Key Evaluation Criteria for

E-Signature Software
Making the Right Choice for Cost-Saving
Efficiency and Superior Service
By Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC)
Sponsored by eSignLive by VASCO

WWW.TECHNOLOGYEVALUATION.COM

Technology
Evaluation Centers

Key Evaluation Criteria for

E-Signature Software
Making the Right Choice for
Cost-Saving Efficiency and Superior Service

Executive Summary
For many years there has been talk of the paperless office. The paperless office and
workplace no longer has stacks of paper documents coming through the mailing room for
dispatch to the appropriate department for further collation, review, and signing. However,
with all this talk of the paperless office, one of the last sets of business transactions to be
truly automated is the plethora of documents that require a signature to complete the
business transaction. Electronic signature (e-signature) solutions have been around for
some time but are only now being seen as a critical component of digitization efforts in
organizations. This paper will first walk through the reasons why e-signature software is a
key to business process digitization.
The paper will then outline six key e-signature software selection criteria and their
importance in evaluating your software decision. These include solution flexibility, white
label branding, ease of use, integration, and automation. The evaluation criteria outlined
in this report are based on qualitative interviews with IT, operations, and line-of-business
(LOB) decision makers with the responsibility for e-signature software selection.
The paper also presents real-world business examples that show the benefits of
implementing e-signature software as part of a companys digital transformation. Finally,
we will look at e-signature software evaluation best practices to help you quickly and
efficiently select the best e-signature software solution for your organization.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

E-SignaturesKey to Business Process

Digitization
Disruptive forces drive digitization
Over the last few years, there have been many technological advances that are disrupting
business operations and challenging archaic business processes. The increasing use of
electronic signatures (e-signatures) across many different industries is one key example.
E-signature software provides the means to leave old practices behind. Consumers are no
longer satisfied with waiting for any product or service to be delivered. Todays consumers,
especially millennials, are used to having access to a product or service at the touch of
button on their mobile device, any time and anywhere they choose.
Many industries need to provide access to a product or service requiring a legally binding
signature. For many organizations, the process still looks something like this:
1.

The company sends a form for completion,

2.

the recipient signs,

3.

the recipient faxes or mails back the form,

4.

the company receives and reviews the form,

5.

the company countersigns, and,

6.

the consumer can finally start using the product or service. (Note: This process example
doesnt account for potential processing errors that can occur along the way.)

The above can be a costly and error-prone process and many organizations are replacing it
with a completely digital solution which, at its heart, has robust e-signature software. The
e-signature solution makes it possible to completely eliminate wet signaturespen and
ink on paperfrom these time-consuming business processes.
Bill Brice, 2014 Chairman of ESRA (Electronic Signature and Records Association) wrote in
ESRAs Predictions 2014 that, Just as e-mail once transformed business and communication,
e-signatures and e-records are completely altering the world in which we live, and
for several reasons. Businesses are finding that eliminating paper in favor of electronic,
automated documents saves both time and moneydocuments no longer go missing;
paper, ink and courier expenses become a thing of the past.
The new normal in todays digital world means giving consumers the ability to apply for
life insurance, close a mortgage loan, open a new bank account and sign a sales contract
or agreement on their own terms. A consumerbe it a customer or businesswants to
apply for a bank account online using their iPad from the kitchen table in the morning, and

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

be able to use the account that day. Someone purchasing a house needs to go through
numerous signature phases to complete the closure and the two parties involved in the
purchase are in different parts of the country with different agents representing them who
also need to sign during the process. Using e-signature software and leveraging other
digital tools, organizations are able to completely digitize these processes to meet the
demands of todays consumer.
Next, we look at how you can build a business case for going digital with e-signatures and
make the right decision when choosing an e-signature software provider.

