Adobe Sign, an Adobe Document Cloud solution is a cloud-based, enterprise-class e-signature service that lets you replace paper and ink signature processes with fully automated electronic signature workflows. With it, you can easily send, sign, track, and manage signature processes using a browser or mobile device. And you can use turnkey integrations and APIs to include e-signature workflows in your enterprise apps and systems of record.

Eighty percent of businesses still struggle with paper-based processes that are slow, error-prone, and fragmented. Workers spend countless hours hunting down approvals and ink signatures—and then print, scan, fax or mail documents to get the job done. The resulting delays frustrate customers, business partners and employees alike—and ultimately reflect poorly on the company’s brand.  Adobe Sign helps business transform paper processes, making 100% digital workflows a reality with trusted and legal e-signatures. With Adobe Sign, workers and organizations can:

• Get signatures in minutes, not days – Workers can easily request signatures from others, sign documents, and track and manage the entire process electronically.
• Work anywhere, on any device – Signers click a link to sign documents from any location, at any time of day, using a browser or mobile device. No account sign-ups or downloads are required.
• Add to your systems and processes – Integrate Adobe Sign into the systems and applications you’re already using today. Nothing changes except the speed of your workflows, and ease of gathering signatures.
• Ensure legal and security compliance – Adobe Sign delivers the highest levels of security, availability, and legal compliance. We are the world’s trusted leader in secure digital documents and standout digital experiences.

Because Adobe Sign is a cloud-based service, there are many ways to work with it. All Adobe Sign purchase plans let you work in a web browser or mobile app to send, sign, track, and manage signature processes. Adobe Sign can also be used inside other applications. Individual users can send documents for signature and perform other tasks while working in popular business productivity apps like Microsoft Office 365 Word and PowerPoint, as well as Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive. And, Adobe Sign lets businesses use turnkey integrations and APIs to add e-signature workflows to your enterprise apps and systems of record, such as Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics 365, Salesforce, Workday, Ariba, Appttus, and many more.

An electronic signature, or e-signature, is a legal way to get consent or approval on electronic documents or forms. One of the most relied upon definitions of an electronic signature defines an electronic signature as: “…an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record …adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”

Electronic signatures are:

1. Legal – Electronic signatures are legally binding in nearly every industrialized nation, and even less developed countries are beginning to enact e-signature laws. In 2000, the United States passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act, making e-signatures legal for virtually all uses. In the European Union, the Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulation (eIDAS) took effect in July 2016. Other countries have enacted similar laws as well. To learn more about signature laws, read Global Guide to Electronic Signature Laws: Country by Country.
2. Tested – Adobe Sign has been the highest-rated e-signature app in the Salesforce AppExchange since 2006. Many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, and tens of thousands of small to medium businesses rely on Adobe Sign to process tens of millions of agreements every year. Learn about Adobe Sign customers.
3. Secure – Electronic signatures are more secure than written and fax signatures. Adobe Sign manages the complete process, including routing documents, guiding signatures or approvals, generating notifications, and storing signed documents in a secure environment. In addition, the final document is certified with a tamper-evident seal. To learn more, visit the Trust Center.
4. Auditable – The process of gathering electronic signatures from multiple parties is completely tracked to ensure compliance. Adobe Sign maintains a detailed audit trail that logs all events and actions taken by the people who participated in the transaction.
5. Verifiable – Electronic signature processes can use a variety of methods to authenticate the identity of signers. Typical “e-signature” processes send the document to be signed to a specified email address and use the recipient’s access to that email account as a basic form of authentication. To increase security, many businesses rely on additional authentication steps (multi-factor authentication) to guarantee the identity of people signing important documents. Examples include phone authentication, one-time passwords, social network identities (for example, Google), Government-ID verification, and Knowledge-Based Authentication, which
   requires signers to prove their identity by answering questions unique to them. Another form of authentication is commonly known as a “digital signature” and requires people to sign with a certificate-based digital ID. Each signature is encrypted and bound to the document. Both the signer’s identity and the integrity of the signed document can be validated through a trusted third-party certificate authority.

Electronic signatures are more secure — and get the job done faster and cheaper — than paper-based signatures. Electronic signatures:

1. Apply to the entire document – If a paper contract has two or more pages and the signature is applied only to a single page, unsigned pages could be changed without anyone's knowledge. With Adobe Sign, a cryptographic binding is applied to the entire document before delivering a PDF of the final, signed document to all parties, creating a certified document with a tamper-evident seal. If any information changes on any page, Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader software display a notification that the document’s certification is no longer valid.
2. Can be tracked and managed efficiently – Electronic signature processes driven by Adobe Sign provide complete visibility into the signature process, letting you keep track of document status in real time, get notified when your documents are signed, and send reminders as needed.
3. Can't be duplicated with a copier or scanner – It's too easy to forge a paper signature by copying it, scanning it, or tracing it with a pen. With Adobe Sign, a signature is bound to a specific instance of the document and tracked as part of a multi-step signature process.
4. Can't be backdated – With paper signatures, signers are free to enter any date or time they choose, making it possible for one of the parties to change the "active” date of the signing without notifying other parties. With Adobe Sign, the time is centrally managed by the hosted service and backdating is not allowed.
5. Are much easier to authenticate – Authenticating a paper signature requires another handwritten signature from the same signer for forensic comparison. If additional signature samples aren't available, authenticity can't be proven. With Adobe Sign, multiple authentication methods can be applied to guarantee the identity of people signing documents.
   
6. Are similar to using a notary, but without the hassle – Paper signatures can be made more secure if you work with a trusted third party like a notary, but the in-person signing ceremony adds costs and delays to the signing process.
7. Reduce the costs and hassles of long-term storage – Electronic document storage is less expensive than renting floor space for paper filing cabinets. If documents need to be retrieved, the task can be done with simple search commands. And documents can be sent to the requesting party in moments, instead of by fax or overnight mail.
8. Prevent documents from being defaced – Paper documents can be defaced when signers cross out text in the document. Electronic signature processes driven by Adobe Sign protects the integrity of the original document so information cannot be hidden or removed.

While the terms may seem similar, electronic and digital signatures actually describe two different approaches to signing documents — and those differences are linked with signature laws and regulatory requirements. Digital signatures are a subset of the larger category called “electronic signatures.” Where typical electronic signatures can use a variety of methods for authenticating signers — such as email, corporate IDs, or phone verification — digital signatures use one specific method. With digital signatures, signers authenticate their identity using a certificate-based digital ID, which is typically issued by a trusted third-party certificate authority.

Another key difference between typical e-signatures and digital signatures is the evidence used to prove that a document was signed. Adobe Sign manages the entire process securely, tracking every step in the signing process and capturing that information in an audit trail. Both the audit trail and the signed document are certified to provide a tamper-evident seal, and the audit trail can be used to produce evidence of each party’s signature. Digital signatures add one more level of proof. With digital signatures, each signature is encrypted and bound to the document. Both the signer’s identity and the integrity of the signed document can be validated through a trusted third-party certificate authority. Adobe Sign supports both methods of signing in a single, scalable signature solution. Read the white paper on electronic and digital signatures.