Digital signature capability spurs interest at technology conference

Our new digital signature capability was well received November 8-9 at the E-Records and E-Signatures: Emerging Technology and Business Applications in Financial Services conference held in Washington D.C. The conference, sponsored by the Electronic Financial Services Council and Glasser LegalWorks, focused on the latest developments in electronic signatures and records.

Our counsel, Jennifer Sides, discussed our digital signature technology in a panel session entitled, "Which Signature Technology is Right for Your Company?" along with representatives from Wells Fargo and Principal Financial Group.

Launched at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual conference in October, Sides explained that our legally-binding and standards-compliant digital-signing capability uses Wave System's eSign Transaction Management Suite (eTMS), allowing XSites users to manage business processes and transactions entirely online – without the need for ink signatures.

"Our digital signature system creates, authenticates, signs, stores, and provides ongoing access and lifecycle management of digitally signed documents such as Mortgage 1003s and purchase contracts," Sides told the audience.

Further, unlike many of our competitors, our e-signature platform uses a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) system, which seals the transaction in the most secure way available today. The PKI system integrates digital certificates, public-key cryptography, and certificate authorities into a total, network security architecture. A typical PKI includes the issuance of digital certificates to individual users and servers; end-user enrollment software; integration with corporate certificate directories; tools for managing, renewing, and revoking certificates; and related services and support.

We were the only company at the conference providing such technology, normally reserved for the largest IT departments at the largest banks, to mass markets. But we think of it as just another service that will help our customers run their businesses more efficiently. We've led the market in EDI, Web-based order/management/report production, and marketing tools, among other things. We're doing the same thing by getting digital signing capability in the hands of small businesses and sole proprietorships.

As Sides puts it: "In keeping with a la mode's business objective of providing our customers (mortgage brokers, appraisers, agents and home inspectors) value-added services consisting of best of breed technologies, E-signatures was at the top of the list to maintain our commitment to lead, not follow, as it relates to emerging technologies."