E-signaturesa significant piece of the digitization puzzle

Other areas of the consumer experience have already been forever changed by the
explosion of digital technologies like the internet, mobile devices, and cloud computing.
E-signature technology is moving up on many organizations radar as a key to digitallyenabling business processes and underlying transaction workflows. Most people take it
for granted or even require that they be able to shop for their favorite consumer product
after seeing an article on the top ten latest and hippest options for the coming season
of that product. Retailers big and small have seen that they must be present on the Web
with appealing and instantaneous product purchasing options to remain viable. The one
part of business-to-consumer and business-to-business transactions that continues to use
a practice that is more than 1,000 years old is that of signing and managing documents to
support legal agreements between parties.
While many industries can benefit from digitizing processes that require a signature,
banking, insurance, government, and other highly regulated industries like life sciences are
on the forefront of leveraging e-signature technology and have seen a significant return
on investment. A company that processes thousands or tens of thousands of account
enrollment requests will see significant cost savings by virtually eliminating all of the steps
required to process a paper document.
Consider the example discussed above where a simple, single document had to go through
five steps before delivering a product or service to the customer. If it costs on average
$4 to produce, mail and review, copy, and store this document, a company that manages
100,000 documents is spending $400,000 dollars to manage the processing associated
with a single document. Now, add up all of the other documents that an organization like
a bank, insurance company, or government agency processesits easy to see the costsaving potential.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

Yet, the digitization of these types of business processes is not just for industries with large
volumes of documents that need to be signed or organizations that have complicated
signing processes. Other companies can see similar cost savings and other benefits
from using e-signature technology to automate customer experiences. Aberdeen Group
published a report that shows how, Best-in-class (the top 20 percent) of organizations
surveyed are more than twice as likely as all-others (the bottom 80 percent) to have
electronic signatures as part of their contract management solution. Digitizing the
signature steps of business processes can be used by any organization to automate
employee on-boarding or automate the signing and processing of purchasing agreements,
and really any other process that is being hindered by having to get a document printed,
signed, and returned. E-signature technology helps organizations of all shapes and sizes to
automate their business processes and develop all-digital workflows to help satisfy rising
customer expectations.

During peak
periods wed
be saving two
to three hours
per week per
advisor. So, if we
have about 8,000
advisors, that
is about 24,000
hours per week
in time saved.

Business value of digitization using e-signature software

RBC

We have touched on the more obvious cost savings of digitization but there is additional
value a company will gain by moving towards 100 percent digital handling of businessto-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and even internal processes. This section
details the return on investment (ROI) aspects that can be used to justify the purchase of
e-signature software, and less readily measured factors that show additional value gained
by moving to all-digital processes.
As companies need to thoroughly justify the costs of purchasing software, e-signature
software vendors can provide ROI calculators that will allow an organization to input
detailed cost breakdowns of everything involved in managing essential paper documents.
ROI calculators allow a company to estimate obvious costs like those for distribution,
supplies, administration, and handling costs. But a good ROI tool also shows how other
costs like archiving, the cost of compliance, and even costs of customer abandonment and
sales force productivity can drop by investing in e-signature solutions.
In an article published in Bank Systems & Technology, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
reported significant savings by implementing e-signature solutions across their operations.
Keith Wilson, senior manager of sales force technology enablement, notes that, During
peak periods wed be saving two to three hours per week per advisor. So, if we have about
8,000 advisors, that is about 24,000 hours per week in time saved. The bank estimates that
the solution will save about $8 million in administrative costs annually.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

These ROI calculators are quite extensive and very educational, but there are other soft
factors that, though not as easy measure, should also be considered when moving toward
the digitization of business processes. Organizations that make the move to all-digital
processes also see increased operational efficiencies such as a reduction in errors. Common
errors such as improper information populated in the original documents, not having all
the signature boxes completed, and the rework associated with these errors can be almost
completely eliminated. The turnaround time of digital processes can also be vastly superior
to that of traditional documents processes. The electronic tracking and management of
documents strengthens regulatory and legal compliance. All this leads to an enhanced
customer experience and satisfied consumers.

