Boosting productivity with security

Szilveszter Szebeni at Tresorit explains how security can become a productivity strategy with streamlined document management

 

High profile breach incidents continue to dominate the media headlines, affecting critical national infrastructure with London hospitals cancelling cancer operations. With cyber-attacks paralysing organisations in industries - from healthcare, to education or retail – cyber-security is a priority on every boardroom agenda.

 

The success of modern digital businesses revolves around seamless document management, especially when it comes to signing and sharing confidential documents like sales offers, purchase orders, NDAs, third-party vendor contracts, engagement letters, and employee contracts. But even when companies have already shifted to online document signing, they often have other tools for document management and file sharing.

 

Yet by adopting a collaboration solution with an integrated eSignature tool, organisations can be more productive, and securely store, share and sign all their sensitive documents in one place, with no need to switch applications.

 

eSignatures and secure document management

An electronic signature, or eSignature, refers to a digital markup created to sign an agreement or other document electronically. Electronic signature is an umbrella term referring to all types of signatures, including a signature image, click box, verbal sound, fingerprint etc.

 

Digital signatures are a specific electronic signature technology involving the use of cryptographic algorithms to verify document authenticity and user identity and prevent unauthorised document tampering. This means that digital signatures can’t be removed and copied to other documents in an act of forgery.

 

Today’s digital business needs for secure and efficient document management have elevated electronic signatures into a business-critical commodity. In many cases, eSignatures have become considered as secure and legally binding as traditional signatures. According to Deloitte, the eSignature market size that was estimated to be between $2.3 and $2.8 billion in 2020 is projected to reach over $14 billion by 2026.

 

Today organisations that are investing in eSignature platforms are choosing them for beyond classic reasons of speed and security. With eSignatures embedded into a secure document management environment they can enhance efficiency and streamline their signing processes, without risky and cumbersome system switches.

 

Mainstream eSignature services don’t integrate with document sharing and storing solutions or cannot live up to the highest security standards such as end-to-end encryption. By using an end-to-end encrypted service that empowers users to manage their entire document lifecycle from storing, sharing and signing documents within the most secure walls, can be a real driver for productivity and a guarantee for security.

 

Benefits of encrypted email

In a disjointed or even loosely coupled ecosystem of tools, juggling files between systems isn’t just inefficient but can introduce more risks. It might increase the chances of sensitive data being exposed and the company breaching compliance regulations. While email as a communication method remains a much unsecured channel, signed contracts shared this way are about as confidential as sending a postcard.

 

Meanwhile, forward thinking organisations are implementing email encryption, not only to improve their security posture, but to optimise their office efficiency. In fact, taking the leap to encrypted document management solutions can have distinct benefits for the productivity and efficiency of teams.

 

Historically, reluctance in adoption of encryption measures has been due to the perceived cumbersome operation of conventional encryption solutions which can overwhelm employees, and also inhibit worker productivity. Manual encryption tools have a poor reputation as being unwieldy, time-consuming, and difficult to use. However state-of-the-art encryption solutions work automatically and integrate directly with mainstream platforms such as Gmail and Outlook and ensure that email communication and attachments remain secure at all times.

 

Thus, using email encryption to optimise signature workflows that flow via emails can make a real difference in terms of business productivity and security alike. It mitigates data exposure and compliance risks while integrated solutions with platforms like Gmail ensure secure communication, streamline document management, and optimise overall efficiency without impacting productivity.

 

Encrypted data rooms with integrated eSignature solutions

Making the move to encrypted document collaboration can have distinct benefits for the productivity and efficiency of teams. But to take this a stage further, by relying on virtual data rooms to comprehensively shield their sensitive client and partner collaboration, organisations can remove the risks inherent with using multiple tools and avoid major disruptions for their business in form of data leaks, non-compliance, and fragmented workflows.

 

By adopting an end-to-end encrypted data storage repository with an integrated eSignature solution and secure sharing options, employees can secure sensitive documents across their entire lifecycle and have a centralised file management system in place where documents are securely stored, shared and signed, without compromising security. Documents can seamlessly move between signing and storage within the same platform, decreasing disruptions to processes, without the need to build custom integrations between systems.

 

For instance, after signing, a user can send the final contract via encrypted share links, so that only authorised recipients can access it, can add watermarks and quickly revoke the link if the email is accidentally sent to the wrong recipient. Document management costs and data breach possibilities are reduced, and documents can be accessed from anywhere at any time.

 

By digitalising the way of processing contracts with an eSignature solution, employees can cut the time needed to approve contracts from two to three days to just two to three hours. This minimises chances of errors and eliminates the high costs of paper, shipment and manpower of pen and paper signing. Users can mitigate risks with EU Qualified Electronic Signatures that is considered to be equivalent to handwritten signatures and ensure the highest level of legal probative value.

 

Security and productivity in document management

While there are many options for business leaders to incorporate digital signing into their business processes today, only a solution offering zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption will guarantee the highest level of security for their data.

 

Contrary to mainstream solutions, end-to-end encryption assures that even the software provider can’t see the content of the documents. Knowing that sensitive documents are locked away in a zero-knowledge end-to-end-encrypted platform allows stakeholders to collaborate, sign and share documents with confidence.

 

This not only secures contract lifecycles from email exchanges to signatures but unlocks new levels of productivity and efficiency. In combining encrypted email with encrypted data rooms that incorporate an eSignature solution as part of a wider document management strategy, teams will maximise the security level of documents while improving efficiency and empowering their teams to succeed.

 

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Szilveszter Szebeni is CISO of Tresorit

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and D3Damon