Each time I hear a new anecdote about contracts that take a few months to negotiate, contracts delivered by couriers for signing that disappear, or stupefied managers blushing in front of their bosses because they failed to extend a contract on time or delivered services to a client whose contract has expired… I am sad. Unfortunately, there are organisations that manage contracts using old and verified, but ineffective methods. We need to understand that traditional office software is no longer sufficient for managing contracts – or that it is sufficient, but technology can offer more. Why not take advantage of this?
For example, research agency Aragon Research, which specialises exclusively in the analysis of IT, states that as many as 70% of the world’s major companies will have almost or fully implemented e-signature and process-automation strategies by the end of 2016. This includes contract-management processes. Just think: by processing contract negotiations, approvals and signatures online, complex agreements can be signed not within a week, but within a day. And simple contracts can be concluded not within a day, but within an hour. This does not mean you have more time for coffee, unfortunately… But rather more time for other important tasks. Calculating the financial benefits is also not difficult. When a contract is signed more than a dozen times faster, you not only save time, but also accelerate the entire workflow process.
Of course, you are shaking your head and saying that signing contracts with an electronic signature is so unrealistic. Perhaps you even say out loud that you don’t know where to start, that the process is unsafe and inconvenient, and that it’s unclear what to do with these contracts later. From a security perspective, you can take it easy. Scientists have estimated that the world’s most powerful computer would need to perform calculations for two years to decrypt an electronic signature code. This is why an e-signature time stamp is valid for two years, after which you have to attach a new one. The stamp provides proof that the signature or data were created before the time indicated on it, thus ensuring that the signature is valid. And what about legal issues? This is of course a natural question, for which an answer has long been provided. In many countries, legislation contains a provision that contracts using electronic signatures have the same legal effect as those signed by hand.
To sum up, all the prerequisites are there for state-of the art contract management. However, the European and global markets lack complete and perfect solutions that are inexpensive and do not require complex configuration. For this reason, the company DocLogix has already for a year had a team of programmers developing a next-generation tool for the signing and management of contracts.
The new product does not yet have a name, but the company knows exactly how it will help customers:
- The tool will deliver documents for approval and signing to the necessary people;
- It will allow contracts to be signed using all means for electronic signatures (card readers, mobile signatures, etc.);
- It will provide a pleasant environment for the storage and management of electronic contracts;
- It will be soon available as a service;
- It will be simple and intuitive to use;
- The service will be cheap because there will be no installation costs and you will not need your own IT infrastructure.
Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the tool for signing contracts with an electronic signature. Is there anything you want to know about it? Do you have any doubts? Would you use this service?