What is the electronic signature.
The electronic signature is the transposition in the digital world of the handwritten signature, but beware, it is not the “scan” of it.
The electronic signature, also called the digital signature, consists in guaranteeing the integrity of a document and the identity of the signatories. It thus ensures that the document has not been altered between its signature and its consultation, in the same way as a paper signature.
Since the law n°2000-230 of March 13, 2000, the electronic signature has the same value as a handwritten signature. Also, electronic transactions within the EU are facilitated by the implementation of the European regulation n°910/2014 called eIDAS. This regulation sets the rules and criteria to be respected for an electronic signature to be legally recognized.
The eIDAS (Electronic IDentification And Trust Services) regulation is the regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions within the 28 member states of the European Community.
The eIDAS regulation defines three levels of electronic signatures:
The simple signature:
This is the most widely used procedure, allowing for rapid and smooth use. It provides a guarantee of identification of the signatory.
It is applicable to documents with limited risk factors.
The advanced signature:
It is more secure, so the advanced electronic signature must:
be linked to its signatory in a unique and clear way
allow the signatory to be formally identified
be created under the sole control of the signatory with his or her telephone or personal computer
guarantee that the deed to which it is attached has not been modified since it was signed
She is advised in the context of financial transactions or legal documents that may present significant legal issues.
The qualified signature :
It represents the most advanced stage of security in terms of electronic signature. It can be particularly restrictive and is only used in very specific cases.
It requires the use of a signature key stored on a physical medium, issued by a certification authority recognized by the ANSSI (French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems), after verification of identity carried out most of the time during a physical meeting. Once the signature key is given to the signatory, it can be used to sign documents for a limited period of time (often 3 years).
It is recommended for authentic deeds of notaries or lawyers.
Financial and environmental issues for companies
The electronic signature offers many advantages for companies:
Fluidized commercial relations:
It is an ally of the digital transformation of commercial processes in this sense or it facilitates the follow-up of negotiations and allows to reduce the delays.
While the handwritten signature of a contract can take several weeks, from sending to modifications, signing and returning the document, the electronic signature takes only a few moments and everything is done online.
Time savings and environmental impact :
It avoids sending and handling large documents.
And reduces travel.
The costs associated with printing, archiving and routing documents are greatly reduced.
A guarantee of security:
Signature processes are clearly defined and secure.
Documents are saved digitally.
Physical storage can be drastically reduced.
In summary, cost reduction and strong environmental impact are the guarantee of a better ecological footprint for companies.
Containment: a gas pedal for the adoption of electronic signatures.
Containment and the coronavirus crisis have been unexpected factors in the expansion of the digital tool. One of the unexpected consequences of this unprecedented period is the acceleration in the digitalization of processes.
New for some, and already in place for others, the electronic signature has therefore made it possible to maintain an activity at a distance. It has thus found a place of choice among the tools used by company directors and administrative managers to facilitate the pursuit of online procedures.
With data security and integration into workflows, online document signing can now be carried out with complete confidence, resulting in significant time savings. The unprecedented context has been a real gas pedal and revealing for the implementation of this approach for companies who have encountered the difficulty of signing physical documents. Some customers have even brought their projects online more than a year earlier.
Continuing the policy of dematerialization and digitization of processes already underway in companies, the electronic signature thus becomes a major element of the digital transformation.
The electronic signature at the heart of Amexio’s expertise
The electronic signature is the last step for a complete digitization of business processes, it is totally within the core expertise of Amexio’s activities.
To date, there are many electronic signature solutions, which differ from one another in terms of the ergonomics of their interfaces, their business models and their level of compliance with current regulations. However, all of them can be integrated into corporate ECM tools and run on the most common document formats.
The electronic signature is also a support for mobility because it offers the possibility to digitally sign a document from a browser or a mobile device.
As an ECM expert, we already carry out projects for our customers that include electronic signatures. This is a complement to the ECM solutions that have been implemented and thus completes the digitization of business processes. In the same way, Amexio can be force of proposal on the choice of solutions which can best meet the needs of the company as well as the legal requirements.
In the projects we lead, the signature is fully integrated into our customers’ ECM solutions, it can be triggered from a document workflow, a voluntary action on a document, or is an integral part of a business process.
Amexio therefore enables its customers to benefit from an electronic signature adapted to their needs and the regulations in force, and thus the preservation of documents in their infrastructures, or in a secure cloud (Amexio can also respond to the hosting aspect by offering its “Amexio Cloud” offer) throughout the business processes that handle them.
