When completed, the Digital Seals and Signatures project will provide the world with a best practices guide for implementing digital seals and digital signatures in AEC processes. Why is this fantastic? Because AEC professionals face a number disadvantages due to the reliance on paper for sealing and signing final documents. Among these disadvantages are extensive procedural bottlenecks and skyrocketing organizational costs. Fortunately, digital signature technology effectively addresses this problem. Yet, as with most major transformations (however positive), AEC professionals still hesitate to make the shift to electronic approval processes.

Enter the Digital Seals and Signatures guide, which will provide an invaluable resource to AEC professionals. It’ll explain how digital signatures and seals work, how they can be applied in the unique environments of architecture, engineering and construction, and much more. Excited? Me too. Learn more about the project here.

But in De Jong’s mind, digital signatures have their own “intrinsic value,” and people who use electronic invoicing should keep using them. Why? De Jong explains that, for one, digital signatures support a sense of responsibility and a positive reputation. A digital signature, he writes, “shows that you are a professional and that you can be verified through the credentials in the digital signature. Adding a digital signature to an e-invoice is also an extension of the service you offer customers or clients as you help them comply with their fiscal requirements.” See the rest of De Jong’s reasons for maintaining digital signature use in his post.

For FileHold Systems this holiday season, time and money translates to helping people save both. The president of the company, Larry Oliver, even said so himself in a recent press release, where he pointed to the need for organizations to save paper, time, and money as a factor in FileHold’s decision to add a digital signature component to its electronic document management solution. The new addition enables users to save “precious time and money” by signing documents with the click of a mouse rather than needing to print, route, scan, and manually archive them. Check out the press release to learn more.

The article reports that £20,000 will be spent on digital signature technology which will enable the city council to reduce its overall paper use, replace the storage of “masses of paperwork” with digital files, and enable city officials to work from outside the office. The council’s acting director of business services, Steve Sankey, was quoted saying “The benefits are huge; from not passing as much paper around to working more quickly and efficiently.” He’s right on the money about some of the many benefits digital signatures can offer city councils. If you want to know more, check out the ‘This is it Staffordshire’ article.

Nintex, a leading global innovator of software products that extend Microsoft® SharePoint®, doesn’t use any tricks or illusions in the innovative solutions it offers for enabling SharePoint users to achieve the exact functionality they require. With Nintex Workflow, users can quickly and intuitively design advanced workflows in SharePoint without requiring additional client software or coding knowledge. Even better, Nintex Workflow allows a best in class digital signature capability so that even signature­­­­­­–dependent workflows never have to resort to paper. The digital signature component, which is compatible with any major document type, even notifies participants when their signature is required, thus enabling business to continue moving forward quickly and effectively. Learn more about digital signatures with Nintex Workflow.

In light of this grim reality, any move a county court can make to save money is vital. With technologies like digital signatures that ease processes and eliminate costs, serious savings can be achieved and, though the situation makes budgeting new IT investments a challenge, there are creative ways courts can find the money to invest in such game-changing technologies. Take for example British Columbia’s City of Vernon. Reducing its paper budget by the same amount as the cost of a digital signature solution enabled the municipality to go paperless with signature approvals and save tens of thousands of dollars. If U.S. courts adopt similar strategies, they may be able to save themselves from sinking. Read more about how the City of Vernon cut nearly 25% of its paper and copy costs and achieved other great benefits with digital signatures.

As it so happens, earlier this week a press release announced that Agile Frameworks, LLC, a provider of various services for the AEC marketplace, will soon be offering digital signatures as part of their cloud-based SaaS managed service. With this step, the company is showing that it’s keeping up with changing times, and offering the AEC market the opportunity to further embrace paperless processes and enjoy the many benefits they have to offer. Check out the press release to learn more.

Now, ProLaw includes a digital signature capability that enhances the integrity, efficiency, and control of electronic case, client, and financial information while also minimizing process delays. In a very innovative and modern way, the digital signature component also enables judges, court staff, and clerks to easily verify the integrity of electronic case filing and submissions as well as the identity and intent of a signer. Want to see how? Check out this demo on digital signatures with ProLaw.