There are many types of electronic signatures but some of the most commonly used in business are Advanced Electronic Signatures as they are secure, identifiable and in some cases mandated by legislation or policy.

Some of the world’s strictest regulations are found in the pharmaceutical industry and companies in this sector will have extensive processes and policies to maintain data security. This applies to every department within an organisation - from robust IT systems, to secure solutions used to approve documentation electronically.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in May 2018 across the EU, changing the way businesses record and store personal data. A year from now may seem a way off but businesses need to consider their GDPR strategies sooner rather than later to ensure compliance.

Every country has different regulations for the legality and validity of e-signatures. When dealing internationally it is important to understand country specific regulations to ensure contracts and agreements are valid.

We could write countless blogs on every country’s unique laws but for this blog we’re focusing on the recent eIDAS EU regulation and South Africa ECT Act and the differences between the two that are worth knowing.

Digitally signing business documents is becoming more prevalent as industries realise the efficiency and productivity benefits.

We have discussed the business benefits for multiple internal departments, but there are also many advantages for B2C companies.

On 3^rd April 2017, Ascertia is launching the SigningHub Spring ’17 release (v7.2). This release includes plenty of useful enhancements and new features for user authentication, local signing and security, all designed to help deliver great business value.

Our popular blog series assessing how different industries can use SigningHub returns. Recent posts include real estate, architects and pharmaceutical organisations.

Government workers are some of the most paper-intensive users in the world. This makes many public sector departments ideal candidates to benefit from the deployment of eSignatures.

SHA1 is officially dead. For everyday users of electronic signatures, SHA1 might not mean much to you but we can assure you, this development is incredibly important!

SHA1 is a hash algorithm - a type of security measure used in popular software across the world. This includes the majority of electronically signed documents.

Our blog series looking at how different industries can use SigningHub continues. Recent entries include real estate, architects, pharmaceutical organisations and governmental use .

Banks have a duty to customers. They must ensure personal and financial information is kept confidential at all times. There are many elements to this process, from encryption and two-factor authentication in mobile banking, to the questions asked over the phone to verify your identity.

Following on from the HR department, the next blog in our series exploring the business benefits of eSignatures is about the legal department.

Compliant document approval procedures are important in the departments we have previously discussed, but it is especially important for the legal department which has stricter regulations.