Table of Contents
- Summary
- Market Categories and Deployment Types
- Key Criteria Comparison
- GigaOm Radar
- Vendor Insights
- Analyst’s Take
- Methodology
- About Bill Witter
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
As industries adopt hybrid operating models, e-signature solutions have become a critical tool for supporting traditional business functions.
The e-signature market has been steadily maturing for the past two decades but recently experienced accelerated growth triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, previous new entrants now offer comprehensive core signature capabilities. And longstanding leaders continue to expand platform offerings by bundling broad compliance functionality with advanced workflow and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analytics.
With global regulatory support, the e-signature market now offers execution of virtually any type of transaction in any jurisdiction. Vendors may specialize in small use cases through mobile-rich interfaces and a streamlined set of core features, or focus on larger implementations that require administrative control and advanced platform add-ons. Solutions should support desktop, web, and mobile interfaces, and be based on a no-code configuration because non-technical business users tend to operate these products.
To be considered a true player in this space, an e-signature offering must support the core signature workflow (preparation, distribution, and execution) with basic compliance. This includes the ability to prepare a document by attaching data capture fields, securely sending that document to a recipient, and capturing the signature in a legally compliant fashion—a “simple,” “advanced,” or “qualified” signature (see Figure 1). Compliance with industry standards such as ESIGN and eIDAS requires that tools support multiple methods for identity authentication (SMS, email, password, and so on) and generate a comprehensive audit log of recipient details (IP, location, name, action).
Figure 1. Requirements for Legally Binding Signatures: Simple, Advanced, and Qualified.
Beyond simply removing the physical constraints of document processing, e-signature solutions offer several business benefits as well. Some of these include:
- Establishing signee identity through a wide range of user authentication methods that enable trust-based document execution.
- Distributing documents through a dedicated application allows users to track external recipient actions (such as viewed email, viewed document, or rejected) in a way that simple email distribution does not allow.
- Attaching structured data requests to otherwise free-form files allows businesses to automate end-to-end processes.
- Improving security through secure document storage, encryption, and role-based authentication helps to keep data confidential.
- Enhancing content customization allows businesses to manage branding and provide specific experiences to clients.
This GigaOm Radar report will help business leaders evaluate e-signature vendors based on the signature compliance provided (simple or advanced), important functionalities and requirements (Key Criteria and Evaluation Metrics), and pricing structure. In the accompanying GigaOm report “Key Criteria for Evaluating E-Signature Solutions,” we describe in more detail the key features and metrics that are used to evaluate vendors in this market.
How to Read this Report
This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding, consider reviewing the following reports:
Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.
GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.
Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.