The current health crisis has accelerated the dematerialization movement that has been underway in recent years. The intensification of electronic exchanges and the democratization of CRM make it possible to fluidify the phases of acquisition and conversion of leads. But the signature stage remains crucial. If the handwritten signature is one of the most basic gestures known to all to formalize a contract or a partnership, the electronic signature and its contours are much less known, yet it is likely to become widespread.

What is an electronic signature?

The electronic signature is, as its name indicates, a process that allows a computer document to be signed electronically. When signing electronically, a visual signature is often affixed to a document, but the legal value of the electronic signature is in fact based on a cryptographic process regulated since 2014 by the eIDAS regulation. According to the national authority for information systems security, this regulation aims to increase trust in electronic transactions within the European internal market.

What are the differences between a handwritten signature and an electronic signature?

From the user’s point of view, the signature is just as simple as the handwritten signature, and above all much faster and more ecological than the tedious process of printing/signing/scanning: to prove his identity, the user wishing to sign a document must enter a code received by telephone, a software application or click on a personalized link. This step authenticates the user as the legitimate signer of the document. The signature is then simply a click of a button, which is manifested by the visual and cryptographic signature.

In fact, the electronic signature is much more secure than the handwritten signature, because it prevents the risks of litigation relating to the content of the document: it guarantees both the identity of the signatory and the integrity of the document. Any modification of the document after the fact would invalidate the signature.

A real ally for digital transformation

Why mention electronic signatures on ActuIA? Because the strength of a chain is measured by its weakest link. The signature phase is often a bottleneck in companies, because it is difficult to automate with a handwritten signature. The great interest of electronic signature is the possibility to rely on available APIs to automate the signature of documents. The API of YouSign, one of the European leaders of the electronic signature market, allows for example to easily integrate the electronic signature with ERP, CRM or online sales solutions, in order to automate the contract signature workflow.

This solution caught our attention because it offers a Python library, the leading language of artificial intelligence, on github. The API allows to initiate the creation of signature procedures and to be notified in real time of events such as document signature through webhooks. It is therefore possible to automate the signature process by integrating it as a standard algorithmic step in the user journey.

A practice that is set to become more widespread

According to an OpinionWay survey conducted for Oodrive in February 2020, only half of companies with 500 or more employees were using electronic signatures at the time. The practice has increased sharply since the beginning of the health crisis and should not falter once the crisis is over: with application packages starting at €9 excluding VAT/month and API packages starting at €75 excluding VAT/month, given the time savings, the gain in security and the fluidity of the process, it is really difficult to find any disadvantages to electronic signing.

Translated from Quid de la signature électronique à l’heure de la transformation numérique ?