Thorough software evaluation is crucial before selection

When choosing an e-signature solutionas with other similarly important enterprise
technologiesits essential to undertake a rigorous software selection process. An
organization needs to make sure that a solution fulfills business needs, can meet industry
and government regulatory requirements, and functions as part of the enterprises technical
architecture. E-signature solution selection might not be as large as, say, an enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software selection. However, the decision should not be taken
lightly. The decision should be made by a cross-functional team comprised of business and
technical experts, and be championed by a senior executive within the organization.
Like many software decisions, a company will have to live with its e-signature software
decision for years to comeespecially when e-signatures become an integral part of the
organizations business processes. The success of a single line of business in implementing
an e-signature quickly spreads, and many other parts of the organization will be ready to
jump on the bandwagon. Thus, what might first be seen as a small, isolated e-signature
initiative for a particular line of business can rapidly turn into a corporate digitization
initiative. Be careful not to jump into the first, low-cost service that shows up on your
favorite search engine.
The e-signature market has seen significant growth over the last few years. Since the most
recent Forrester Wave report on e-signatures released in 2013, the industry has seen a
number of large acquisitions, and a significant number of new vendors have appeared on
the market. Its important to take the time to perform a detailed software evaluation before
signing up with an e-signature provider.
We next look at six key e-signature decision criteria to be carefully considered before
making such an important decision.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

Six Key E-Signature Software Decision

Criteria
Here we explore six key decision-making criteriabased on interviews with organizations
that have either considered or are using e-signature technologythat should be evaluated
before purchasing e-signature software.

1. Flexibility
Solution flexibility is important for a number of reasons. Often a company will begin using
e-signature software to support a particular line of business (LOB) or one department. But
e-signature solutions will soon be seen as an essential component of a 100 percent digital
organization. The solution chosen needs to be flexible in a number of ways to allow it to
grow with an organizations growing needs. There are multiple ways in which an e-signature
software solution needs to be flexible so that it can support this growth and change.

Multiple deployment options: The solution should allow a company the choice of
deploying it in a public or private cloud, or on-premises behind the organizations
firewall. Ideally, the solution can be migrated between these different deployment
models with minimal to no changes to the processes and integrations developed.

Multiple ways to consume: E-signature software is consumed broadly in two distinct

ways. The first is ad hoc or sender-driven. The second is when the tool is integrated
with corporate applications such as a web portal, a third-party application such as
a customer relationship management system, or other internally-developed systems.
In the latter case, there is no manual work done by employees to prepare the signing
process; documents are system-generated and completely automated.

Multiple authentication methods: Because different digital processes require

differing levels of authentication, the solution shouldnt be limited in the ways in
which the signers are authenticated. It should support email, SMS, static and dynamic
knowledge-based authentication (e.g., security questions), biometrics, smart cards,
and digital certificates for authentication, and permit a combination of multiple
authentication methods.

Multiple devices: Though it may go without saying that customers and users will be
working on multiple deviceslaptops/PCs, tablets, or smart phonesthis capability
shouldnt be overlooked. The e-signature solution needs to do more than support
multiple devices, but the vendor needs to have the resources and the experience to
be able to optimize the experience across all devices.

Multiple languages and worldwide cloud locations: Even small businesses should
look for a solution and a vendor that can support changes being brought by the
globalization of business. Multiple major languages should be supported natively by

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

the solution, along with the ability to add other languages easily when needed. When
looking at a cloud solution, the vendor should have worldwide cloud locations for data
residency and high service performance (minimal data latency).

Multiple channels: E-signature software is not just used on multiple devices but will
also be consumed and used via multiple channels. A solution should enable customers
to use the product via the Web, during a retail sales process, remotely when transacting
through a call center, or out in the field. The solution needs to be flexible enough to
adapt to the different consumer channel experience.

White label
brandingor
white labeling
gives an
organization
the ability to
maintain its own
brand across
the e-signature
process.

2. White label branding

White label brandingor white labelinggives an organization the ability to maintain its
own brand across the e-signature process. This is important when it comes to reinforcing
customer trust in the digital transaction and to achieving high adoption rates. With
cybercrime and electronic fraud increasing on an almost daily basis, consumers are wary
about being presented with an unfamiliar companys brand during an electronic process,
especially during a process that requires them to enter personal data online. Without white
labeling, a consumer might lose trust and abandon the electronic signature process.

