Image by: Ridofranz, ©2015 Getty Images
While contracts and financial assets have traditionally been signed on physical paper, the majority of the e-signature industry continues to mirror these paper dimensions when providing e-signing options. By being slow to adopt some technologies, many of the biggest digital transaction players fail to respond to the growing reliance on mobile devices and address the importance of optimizing documents for these devices—setting them behind the innovation curve.
Thinking in literal terms when displaying a document electronically to signers is easy but does not embrace the digital essence of the e-signature industry. With the number of smartphone users expected to surpass two billion in 2016, according to eMarketer, consumers no longer find it acceptable to be presented with documents that are not optimized for their varying devices. The e-signing solutions hoping to be successful in tomorrow’s market must adapt to provide signers with the best possible user experience.
Rather than neglecting the mounting consumer need for device-specific capabilities, company executives should embrace the growing number of mobile users. To achieve this and serve the average consumer, who will sign their name more than 499,999 times in their life, successful e-signing solutions should make device-specific document presentation central to the signing process.
Making device-specific document presentation a critical part of a user’s signing experience is more essential, and attainable, than many companies assume. To enable such innovation, the first step should be to incorporate an adaptive viewing environment that makes reading, navigating and signing simple on any device. As the device screen becomes smaller—whether on a smartphone, tablet or computer—the viewing area should also allow itself to adjust and provide the optimal use of space by collapsing non-essential areas of the document to thumbnails and option menus.
Digital signing capabilities, especially on mobile devices, should also include biometric technology—which allows users to verify their identities from anywhere in the world, on any device—when signing and reviewing important contracts. With legal enforceability being a crucial element of signing any digital document, integrating biometrics into these solutions will bring verifiable peace of mind to both those signing and receiving documents on the go.
As the technological revolution continues to grow, forward-thinking e-signing solutions will make it possible to execute any digital transaction, through each step of the process, from any device, anywhere in the world. By offering the best experience possible for signers and engaging them where they are most technologically active, these mobile-responsive designs can prove invaluable for organizations hoping to secure market longevity and relevance with a fully-enabled digital transaction management solution.
Adam Attinello is the vice president of software engineering for eOriginal and is responsible for the development, planning and execution of eOriginal's core product lines. For more information, visit www.eoriginal.com.
