Digital Signatures Hold Strong Even as Remote Work Decreases

Table of Contents:

1. Digital signatures and remote work 
2. What are the benefits of digital signatures to post-lockdown and remote work? 
3. Why the demand for digital signatures is on the rise 
4. What should we expect moving forward?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the whole world into a lockdown two years ago. And as a result, businesses sought temporary methods of running their everyday activities while staying safe.

Concepts like work from home (WFH), remote work, and digital nomadism became more popular, and everyone realized the importance of adjusting to these new methods.

Digital signatures also became popular to ensure that the legal aspect of business remains intact. However, after converted efforts, things continue to return to normal, and there is a need to readjust again.

While the lockdown itself and other makeshift occurrences accompanying the pandemic continue to disappear, some have remained. Among those that look like they have come to stay is the digital signature. Digital signature growth compared to remote work abates.

This post examines the importance of digital signatures and why there remains continued interest in them.

Digital Signatures and Remote Work

Digital signatures are sometimes referred to as e-signatures or electronic signatures, even though they are not the same. An e-signature refers to the actual signature, but a digital signature covers everything concerned with the validity of the signature.

For instance, digital signatures could include the times and date of creating or using the e-signature. It could also cover its IP address and the entire history of usage and change. 

Digital signatures are electronic versions of signatures used to ensure the validity of electronic documents. They use mathematically generated digital impressions to maintain authenticity. You can create digital signatures by simply typing the signer’s name, ticking a box, or using a stylus to sign on a screen.

Digital signatures have existed in the modern workplace for some time, but we saw an unprecedented spike in March 2020. This was a time during the pandemic when the demand for remote work was also at its highest.

The pandemic ushered in the concept of remote work and digital nomadism due to the need to maintain social distancing. Remote work made it impossible to pass papers from desk to desk for ink signatures. 

However, the legal sides of a business will forever be essential, whether remote or in-office. So, the demand for digital signatures grew because it made it possible for companies and digital nomads to continue working while taking care of legalities.

It is 2022, and our findings show that the public demand for remote work has risen. While it is still far below the high experienced in early 2020, there is more acceptance now than in the pre-pandemic era. Moreover, its demand has also mainly remained consistent for a while.

Meanwhile, digital signature demand is doing much better. It is also reduced from the high we once saw, but there is even wider acceptance than remote work.

This is interesting because it shows that digital signature isn’t just a fad and should still be a worthy investment even as many returns to the office.

CB can add a comment (preferably stats) on how the sales or demand for their digital signature has skyrocketed in the last three years.

What are the Benefits of Digital Signatures to Post-lockdown and Remote Work?

The effects of digital signature on any organization’s activities are readily observable in their processes. The first is speed. Contracts will be served faster with digital signatures since it significantly eliminates time-consuming steps.

Alongside speed is reduced cost and convenience. Adopting digital signatures means everyone can get notifications and sign documents from the comfort of their home or office. Your employees can, therefore, dedicate their time to more productive endeavors. 

Another possibility with digital signature is it allows each department to self-serve. HR will hire faster with digital signature, sales will close more deals, and legal will go through fewer hassles. Clients will also love to work with you when your processes are faster and more convenient. 

It also ushers in an era when there’s no need to print papers, move them around, or sort them in office spaces. This means you get to contribute to making the world more environmentally friendly.

Digital signatures are notable for security. Unlike pen-and-paper signatures, a digital signature offers unique security features you can always trust. You can learn more about the benefits of digital signatures here.

Why the Demand for Digital Signatures is on the Rise

The demand for digital signatures has risen and continues to hold firm despite the reduction of remote work. The reasons may not be far-fetched, considering the level of security and ease it brings.

The pandemic may have helped to make digital signatures popular, but it is clearly a concept whose importance extends beyond remote work. As a result, more organizations are more open to the broader possibilities, irrespective of their current tech stack. That’s because digital signatures can work with Word documents, PDFs, etc.

What Should We Expect Moving Forward?

As is already evident, digital signatures are a vital necessity for the workplace, whether remote or not. The current trend also hints at a wider acceptance in the future. As more information circulates and better infrastructures are put in place to allow adoption, we should see more adoption of digital signatures.

Contract management platforms like ContractBook make it easy to access digital signature features. With ContractBook’s digital signature, you can create, manage, and validate contracts. Learn more about ContractBook or book a meeting to start using digital signatures flawlessly.

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