It is important that an e-signature solution has the ability to white-label the e-signature
process and fully customize the e-signing experience. This enables a company to put
its brand front and centerbefore, during, and after customers sign.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

This is particularly important for business to consumer (B2C) applications, where

organizations dont want customers to be aware that a third-party technology is being
used to drive the e-signing experience. The customer wants to feel secure that the
document being signedand the information contained thereinis being transmitted
in confidence and securely between only the parties involved in the transaction.

3. Ease of use
E-signature solutions need to be very simple to use for all types of users, from baby boomers
to millennials, and from frontline workers to C-level executives. The solution needs to
be accessible and easy to use for everyone that sends and signs a document, and for IT
professionals to develop and administer. The goal of going paperless is to have a solution
that is easier to use than paper document processing. If the solution isnt easy to use, it will
be relegated to the graveyard of IT initiatives that have fallen flat.
Easy for senders: Sending the document for signing is the first step in the process, so this
step must be very easy. It needs to be as easy as printing and e-mailing, or the senders will
revert to their old ways. The solution should also be integrated with the existing business
process so that it is intuitive. The total solution needs to pre-fill documents with all the
available information. If the electronic signature solution requires much special training
then a company risks losing one of the most important usersthe sender. Look for features
like:

Drag and drop menus and pull-down menus that make it easy to prepare and send
documents out for signing.

The ability to create templates that you can reuse for repeatable signing processes to
save time preparing documents.

The ability to fully automate document preparation.

Automated alerts that notify staff when documents are not signed on time.

Transaction management capability.

Easy for signers: The signing process must also be accomplished without any training
like its paper equivalent. The consumer needs to be able to receive the document and
be guided through the entire signing process, without assistance. The signer should also
be able to perform their tasks on any devicedesktop or mobile. Look for an e-signature
solution that:

Doesnt require signers to setup an account with the e-signature service.

Doesnt require any downloads, plug-ins, or training.

Pre-populates signing dataname, title, date, etc.to save time.

Alerts signers if theyve forgotten to sign or initial in all the required places.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

Easy for IT developers and administrators: The majority of IT organizations are

understaffed while continually being asked to do more with less. The last thing a company
wants to do is throw another solution onto the already huge stack of products and services
that the IT group needs to support. The development group needs a solution that can
be easily integrated with existing enterprise solutions. And the infrastructure team
including the networking and server teamsdoesnt need yet another burden to add to
their already complex environments.

4. Audit trails
Documented audit trails are a critical factor to consider when searching for e-signature
software. An e-signature solution is only as good as its ability to record the entire signing
process. All e-signature solutions have the capability to track what was signedthe
content, date and time stamp, and the signature(s). What differentiates e-signature
solutions is the ability to track and replay the activity surrounding the signing, like the
pages displayed to the signer, location of the signing, along with timestamps of those
events during the document signing process. This is sometimes referred to as an active
audit trail that illustrates how the e-sign process took place.
What happens when a customer takes your company to court claiming that they never saw
the additional terms appendix of a ten-page contract that they signed? Having a solution
that is only able to capture the static, single signing event will not protect your company
in an audit or customer dispute. To be able to prove that the customer saw all of the pages
in the contract, the e-signature solution needs to be able to record the entire process and
be able to export this evidence should the need arise. These audit capabilities are also
extremely important for regulated industries that need to provide documented proof to
regulatory bodies.
Make sure to understand how and where the audit trail is stored. If the audit trail is stored
in the vendors cloud then how will this audit trail be viewed two or five years from the
date of signing? Even if a vendor provides some guarantee that they will store the audit
trail for a period of time that meets your companys records retention policy, you cannot be
sure that this vendor will be able to back up this guarantee. Ideally, the audit trail is stored
within the document and therefore travels with the document through its lifecycle. Vendor
independent storage of the final signed document and audit trail is also an important
consideration.

