Benefits of Digital Signatures
What are Digital Signatures?
Organisations around the world continue to look at ways to do more with less, while at the same time increase their security and productivity. Many organisations operate Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to manage digital credentials. An added benefit of a PKI is the use of Digital Signatures, which provide greater security than an electronic signature through encryption verification technology. A digital signature will show if someone has tampered or altered a document.
Digital signatures make workplaces more secure and efficient. Digital signing will help your organisation save time, money, and space, providing better security, improving productivity, and cutting down on paperwork. The benefits of digital signatures include:
- Cost savings
- Time savings
- Greater efficiency
- Increased security
- Easy to deploy
- Remote access
Benefits
Fast Turn Around
Employees at institutions using traditional signatures are required to complete many steps to sign and return a document received via email. The traditional paper-centralised workflow involves hardware such as printers, scanner, and shredders, as well as storage. This workflow is slow, labour intensive, and costly from hardware, paper, ink, and a storage perspective.
Cost Savings
Cost savings are achieved by reducing the amount of paper printed copied, stamped, filed, and destroyed. Costs saved include:
- Paper purchase costs
- Printing/photocopy costs
- Paper delivery costs
- Paper scanning costs
- Paper storage costs
- Paper disposal costs
- Hardware costs
Strengthen Security
Digital Signatures are comprised of a number of security features that protect the document and reduce the risk of duplication or alternation of the document. The benefits of digital signatures relative to electronic signatures are detailed in the table below.
Workflow Efficiency
Digital Signatures ensure greater efficiency in workflow due to fewer delays. A number of efficiencies are gained in:
- Managing and tracking documents
- Decreased process time
- Organisation and storage
- Easier and faster to search through stored documents that cabinets or boxes.
Increased Storage Space
Digital files are stored in virtual servers connected to the IT network or in the cloud. This means traditional physical document storage facilities that occupy a lot of space and require onsite access.
Case Study
Business Problem
The client was a large government agency with a remote work force, relying heavily on wet signatures and traditional paper centralised workflow for contract and approval management. The traditional workflow had a negative impact on operational efficiency and a number of risks were highlighted around business continuity due to the slow processes, and due to remote staff being unable to access centralised printed storage and archive facilities.
Solution
Cogito Group was selected to enable digital cryptographic signatures on documents that were emailed or simply stored and reference on the remote Electronic Document Management System. By allowing all users, including remote staff, to easily authenticate and approve documents via a new digital signature workflow, the client realised a number of benefits including the ability to sign contracts, performance appraisals, orders, and other documents that required a high level of assurance of their authenticity and origin.
Realised Benefits
- Legally binding document signing without printing
- Legally binding document signing for remote workforce and mobile users on the move without print or scan capability
- Improved security
- Evidence-based documentation
- Additional agility in the workforce without loss of capability
- Streamline administrative and legal processes
- Cost savings
- Environmental sustainability
- Better productivity and time management
- Access from anywhere and at any time.
Download our Benefits of Digital Signatutes Fact Sheet below
