Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/400168
amount of paperwork," said Manchi. E-signatures are part of the shift from paper to electronic documents, of course. The majority of documents today are cre- ated electronically — by Word document or PDF. "Where people used to get hung up is that at the point where you had to sign, you had to go to paper," said John Levy, executive vice president of IMM, an e-signatures firm in Linden, N.J. He is also a member of the Electronic Signa- ture & Records Association board. "Peo- ple now realize you don't have to break that chain. You can keep it electronic." The technology for creating e-signa- tures has existed since the mid-1990s. There are other vendors that provide e- signature technology besides DocuSign and IMM: Adobe Systems, AlphaTrust and Silanis Technology to name a few. But the actual use of e-signatures is still in the early stages: Some estimates put their U.S. market penetration level at less than 10 percent, according to Levy. He says he anticipates that this will increase sharply over the next five years, however. Use of e-signatures among busi- nesses and consumers is accelerating for a number of reasons. The technology is in place and readily available. Busi- nesses are recognizing the savings to be gained. And maybe most important, education and awareness about this use are growing now that people lean on computers and mobile devices for every- thing. "The average person in the world is now trying to run their life through their smart phone," said Tom Gonser, DocuSign's founder and chief strategy officer. This involves more than just so- cial media and checking email, he says: People use mobile devices for online banking, paying bills, renting apart- ments, buying stock and much more. DocuSign has seen significant growth in its customer base and among its net- work of registered signers over the past two years. Currently, about 110,000 com- panies use DocuSign to send contracts, including Microsoft and Starbucks. DocuSign already has about 50 million individuals in its network who have cre- ated a signature and a unique identity profile, and the firm is adding about 70,000 new signers daily. Individuals can use that profile to sign a single document or multiple ones, on an ongoing basis. The use of these signatures is expand- ing more quickly in residential real estate, where paper documents have become cumbersome. E-signatures in that sector got a boost when the Federal Housing Administration announced in January that it would expand its acceptance of e-signatures. Bank of America Home Loans is another major entity that accepts Conference & T rade Exposition The Premier Retail Real Estate Sustainability Conference JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa | Phoenix, AZ December 2 – 3, 2014 Dynamic & Interactive Experts in sustainability from Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Inc., Simon, Walgreen's, Verizon, Solar City and more will share their insights and expertise! Inspiring Speakers Be inspired by an impressive list of speakers including Nils Kok, Ph.D., Executive Director, GRESB and Don A. Moseley, P.E., Senior Manager, Sustainability Facilities, Wal-Mart, Inc. Expanded Program Roundtables hosted by the speakers Interactive panel discussions Real-time problem solving sessions Networking opportunities Trade Exposition For more information visit www.retailgreen.org. #Retailgreen 54 S C T / N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 r e T a i l i n g T o d a y