In recent years many vertical-application solution providers have begun to offer Software as a Service (SaaS) via the Web. Under a SaaS model these organizations provide a more attractive solution for their customers that allow pay-per-use scenarios, reduce reliance on desktop software and hardware, and all but eliminate software maintenance fees. Cost-wise, SaaS enables users the flexibility of gradually investing in a solution as they “phase in” deployment of the SaaS (i.e., deploy what is needed but not more). In addition, a SaaS model requires less setup time, enabling organizations to realize an ROI at an increased pace.
In many SaaS applications there is a need to regularly complete various documentation, forms, and transactions that also require approvals in the form of an electronic signature. In addition, the electronic records created must be verified and trusted by any recipient around the world – this means parties inside a collaborative network as well as those outside require a trusted document exchange and/or electronic submission. Standards-based (PKI) digital signatures are the only form of electronic signatures that truly satisfy the signing and verification needs of a distributed collaborative network supported by a SaaS.
ARX's (Algorithmic Research) CoSign® is the leading digital signature solution on the market today and ideal for hosted SaaS applications. By using standard electronic signature technology, CoSign produces a portable signature record for every signature it captures. This portable signature format, the CoSign PSF™, works much like a PDF does for documents. Via the use of a CoSign digital signature, signed documents become self-contained, portable, and sustainable electronic records that are maintained in a non-proprietary format conforming to standards and regulations. Documents signed with CoSign do not require any proprietary hardware or software in order for recipients to seamlessly verify the digital signatures and data integrity. Additionally, an electronic record signed with CoSign is considered a legally signed document, defendable in court. These records can be used as electronic evidence for decades into the future, proving signer identity and intent and guaranteeing that data has not been altered since the digital signature(s) addition.
CoSign’s centralized architecture is ideal for hosted deployments, enabling signing (and verification) from within the SaaS without any client-side software, as well as serving up a powerful SDK and Web Service API that enables the digital signatures to be quickly integrated with the SaaS application.
CoSign has been deployed on some of the largest B2B/C/G applications in the world. Samples of the organizations that are currently relying on the CoSign digital signature solution in their SaaS include:
