E-signatures and electronic signing solutions are garnering greater recognition and acceptance in the business world today. They are convenient, provide significant cost-savings, streamline business operations, and save time on administrative tasks and logistics.

However, not all electronic signatures are built the same. E-signatures can be used to sign business contracts, and employment agreements. Digital signatures which are a type of electronic signature that has advanced security and verification features recorded in an audit trail are used in cases where there are higher security and regulatory requirements. 

Similarly, not all solution providers are built the same. Your ideal electronic signature and solution provider will depend on your business needs. To help you make an informed decision, we have compiled a list of questions to consider before choosing your potential or when evaluating your existing electronic signature provider.

1. How secure are your documents and E-signatures ?

For anyone switching over to electronic signatures, this is usually the foremost concern. Wet ink signatures carry with them a sense of familiarity and security, as the signee usually must be physically present and be witnessed as they append the document. However, wet ink signatures can be forged, and such cases of falsified signings are not uncommon. There is also the possibility of document tampering or other fraudulent activities. Overall, there are still security gaps when it comes to traditional wet ink signatures.

Secure electronic signature platforms usually come with multiple security layers dedicated to verifying user identity, safeguarding the integrity of the document to prevent tampering, and provide an audit trail to ensure robust authentication and record keeping. When choosing a vendor, it’s important to ask and understand how they offer such security and check if they have adopted best-practice international security standards and are accredited accordingly.

Document and data storage and residency should be another concern for anyone looking to move to electronic or virtually signed documents. Many sectors especially in certain highly regulated sectors handle sensitive or confidential data in signed documents. To guard against data leaks or unauthorised access to this information, you should understand how documents and data are handled. It is important to clarify if your e-signature solution provider has the flexibility to provide customised solutions that allow for on-premise, hybrid or bring-your-own storage data solutions. This ensures that you have true ownership of your data. It’s also important to find out how they comply with increasingly stringent data laws. These are critical considerations you should have when comparing different solution providers.

2. How Convenient Is the E-Signing Solution To Adopt?

While security is the main priority, ease of adoption is another important factor to take into account when choosing an electronic signature provider. It’s essential to remember that at its core, electronic signatures are meant to make your lives easier, not more cumbersome.

Consumers now more than ever before expect seamless digital experiences. If signing processes are complicated or time-consuming, consumers are likely to switch to a competitor quickly. Even for in-house processes, choosing the wrong electronic signature platform might end up costing more time and resources.

An electronic document signing solution should make it easy to prepare and send documents for signing. Learning the platform should be intuitive and user experience, responsive. Important features like document verification, versioning and audit trail should be easily accessible and user friendly to the admins. At Dedoco, we believe this should be made available to users and even authorised third parties to verify the validity of signed documents. Overall, the platform should also be accessible to all signers without going through too many hurdles and resistance.

Learn More: 9 Ways to Make Document Workflow Digitisation Easier

3. How Is The Support?

With the wide range of electronic signatures use cases, you are bound to chance upon situations where you will need to contact customer support. Check with potential solution providers to understand the level of support and turn around times you can expect. The following are also some key considerations:

1. What is the onboarding process like?
2. Is there live chat support?
3. What are typical response times?
4. Are there resources such as FAQs available online for you to troubleshoot and self-service queries?

Getting the answers to all these questions and more will ensure that you are choosing the right provider who will be able to provide you with the assistance you need in a timely manner.

Taking the time to find the right secure electronic signature provider with a platform that caters to your unique needs will accrue dividends in the long term. It’s a decision that has a direct and potentially long-lasting impact on company processes and requires that you do your due diligence.

At Dedoco we’re invested in making a better product for our customers. Our digital signing solutions provide privacy and tamper-proof verification while being easy to adapt and implement into your overall workflow. Talk to us today to find out more about our ready-to-use signing solution or custom solutions made accessible to organisations of all sizes.