5. Integration
Almost all businesses will need to integrate the e-signature technology with their business
systems. There might be a few cases of documents that will only need to have a quick
signature applied to a static document, but these will be few and far between. A bank

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

10

that wants to push account applications out via its mobile banking solution will need to
integrate the e-signature software into its application. An insurance company that needs
to send claim forms to customers will need to pre-populate the form with the appropriate
information and send the form to the customer for signature and return. A company
sending insurance enrollment documents will need to link to the internal human resources
system to automate the enrollment process. The e-signature solution and vendor need
to provide for rapid integration with major software solutionssuch as Salesforceand
other business systems within an organization.
Here its important for the IT team to be engaged in the selection process and perform its
due diligence on the e-signature solution. The IT team should make sure that the solution
offers open application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits
(SDKs) that enable the development staff to rapidly deploy integrated solutions. The
SDKs need to support a wide range of integration options including SDKs for popular
programming languages such as .NET, Java, APEX, and iOS environments. Vendors should
also be able to provide pre-built connectors for popular software packages, sample code,
and support for the development team. The development team also needs a place to
worklook into how a vendor charges for development environments.

6. Automation
Optimal signing experience is achieved with both up and downstream processing
to create a streamlined process from start to finish. The automation of the upstream
processing makes the sender more productive by pre-populating documents with all
required information. These upstream automation steps are also important because they
eliminate manual, error prone steps in the business process. The downstream processing
steps are often more complicated than simply getting a signature on the document. The
e-signature solution needs to be robust enough to allow for optional processing steps
such as flexible data capture, document insertion, and multiple signature options. Figure 1
shows a complete digital transaction workflow.

Figure 1: Digital transaction workflow

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

11

The important thing to keep in mind is that the e-signature solution should not just
automate the signing experience but also the complete electronic business process,
from document creation to the automatic indexing of the signed documents into the
organizations system of record.
Make sure to look into how an e-signature solution supports the enterprises IT operations
team. The solution needs to be monitored and controlled operationally, and provide
system-wide notifications and alerts.
A final potential oversight in searching for an e-signature solution is that companies do
not often consider the need to support complex workflows until later in the transition
to digital business processes. The e-signature solution should support options such as
specifying multiple signees/co-signees, having different workflows for components of a
document, and other more complex automated document workflows.

Other e-signature software criteria to consider

There are other factors that shouldnt be overlooked when searching for an e-signature
solution and a vendor to be your partner on this digital journey.
One selection factor not addressed above is that of security. This is of critical importance
and needs to be embedded across every aspect of the e-signature solution. The documents
and signatures tracked need to be completely secure. The e-signature solution needs to
tamper-seal the signed document, as well as ensure that the data is encrypted in transit
and at rest. Strong authentication is a key component to ensuring the security of the
transaction. Moreover, when using a solution that is in the cloud, the data should reside
on an application that is continuously monitored and undergoes rigorous security audits
issued by third party auditors. These types of audits keep the e-signature vendor honest
and ensures that your data and your customers data is safe and secure at all times.
Finally, make sure to find a vendor that has experience and referenceable customers in
your industry. A vendor should have a solid history supporting the unique needs of your
industry, and demonstrate deep knowledge of challenges facing your industry. Dont be
afraid to ask the vendor to share metrics on customer retention and customer satisfaction
rates. And dont be afraid to seek flexible pricing models that can scale up or down with
your organization over time.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

