Going electronic in these tough times

Gerald Cäsar explains how digital and electronic signatures solutions enhance business processes through the making and saving of more money.

“The electronic signature helps to accelerate turnaround times by reducing customer waiting periods”
-Gerald Cäsar

The downturn in the economy has businesses of all sizes thinking how they could enhance their efficiency and cut costs, without damaging their business results in today's business environment. We at xyzmo SIGNificant believe that in these tough times business could extremely streamline their processes by embedding a simple solution, such as the electronic signature, to optimise the way they work, thus enable a true paperless workflow and have a chance to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Most of the companies today automate their business processes and document workflow procedures, leaving the approval stage the only component that requires the need of paper. Digital and electronic signatures replace the concept of traditional paper-based signing with an electronic one. Signing the original electronic document saves companies on labour, faxing and mailing costs. Additionally, digital signatures safeguard electronic documents and files by allowing the authentication of the signatory and verification of the original document. By embedding these solutions in their business, companies will no longer need to print documents and brake the electronic document cycle solely for the purpose of capturing a handwritten signature, therefore establishing a fully digitised process.

When considering the operational overhead of paper-based processes, the cost of each document becomes fairly high. From the experience, we acquired in xyzmo SIGNificant, we learnt that the simple step of embedding en electronic signature solution enables business to achieve two important goals, which are making and saving more money, resulting in a better bottom line with a quick and proven ROI. These goals are achieved thanks to the following benefits:

• Reducing operational and back office overhead - there is no need to perform paper-related tasks such as printing, scanning, faxing and shredding as the business processes become paper-free. In addition, all documents are available to the back office systems for real-time decision making and for immediate electronic archiving, eliminating cases of document loss or duplication.
• Increasing security and reducing fraud - Once the document is signed electronically, security increases. The integrity of the content is guaranteed and if requested, enabling dynamic verification of the handwritten signature against a pre-defined biometric profile.
• Doing more business by closing more deals faster - the electronic signature helps accelerating turnaround times by reducing customer waiting periods and avoiding searching for contracts while customers are waiting. Thus, more deals can be closed by enabling a rapid and efficient workflow.
• Drive customer satisfaction and retention - by embedding a handwritten electronic signature solution, which requires no changes in customers' habits. The customers continue to sign like they always did, but with a distinct advantage of an improved experience, thanks to reduced waiting times and the convenience of remote and secured document handling.
• Improved legal compliancy and limited liability - the electronic signature is added into the document the same way as signing a paper, but reduces the probability of document forgery, as any manipulation within the document will result in invaliding the signature.
• Increasing revenue by having more time available for up/cross selling - the usage of electronic signatures dramatically increases the efficiency of sales staffs and reduces processing times leaving more time for up/cross selling.

Many companies from diverse sectors such as telecommunication, banking, insurance, healthcare and pharmaceuticals are already taking advantage of what this cutting-edge technology has to offer in order to achieve better business results. With the knowledge that our electronic signature solutions could benefit many other customers, especially in time of financial uncertainty.

To find out more about how xyzmo SIGNificant can assist you in streamlining your business processes, visit www.xyzmo.com

Gerald Cäsar, President & CEO of xyzmo SIGNificant Group, holds a Masters degree in Engineering from the University of Linz, a Doctors degree in Technical Sciences and an MBA focused on sales and marketing. Over the last 19 years Cäsar has held several executive positions, exhibiting a wide range of business, managerial and marketing skills in companies like SERVO DATA and CSC.