to collect signatures.

signNow has a password protection option and a two-factor authentication feature.

You can try signNow for free for seven days.

Conclusion

Digital signature plays a crucial role in document safety and authentication. It secures all the content of the digital files and makes sure that no one alters the document. However, a digital signature not only protects files. You can also make things easy for your customers, have less time needed, and allow collaboration.