12

E-Signature Success Stories

U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank has offered e-signatures to consumers and business customers
in all 3,087 branches since 2011, when it automated consumer and
SMB loans and leasing. In February 2013, it expended e-signature
capability to in-branch deposit account openings. Within weeks, the bank had scaled
its volume of e-signed documents eight-fold. In 2015, U.S. Bank took the next step in its
enterprise document strategy and extended e-signatures to online disclosure delivery.
With e-signatures, the bank has cut document handling by 80 percent, reduced document
errors by 90 percent, redeployed 95,000 hours of bankers time, and improved customer
experience. According to Ron Eddy, an associate vice president for technology and
operations at U.S. Bank, Mistakes have dropped so much that entire departments that used
to be dedicated to fixing errors and calling those customers back in to repair mistakes have
been disbanded and the reps are being redeployed to other work. E-signature adoption is
at 85 percent for loans and 90 percent for new account openings, with the bank processing
approximately 150,000 e-signed documents per week.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded R&D facility
staffed and managed by the California Institute of Technology for
NASA. JPL had a vision to create a paperless e-contracting system. To
achieve this, the JPL team designed a system to digitize the entire workflowthey now
create contracts electronically, route them with Microsoft SharePoint, capture signatures
electronically from staff and vendors, and automate storage and close-out. Based on the
first 5,000 contracts e-signed, their acquisitions department has seen major productivity
benefits. Gathering signature approvals internally used to take two to six weeks. That is
now done in days. In just one of its departmental organizations, JPL has been able to save
$30,000 annually due to fewer printer and copier leases, and less ink, toner, and binder
supplies. Their e-signature implementation also leverages a pre-integrated connector for
SharePoint. JPL plans to roll-out e-signatures across the laboratory as a shared service that
can be easily accessed by any departmentextending the ROI of going digital to all.

Life Insurance Carrier

In 2009, this top 50 insurance carrier made electronic applications
and e-signatures available to its 2,200 field agents. A comprehensive
education and change management plan resulted in strong e-signature
adoption. Today, 95 percent of their 2,200 financial representatives use
the e-app, and they are e-signing 75 percent of applications. The carrier has since extended

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

13

e-signatures to term, universal and whole life insurance applications, disability insurance,
Medicare supplement plans, annuities, and other products. Prior to e-signatures, manual
processing led to write-backs and delays because applications were returned to the carrier
missing signatures and data. The electronic process has since significantly reduced writebacks. Documents are completed properly the first time around, resulting in higher quality
applications and less risk. Other benefits include a 15 to 20 percent improvement in cycle
times, depending on case complexity. And the extensive audit trails captured by eSignLive
strengthen the carriers compliance and legal position.

National Retail Drugstore Chain

E-signatures are being used by pharmacists in all 1,200 locations
to sign purchase orders of narcotics and controlled substances. By
e-signing purchase orders using the click-to-sign method, pharmacists
have accelerated drug delivery while also strengthening regulatory compliance. According
to an IT supply chain manager, By the end of the first day of Go-Live, 83 percent of our
user base was able to easily navigate to the application and start signing purchase orders.

By the end of
the first day
of Go-Live, 83
percent of our
user base was
able to easily
navigate to the
application and
start signing
purchase
orders.

Prior to using e-signatures, pharmacists were already placing orders electronically with
the distribution center, but once the e-order was placed, they would have to print out
a paper copy of the P.O., sign it in ink, and mail it back to the distribution center. If the
distribution center did not receive the signed P.O. within five days, it was not permitted to
ship any further orders to the store until the paperwork was in good order. The immediacy
of e-signatures alleviates this issue and streamlines the ordering process for pharmacists.
The drugstore chains rate of delinquency dropped to 1 percent in its first month of using
eSignLive.

E-Signature Software Evaluation Best

Practices from TEC
In this section, we provide guidance on how to select the right e-signature software for
your organization. E-Signature software selection is similar to other software selection
efforts but has some key differences. Many large, corporate software selection efforts will
often start with identifying a project sponsor and assembling a cross-functional team to be
part of the selection effort. This team will then be tasked with making the recommendation
to senior management on the best solution that will meet the organizations needs. In
e-signature selection projects, the e-signature software has already been identified as a key
component of an overall digital transformation initiative and the team is in place. However,
if this isnt the case for your organization, make sure that this step isnt overlooked.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

14

The business case for digital transformation initiatives has been made. The organization
has identified that it wishes to eliminate the costs and burden of handling large volumes
of paper documents that required manual signatures. With a team in place, a company can
proceed with the selection efforts. Earlier, we outlined how great value can be realized by
putting in place a solid e-signature solution. When going through the selection process, its
good to keep an eye on the prize and not lose site of the value that will be realized after the
solution is in place. If a company hasnt done an ROI estimate, this is good to have in place
should there be any questions thrown at the selection team during the selection effort.

