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the average saving for each
document that doesn’t need to
be processed manually is 1.5
euros.
n
The Spanish savings bank,
the Confederación Española de
Cajas de Ahorros (CECA), saved
30 million euros in one year,
or 3 cents for every piece of
paper, by using digital signatures
for money transfers, current
account openings, credit card
transactions and deposit slips.
n
The Austrian mobile network
operator, Mobilkom Austria,
is saving 1.5 million sheets
of paper and 24,000 toner
cartridges each year by
integrating digital signatures into
its mobile phone contracts.
n
The Hilton Hotel in Milan
has reduced check-in times
by 80%, saved paper and
improved customer service by
implementing a digital check-
in procedure for the 10,000
bookings it takes each month.
n
The Berlin State Authority
for Citizens and Regulatory
Affairs, which is responsible for
issuing new German ID cards to
residents of Berlin, expects to
save 16 million pieces of paper
over a 10-year period, by using
electronic signatures on the
350,000-400,000 applications it
handles each year.
Complete confidence
These examples from large
enterprises (we have many
more smaller customers that
use electronic signatures on
invoices, purchase orders,
expenses forms, HR documents
and other everyday business
documents) clearly demonstrate
the confidence organisations
with the most stringent
compliance requirements have
in the security of e-signatures.
In this area, Wacom pen and
tablet technology has a clear
advantage over other signature
capture solutions such as iPads
or the handheld devices used by
delivery companies.
Not only are Wacom tablets
purpose-built for the task,
with large durable screens
and tethered pens, they also
record a pen’s X/Y co-ordinates
and the speed and pressure
used when signing. In this
way they create an individual
biometric signature profile of
signatories for verification and
authentication that makes fraud
next to impossible. This level of
assurance isn’t possible with
devices, like those mentioned
above, that aren’t pressure-
sensitive and capture only one
thickness of line i.e. just an
image of a signature
Moreover, unlike copying
and pasting a scanned image
of a handwritten signature, our
electronic signatures are time
and date-stamped and can’t
be removed from a document
or altered in any way once they
have been saved.
How it works
Electronic signature technology
can be integrated into enterprise
digital
workflows,
like the
examples
above, in
which case Wacom will work
with software developers and
integrators to implement it, or it
can be deployed on an ad hoc
basis whenever there is a need
to add a signature to a digital
document.
To meet the needs of ad hoc
users and small and medium-
sized businesses, Wacom
recently launched its sign&save
off-the-shelf solution that
bundles a Wacom tablet (either
the STU-300 or large screen STU-
500) with Wacom sign I pro PDF
electronic signature software
developed by a Frome-based
software company acquired by
Wacom.
Costing 150 to 250 euros
depending on the tablet size
selected, sign&save makes it
easy for small and medium-sized
businesses to add electronic
signatures to documents and
save them as secure PDFs.
To sign a Word document, for
example, go to File/Print, select
sign | pro PDF as the printer
and click print. This loads the
software, which renders the
Word document in a separate
window. Clicking on the pen
image at the top of the screen
brings up a box. Place this where
you want the signature to go,
sign the tablet with the tethered
pen, confirm that you are happy
with it and the software will add
your signature to the document.
Clicking Save, saves the file as a
PDF, which you can then email
or print.
Growing acceptance
Europe is still more advanced
than the UK in its use of
electronic signatures, but this
is changing as the legitimacy of
e-signatures becomes accepted.
Earlier this year, the
Department for Education and
Skills announced that from
May 31 it would accept digital
documentation in a complete
workflow and we expect other UK
Government bodies and the NHS
to follow their lead as they seek
ways to cut costs and improve
efficiency. This should lead to
greater take-up amongst small
businesses as they follow the
example set by the public sector.
Wacom’s technology also
has much to offer financial
organisations eager to avoid
a repeat of recent mis-selling
scandals. A digital workflow
has the potential to be more
secure than a paper-based one,
especially if electronic signatures
are used at defined stages to
confirm that a salesman has
explained relevant clauses and
conditions to the customer.
Ultimately, any business
that has a desire to save time
and money should consider
using handwritten electronic
signatures instead of printing
documents just so that they
can be signed. The affordability
and security of solutions like
sign&save are such that it
makes no sense to keep printing,
handling and storing millions of
sheets of paper when you can do
everything on-screen.
Tony McCool is Business
Development Manager for UK &
Benelux of Wacom. He can be
contacted on
01442 275322
or by email at
tony.mccool@
wacom.eu
.
The signing of documents
is an essential part of many
business processes and one
that has huge ramifications
for staff productivity,
business efficiency, document
costs and carbon emissions.
http://signature.wacom.eu