Top Reasons Why Digital Signatures are Important for your Business

Technology and the internet have transformed the business landscape forever.

There is no looking back. In this digital age, people want everything now, at the very moment. To stay relevant, companies have to transform themselves radically. It has not been long since Digital Signatures have made their way into businesses irrespective of their size. There are various reasons for an organization to switch to Digital Signature if they have not adopted the system yet. Before analyzing the reasons, it is better to get a clear picture on digital signatures, how it works, and the objectives behind the concept.

What is a Digital Signature?

In simple terms, a Digital Signature is an algorithm or a technique for establishing the authenticity of documents and digital messages. It is a virtual fingerprint unique to a person used to identify signatories and secure data in digital document transmissions. Digital Signatures are compliant with legal regulations. They ensure the validity and authenticity of a digital document by providing proof of origin, time, identity, and status at any point in time. A digital signature can easily confirm whether the data sent from a source has been tampered with or not in its transit. They can also validate the identity of a signatory.

How does a Digital Signature work?

Every Digital Signature works on a mathematical algorithm. This algorithm produces a public key and a private key which gets linked to each other. When a document is electronically signed, the algorithm creates some internal data specific to the signed document by the corresponding signatory, and the data is then encrypted. This encrypted data is called a cryptographic hash.

Initially, a fixed-length string of letters and numbers gets generated from a mathematical algorithm. This string is unique to the file under hashing and is a one-way function. Access to this private key is limited to the person who signs the document. This private key encrypts the document data. The encrypted information or encrypted hash is then transmitted and gets decrypted with the signatory’s public key. The receiver receives the document and also a copy of the signer’s public key. This public key decrypts the signature. A cryptographic hash gets generated at the receiver’s end again. Both cryptographic hashes are cross-checked to validate their authenticity. The document is genuine if both hashes match.

The technical explanation of a Digital signature seems complex to a reader. But the benefits they offer outweigh this complexity. Let us analyze some of the advantages of Digital Signatures which proves that they are one of the essentials for your business.

Security Benefits

There is no doubt that technology is advancing at a rapid pace, but so do hackers. Nowadays, hackers are equipped with superior knowledge to outpass the loops and security measures of any organization. They are deviously smart. Digital Signature with digital encryption and Audit trails seals and secure your data in the document. It protects your business from fraud and keeps your information safe. It is easy to identify and locate any security breach if digital signatures are a part of the document. The risk of duplication or alteration becomes nil since time-stamping provides the date and time of the signature. Therefore the documents are tracked to minimize the risk of tampering or fraud. There are security features embedded in digital signatures to ensure that documents are not altered without proper authorization.

Save Trees, Go Paperless

Going paperless is not for a fashion statement but a need of the hour! We make paper from trees. So what is the environmental impact if we require more paper for our day-to-day work? Not an optimum choice for the sake of the environment! Your company becomes eco-friendly by reducing all paper-related costs in your company. More corporates are becoming eco-friendly and transitioning to a paperless office. Has it ever occurred to you that businesses that follow eco-friendly practices are one step ahead of their competitors? Digital signatures are a way for offices to reduce waste and be environment-friendly.

Save Money

The implementation of digital signatures requires financial investment initially, but in the long run, they are beneficial. With digital signatures, there is no need to send paper documents. Just imagine the amount of work required in sending a paper document to multiple stakeholders! The process becomes tedious and cumbersome if any paper documents go missing, misplaced, or swapped. Therefore digital signatures help businesses cut the cost on paper, pen, bulky file cabinets, file servers, administrative staff, and postal/courier services.

Customer Satisfication

With Digital signatures, the location of customers becomes insignificant to sign a document. The documents are sent and get signed anywhere in the world within seconds. This method is very effective, especially if the signatories are at remote places or small townships. The customer can be anywhere and can still engage with the company making products and services accessible and user-friendly.

Save on Time

How does a Digital signature save your time? To get a physical document signed by your manager out of the station, you will have to wait until he returns. But digital signatures make it possible to sign with a button click from anywhere in this world. Imagine the amount of time required if you need signatures from multiple people scattered across the globe! Digital signatures make this otherwise tedious task very simple. The turnaround time of the processes is thus drastically reduced, thereby enhancing the efficiency of workflows.

ePillars being a leading digital transformation solutions provider, plays a vital role in providing cutting-edge digital signing solutions. Our solutions allow you send documents that can receive multiple signatures, instantly verify of their authenticity all while being remote through mobile applications resulting in substantial savings of time, cost and energy. The DocuSign eSignature with integrated document management is the perfect solution for your business to go digital safely.

Contact us today for more details.