Why esignatures are just the “finishing touch” of cloud agreements

Digital workplaces have made business processes slicker and faster. That includes being able to communicate and collaborate in real time, from even the remotest of locations.

From this advanced connectivity and digital control, comes more opportunities to complete transactions and bed down approval systems, seamlessly. It stands to reason that any form of sign off should now be completed “on the cloud”.

Not only can deals be sealed instantly, but projects of all types and sizes can be properly approved by project teams, executives and boards at the touch of a button, in a highly accountable way.

This of course leads to important questions. Particularly, how can an agreement based on an esignature be secure and verifiable? These are some of the key issues that 4C has “boxed off” thanks to its partnership with DocuSign. Cybersecurity and data control built in to Docusign include encryption at the highest possible level, and a tight security access feature within this cloud agreement system.

However, one of the other common questions on this topic, is how to maximise contract management on the cloud, to transform or improve business transactions and approval processes.

Why Agreement Cloud is important

Two of the most pressing business priorities of the modern age are the twin goals of transparency and accountability. Both must be achieved in a highly controlled manner. Contract creation and management online make this infinitely achievable.

Data about sensitive transactions or important projects can be shared in real time, with a secure chain of approval made crystal clear. All the stakeholders in the agreement can be awarded a level of access to data that’s appropriate and controllable.

The timing and detail of a collaborative chain, and any changes, are mapped out and accessible. This includes a synchronicity that ensures sign off can only happen when all parties are looking at the most up to date version of the digital document.

In a nutshell, the chances of anyone signing an incorrect document due to an update error or amendment oversight, becomes non-existent.

Managing Agreements from end to end

Clearly, the most pressing reason for any organisation to move contract creation and sign-off online, is to automate the whole process. What is not always fully appreciated, is the end to end control this provides, that extends its value beyond capturing an esignature.

Transactions and verifications are securely captured and can then be accessed at any time in the future.

For example, if the digital document trail you’re interested in is a job offer and then a contract of employment, these can be revisited and analysed in a second, even though the appointment took place many years before.

Or, if you’re concerned an employee or supplier has breached a confidentiality agreement, you can check their obligations and any agreed penalties instantly. This ensures you can grapple with the ramifications quickly, and take action before the problem escalates.

That provides a degree of business control that is hard to replicate in many other document management systems.

There are also options for cloud agreements to be organised to give different involved parties different levels of responsibility. Such as limiting agreement authors, making data shareable to a wider range of personnel, and then creating a cascading sign-off system that ultimately reaches the primary decision maker. All of this can be quick, integrated and auditable.

Long after, anyone with the right level of authority can view a wide range of data connected to this contract or other agreement, to analyse its evolution and the staff involvement. This leaves no room for ambiguity or argument further down the line.

Modernising Systems of Agreement

With so much data flowing through digital workplaces, one of the potential problems is accessing the information you want, quickly.

Using a platform like Docusign makes it much easier to create a document that forms the basis of an agreement, and make sure that all pertinent data is included. It also makes it much easier to revisit cloud agreements, due to its intuitive dashboard and searchability.

Think of it like a modern version of “library” of contract or project paperwork, with the ability to direct you to the agreement document you need instantly. However, you can also interrogate it for the antecedence of the agreement, and any other relevant data that you need on that transaction or project sign-off.

Bringing Agreements to the Cloud

4C is confident that the DocuSign contract management platform can streamline and automate your agreement processes, saving time and money. It also eliminates many of the errors and ambiguities of traditional approval systems.

We think you would “agree”, this means its value is considerable, and its ability to capture esignatures is just the “finishing touch”.