Identify
primary
use cases

2
Issue an
RFI / RFP

Map
before
& after
workflows

Define
your
requirements

Custom
demo / POC

Software
vendor
research

Project
plan

Decision

Here are eight key steps to follow in an e-signature software selection:

1. Identify primary use cases: Coordinate internal workshops to identify business
processes that will benefit through digitization and then prioritize the top one to
two use cases. To identify the top use cases, take into account where e-signatures will
have the biggest organizational impact, and consider whether to focus on internal
(employee-to-employee), business to business, or customer-facing transactions.
Consider what other companies in your industry are doing.
2. Map before and after business process workflows: Document the current paperbased processes from start to finish. Map out future processes and consider process
improvements that can be obtained by using e-signatures. Note the document
volumes including number of pages within the documents. Make sure to consider
that paper-based processing may still be required in some future processes.
3. Define your requirements: With the new processes in hand, create a detailed list of
all the e-signature software requirements. Make sure to engage the cross-functional
selection team and bring in experts from legal, IT, and business groups to provide
feedback. Collect requirements such as legal and compliance, data residency,

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

15

branding and customer experience, security, and deployment options (on-premise or

in the cloud).
4. Software vendor research: Now an organization is ready to start the search for a
vendor that can meet all of its requirements. A number of different sources are
available to help narrow down the list. The Forrester Wave on the e-signature market
is one of the most complete analyst publications to date. G2 Crowd also covers the
e-signature software space. The top names include eSignLive, DocuSign, Adobe, and
RightSignature. At this point, narrow the vendors down to a shortlist of around three
vendors for the final phase of the selection.
5. Issue an RFI/RFP: Optionally, an organization can now send a formal request for
information (RFI) or request for proposal to the e-signature software vendors. In
addition to seeing what the vendors have to offer and pricing models, this step will
help identify how a vendor responds to your companys requests.
6. Request a custom demo or proof-of-concept: Requesting a formal demonstration
from the vendors is a key step that shouldnt be skipped. We recommend that a formal
demonstration script be developed for the vendors to follow that is tailored to an
organizations unique needs. Dont let the vendors get by with a canned sales demo
and make sure to cover the six key decision criteria presented above. Consider having
the selection team score the vendors demonstration.
7. Create a project plan: At this point, the decision is close to being made and the team
can start to put together a project plan for the e-signature solution implementation.
Make sure to include all key stakeholders in the plan and take into account training
and organizational change management that will be part of the rollout.
8. Make a decision: Now, the organization is able to make an informed decision and,
ultimately, realize the benefits of digitizing the old paper processes. But, before
making the final decision, make sure to perform final due diligence on the chosen
vendor. Ask for references in your industry and with companies of similar size.
There are some other tricks to getting the e-signature software solution up and running
quickly to realize the expected valuein other words, how to shorten the time to value.
One key lesson learned is that a company does not need to try to tackle every e-signature
problem across the organization at one time. Unlike other types of software where large
scale implementation efforts might be necessaryfor example, changing over the
corporate financialse-signature solutions should be rolled out across business use cases.
A company can choose to start with smaller volume, lower profile business transactions.
Then, expand to other use cases as the company, its IT organization, and its customers
become more familiar and proficient in the use of the technology. E-signature software
is unique in this respect because a company can grow into the solution instead of being

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

16

thrust head and shoulders into taking on a corporate-wide rollout of this technology. In
other words, dont try to boil the oceantackle the process through select, important
drops at a time.
Also make sure that the IT team is fully engaged during the software selection process.
The IT organizations architectural team will need to incorporate e-signatures as part of
the organizations electronic content management (ECM) strategy. The IT group will also
be responsible for setting up the additional infrastructure, such as printer drivers and
storage, and providing the application supportapplication integrations and SDKsthat
will be needed to realize the benefits of the e-signature software solution. Make sure the
IT organization is well equipped to shoulder the burden of the e-signature solution now
and into the future.

E-Signature SoftwareA Summary

Many organizations across a wide array of industries are already realizing the benefits of
digitizing document processes that require signatures. E-signature software is a critical part
of the digitization transformation. Market leaders like eSignLive are currently managing
the processing of tens of thousands of documents for some of the biggest names in
banking, insurance, and government. The many examples of transactions that can benefit
from e-signature technology include:

Self-initiated processes like sales contracts, proposals, and statements of work (SOWs)
in sales.

Purchase orders and requests, expense reports, and audit sign-off in finance.

Vendor agreements, customer purchase requests, and partner and reseller agreements
in finance.

The larger volume system-initiated examples for banking include loan applications,
disclosures, mortgage origination and closing, account openings, and more.
Selecting and implementing the right e-signature solution is a critical undertaking for
organizations embarking on this digitization journey. Understanding the key selection
criteria and how to rapidly get to the right decision is essential in making this digitization
a successful reality.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

17

About the Author

Ted Rohm is a research analyst at TEC focusing on ERP solutions and
the complimentary technology needed to solve real-world business
challenges. He has over 20 years of experience in large-scale selection,
design, development, and implementation projects, primarily in the
biotech/pharma industry.
Prior to joining TEC, Rohm worked for a number of companies including
Oracle, Syntex, and Genentech (now part of The Roche Group). Rohm
worked with Genentech for 13 years, starting as a senior programmer
analyst responsible for building custom applications using the Oracle
Tool suite in support of sales and marketing and product distribution.
He then became senior manager of commercial systems, where he
directed the development, deployment, and operations of enterprisewide applications for the sales and marketing departments. Rohm was
the principal systems architect during his last few years at Genentech,
focusing mainly on the implementation of SAP ERP and its integration
with other systems.
Rohm holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from
Columbia University and a bachelors degree in physics from Allegheny
College.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

18

About Technology Evaluation Centers

Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is the worlds leading provider of software selection
resources, services, and research materials, helping organizations evaluate and select the
best enterprise software for their needs. With its advanced decision-making process and
software selection experts, TEC reduces the time, cost, and risk associated with enterprise
software selection.
Over 3.5 million subscribers leverage TECs extensive research and detailed information
on more than 1,000 leading software solutions across all major application areas.
TEC is recognized as an industry-leading software selection advisory firm offering
resources and services both online and onsite. For more information, please visit
www.technologyevaluation.com.

About the Sponsor

eSignLive is the electronic signature solution behind some of the worlds most trusted
brands. Regulated industries and top analyst firms recognize eSignLives products and
services for their ability to balance the highest levels of security and compliance with
ease-of-use while automating any process from the simplest, internal signing workflow
to the most complex, customer-facing transactions. Available in the cloud and onpremises, the eSignLive solution offers a scalable platform to support an organizations
digital transformation strategy across the enterprise today and tomorrow.
To get started, sign-up for a free 30-day trial of eSignLive or join the Developer Community
for access to developer forums, API/SDK documentation, sample code and much more.

eSignLive is the trade name of Silanis Technology Inc., a VASCO group company. VASCO Data Security International
Inc., a global leader in authentication, electronic signatures and identity management, enables more than 10,000
customers in 100 countries to secure access, manage identities, verify transactions and protect assets across
financial, enterprise, e-commerce, government and healthcare markets. Learn more at www.esignlive.com.

Key Evaluation Criteria for E-Signature Software

19

Technology
Evaluation Centers
Technology Evaluation Centers Inc.
Toll-free: 1-800-496-1303
E-mail: selectionservices@technologyevaluation.com
Web site: www.technologyevaluation.com
TEC, TEC Advisor, and ERGO are trademarks of Technology Evaluation Centers Inc.
All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Technology Evaluation Centers Inc. All rights reserved.