Tech Journal How Digital Document Processes and E-signatures Are Driving Business Resilience in a Time of Economic Upheaval

By Rob Elliot / 25 Oct 2021 / Topics: Digital transformation Windows 10 Modern workplace Mobility

In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 transformed the global business landscape virtually overnight, companies in every industry had to pivot to adapt and survive. Many transitioned their employees to remote work, and then had to quickly establish new ways of getting things done. Sales of collaboration and productivity technologies like digital document and e-signature software rose as companies made every effort to keep business moving forward.

At Adobe, we wanted to understand exactly how companies were using these solutions to manage day-to-day processes, connect employees across distances, continue providing exceptional customer and employee experiences, and ultimately facilitate business recovery in a challenging economic climate. We commissioned Forrester Consulting to dig into the details, find answers and discover insights.

Digital document processes — a shift from best practice to business necessity

Between May and June of 2020, Forrester surveyed senior IT and business decision-makers in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. Survey responses showed that, as remote work grew, it became even more important that employees and customers were able to securely share, review, sign and store digital documents — without the need for hard copies.

Survey participants reported that their organisations were relying on digital document processes to help them serve their customers, reduce business risk and more. Here are just a few of the findings:

72% of respondents agreed that digital document processes support business continuity amidst unforeseen circumstances.
47% said their digital document solutions were enabling them to pursue opportunities and gain new customers during the economic crisis.
54% predicted that the benefits of increased employee collaboration will last beyond the pandemic, and 47% said the same about increased customer satisfaction.

Driving efficiencies with e-signature solutions

The Forrester study also revealed that e-signatures are becoming essential to business evolution. This seems to be because, as in-person interactions decline, both customers and employees expect to be able to sign documents digitally.

In the study, 58% of respondents said the pandemic had caused their organisation to accelerate the adoption of e-signature capabilities. In addition:

60% of companies reported that e-signatures support business resilience.
72% of respondents said they consider e-signatures critical to business continuity.
66% of customers said they request digital solutions like e-signatures.

Saving time and money by integrating e-signatures into business workflows

Even before the pandemic, businesses were realising productivity gains and cost savings by integrating e-signatures into their everyday digital document workflows. Take the case of Adobe Sign.

Microsoft's preferred e-signature solution, Adobe Sign is deeply integrated across so businesses around the world can create documents, send them for signature and manage workflows right from apps like Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics365 and Power Automate.

In an Adobe-commissioned study conducted in 2019, Forrester interviewed customers who use both Microsoft 365 and Adobe Document Cloud. The study showed that using Microsoft 365 with Adobe Sign and Acrobat DC has the potential combined benefits of $9.1 million over three years. Findings included the following:

28x faster cycle times: For documents requiring signatures, using Adobe Sign from within the Microsoft applications employees use every day replaces inefficient, error-prone manual document signing processes.
65 hours saved: Employees saved 65 hours per year using Acrobat DC with Microsoft 365 apps by digitising paper-based tasks, reducing rework through converting and editing PDFs, and leveraging mobile capabilities to continue workstreams outside the office.
1.5 hours saved: Sales reps saved time with each transaction using Adobe Sign from within Microsoft Dynamics, leading to faster sales cycles.
$6 saved on average: Companies saved money per document transaction with Adobe Sign.

Ensuring security and compliance

While time and cost savings are critical, digital document and e-signature solutions also need to be secure and compliant, and they should easily scale as businesses grow. That’s why, for 25+ years, Adobe has been the trusted leader in digital documents.

Adobe Document Cloud is a complete solution that helps companies transform paper-based workflows into digital experiences, removing friction from business processes. And it includes Adobe Sign, which supports the strictest e-signature regulations while complying with legal, industry and regulatory requirements around the world.

Looking beyond the current moment to long-term benefits

As the pandemic has shown how critical it is for companies to be able to conduct business remotely, digital document and e-signature solutions are proving to be sound investments that address both immediate and long-term needs. They drive resilience during difficult times and help businesses establish new ways of working that can boost productivity — giving employees more time to focus on the innovations that will ensure future success.

Discover how to keep business moving with e-Signature workflows.

About the author:

Rob Elliot

Adobe Business Manager, Insight

Rob manages the Adobe team across three countries as a Senior Manager. He has been in the IT field since 1999 in many capacities from Network Administrator to Senior Manager. Working with vendors such as Microsoft, Red Hat Adobe and Cisco, Rob has found the journey to be rewarding and challenging.