What is OnlineDocumentSign (ODS)?

The world is moving towards advancements every day, with new discoveries and inventions in technology and upgrading ourselves into better versions. Everything is now shrunk to one universe called the online with e-commerce, e-learning, e-shopping and so on. The e-world is what we all are moving towards as it has become a reliable source for communication.

Though people have a lot of queries and safety issues online, it is considered to be an easier way of connecting people which makes us use it more frequently. With the prevailing COVID scenarios, to avoid physical contacts with people online connections are preferred worldwide.

To add on to the e-world, our handwritten signatures are taking the next stage of digitized e-signatures. With lots of documents, contracts shared across the world; e-signatures are a more sophisticated way of signing agreements quickly.

The world countries have started moving towards it, but still its development in our country is not witnessed in a high level. Let us look into a deeper angle of e-signatures in this blog.

What is OnlineDocumentSign(ODS)?

OnlineDocumentSign(ODS) is the software that has been developed to enable e-signatures. This software is designed to mainly concentrate on the digital versions of the ink signatures.

ODS will make our jobs easier in the e-world. This will offer us a more flexible environment to sign our contracts legally without any sort of hindrances.

The ODS platform will also provide us with password encryption, so there is no fear of losing our personal data. This new software will provide us with next gen advancement in signing documents.

What is an e-signature?

An e-signature or electronic signature is just the handwritten signatures transferred into data in electronic form. This helps us to manage things in a faster way. This signature holds the same legal authorization as the handwritten versions of the signature.

Instead of printing the documents on paper, e-sign helps us to compute our works on digital screens. As e-commerce is rapidly increasing in this generation, it is necessary to adhere to the new lifestyle and adjust to the current world.

Back in the days, during the 19th century signatures through telegraph were in practice, which is what the e-sign now. First world countries have started adopting e-signs to make their living comfortable.

Normally e-signatures work with an encrypted digital certificate which provides safety, so there are no issues with privacy related problems. This signature is identified to be the unique signature that one individual holds and is being accepted with all legal status worldwide. Currently its use is increased due to its time saving factor.

How does e-signatures work?

The popularity towards e-signatures grew because it is easy to use. All we have to do is simply draw our signature on the screen to get the electronic form of it. We can also trace our fingers in the touch pad to generate the e-sign.

When an individual signs a document virtually the software creates a private key, through which it can be securely maintained. By using e-sign you can also request your clients to sign the documents virtually by sending it via the recommended software.

We are also provided with digital certificates for e-signatures form trusted certificate authorities(CA). The sender and the recipient are provided with the certificates and the CA is responsible for generating and ensuring the private key for e-signatures.

What are the different types of e-signatures?

e-signatures are normally signed in four different ways with different levels of security and legal status.

• Click to sign signatures:

  • These are not our unique handwritten signatures. They are merely our names in e-form called e-squiggles.
  • These signatures cannot be used for legal contracts and agreements because they are not password protected.
  • This type doesn't have any legal authorization.
  • It is considered to be our name or initials in pixel form.

• Basic e-signature(BES):

  • These can be the unique form of the handwritten signatures.
  • They are protected using crypto digital signatures but are not mandatory.
  • The authenticity of the signature is not linked with the user.
  • Registration of identity is not mandatory for BES.

• Advanced e-signatures(AES):

  • This requires a higher level of verification, security and tamper sealing.
  • Before using AES the identity of the user is verified and the authenticity of the signature is uniquely linked with the user.
  • To use this signature the user has to first register in the software.
  • The created signature is under the sole control of the user.

• Qualified e-signature(QES):

  • QES is provided with special legal status from the EU.
  • The verification level is high which includes face-to-face verification which is mandatory.
  • The signature is created with sole control on the party of the software.
  • Multi factor authentication is required in this method of signature.

Legal status and privacy:

e-signatures have achieved their legal status back in 2000 in the first world countries. But still the legal authorizations are not clearly explained to many business firms which is why they are not in practice.

The legal status have allowed the following;

• They can be used as evidence in court.
• e-signatures hold the equal legality as ink signatures.
• The acceptance of e-sign in documents is not denied worldwide.
• The legal status also ensures the consent of the parties involved in the document.

As far as privacy is concerned Public Key Authentication Framework Task Group provides the encryption for our e-signatures. The private key generated along with the digital certificate is undertaken entirely under the control of the individual concerned, and the private key never leaves the possession of the person without strong security precautions being taken.

Privacy related issues can be brought to the light of the government authorities for further investigations. The keys generated are the own keys of the individual which has concern with the strength of the keys generated. The software ensures the safety with tamper sealing the documents.

Uses of e-signature:

The main reason to adapt e-signature is because it can be used anywhere, at any place and in any device. It has started to become user friendly.

The reasons for converting ourselves to e-signatures can be;

• e-sign are meant to be time saving. Sending documents via online happens in microseconds, similarly signing them virtually happens within seconds.
• e-signatures are remotely accessible which makes it convenient to use it from any place.
• They provide us with unique individual authorization in the electronic form which is verified and accepted across the globe.
• As e-signatures are legally recognized they can be used to sign legal contracts, business invoices, agreements, sales contracts, offer letters and so on.
• e-signatures are licensed with digital certificates from trusted authorities which addresses the concerns related to privacy.
• e-signatures are more productive and are considered to have significant growth in the e-world.

Adapting to the new world, e-signatures makes a huge difference in our lifestyle. With all world countries moving towards e-signs and digital signs, the uses can be made to reach a far more business audience focusing on business firms, small scale industries and MSME can bring a great audience to use e-signs for their contracts and invoices.