5 Reasons Gov Agencies and Councils Embrace Digital Signatures Posted on November 24, 2023 - 6:32 am by John Webster Government departments and local councils face a dual challenge: streamlining operations while safeguarding sensitive information and reducing environmental impact. The sheer volume of paperwork inundating these organizations necessitates a shift toward digitalization.As paper-based processes give way to digital applications, the cornerstone of this transition rests on digital signatures. These electronic “fingerprints” validate document authenticity and integrity, a critical element witnessed in Singapore’s forward-thinking implementation of digital signature services in 2020, further accelerated by the global pandemic.In 2021, Casey Coleman’s insightful piece in the Washington Post highlighted the pivotal role the pandemic played in propelling governments worldwide toward long-overdue digital transformations and cloud services. Here’s why this shift matters:1. Enhanced Efficiency through DigitalizationThe move from paper-based bureaucracy to digital agility not only curtails costs on printing and storage but also saves invaluable time. DeKalb County in Atlanta, Georgia, illustrates this transition beautifully. Amidst COVID-19 disruptions, their shift to a virtual environment with Secured Signing’s intuitive solution streamlined document workflows across various departments, significantly boosting efficiency.Felicia Green, Deputy CIO at DeKalb County Government, highlighted the software’s role in automating processes across high-traffic departments like Legal, Purchasing, Executive Offices, and Courts, ensuring seamless operations.2. Seamless Experience and Improved ServicesDigitalization isn’t merely a leap from paper to screen; it’s an evolution toward sustainable and efficient administration. By eliminating paper-centric hurdles, it fosters a seamless experience, empowering customers to effortlessly fill and sign documents from anywhere, reducing delays and enhancing customer satisfaction.For government agencies, this translates into faster response times, fewer errors, and a smoother public service experience. The demand for digitally-driven services aligns with citizens’ preferences for accessibility and participation in service delivery.3. Empowering Organizations through Streamlined ProcessesBeyond digitizing documents, this transition optimizes data management, automating processes and facilitating transparent workflows. Automation ensures documents meet criteria before submission, expediting inter-departmental reviews and customer feedback loops.Eliminating administrative tasks associated with paper processes empowers teams to focus on impactful activities, significantly improving productivity.4. Sustainability AchievedThe Matamata-Piako District Council’s pursuit of a green solution through digital meetings underscores the larger objective of sustainability. Their partnership with Secured Signing since 2019 has enabled them to achieve strategic sustainability goals while transitioning into a digital space.5. Accessible Solutions for AllSecured Signing’s software isn’t just for metropolitan or federal levels; it’s adaptable across local, regional, and federal governments. While embracing digitalization, it’s crucial to ensure inclusivity. Prioritizing user-friendly interfaces, responsive tech support, and accessible information ensures equal access for all demographics. Secured Signing: Empowering Digital TransformationSecured Signing stands as a frontrunner in digital signing technology. Offering a robust suite of features including unlimited signers, templates, and high-security PKI digital signatures, its software ensures non-forgeable signatures, bolstering security and trust.The platform’s versatility extends to integrations with platforms like Content Manager, Magiq Software, and SharePoint, amplifying its efficacy across diverse organizational ecosystems.Empower your organization with enhanced operational efficiency, reduced expenses, expedited processes, and improved customer service—all within a sustainable digital environment.For more insights or inquiries on how Secured Signing’s digital signing platform can elevate your organization’s efficiency and security, feel free to contact us. COntact us
Byron Shire Council selects Secured Signing as their Digital Signature provider Posted on May 27, 2022 - 8:41 pm by John Webster A comparison of digital signature providers led Byron Shire Council, an Australian local government organization, to select Secured Signing. The primary requirement for adopting a digital signature solution was for signing license and leases for properties. The council’s rationalization for digitizing was around efficiency, removing paper, and saving time spent moving documents around internally and externally. The solution needed to integrate with their document management system, Content Manager. Colin had feedback from another Australian Council that the quality of integration between Secured Signing and Content Manager integration was a reason they had changed to Secured Signing, after previously being let down by another Digital Signature provider. After doing their own due diligence and talking to surrounding councils, Byron Shire Council made the decision to go ahead with Secured Signing as their digital signature provider. “Moving forward, we will expand on that current footprint. We want to expand the use of Secured Signing to new employees within the HR department, for employee contracts.” – Colin Baker, Manager Business Systems and Technology at Byron Shire Council.“Secured Signing allows the council to get documents signed online which typically was a process that might take weeks to complete.” The Secured Signing flexible pricing structure allowed Byron Shire Council to implement the solution across their organization on an as-needed, or on-demand, basis. This approach means that the council can start small and then look to scale up the digital signature solution. “Organizations come to us with concerns around pricey technology contracts which is where we stand apart from our competitors,” says Geoff Thompson, Enterprise Sales Director at Secured Signing. “Our pricing is simple and based on the number of documents (or files) that you send for signing and the number of document owners/senders that you require to have access to Secured Signing’s digital signature platform.”The Secured Signing onboarding process allowed for easy implementation for the Byron Shire Council’s teams. This was supplemented by the help guides that Secured Signing provides with two-minute videos demonstrating specific features within the platform. These videos assist in training and are easy to send off to whoever needs them. “From a support point of view, your Customer Success Lead, Merita Valkeapaa, was great at providing training and ongoing support in the initial stages of implementation. There was an instance where we wanted to get a couple of other teams up and running so we scheduled an hour-long session, which we were happy to pay for. However, we were pleasantly surprised and advised that there would be no cost or consulting fee.” Byron Shire Council says that Secured Signing gives them the ability to sign documents without having to physically send them around, monitor and track documents, trust that they are signed securely, saving money and time from an efficiency point of view. “Secured Signing is an elegant solution to improve efficiency and go digital.”About Secured Signing Secured Signing provides a comprehensive and compliant Software as a Service platform that utilizes the secure, personalized, X509 PKI Digital Signature technology and enables the customization of a full range of eForm and eSignature capabilities. Secured Signing was founded in 2008 by TME Consulting Ltd., a privately owned New Zealand company established in 2003. Secured Signing has built its activities based on the extensive knowledge and experience of its team of experts in the development of data security products and technology that serve a wide range of industries worldwide. To learn more about Secured Signing visit www.securedsigning.com
Lockyer Valley Regional Council enhances document security with Secured Signing Posted on May 8, 2022 - 12:00 am by John Webster Lockyer Valley Regional Council continues to use Secured Signing across the organisation as their Enterprise Digital Signing platform.The Secured Signing platform allows the council to meet its document security requirements, gain visibility of documents that need to be signed, and improve time efficiency.When evaluating digital signature providers, traceability of document flow was a key consideration.“Definitely there is traceability with the audit trails but is also the completion emails being invaluable for records management with the right departments getting the right documents at the right time,” says Ajana Ranatunge, Coordinator ICT Projects and Business Operations for Lockyer Valley Regional Council. “From Payroll to HR, the workflows operate well and ensure nothing goes unnoticed.”With the general workflows set up for their document signing processes, Secured Signing enabled staff to get things done efficiently and stress-free.“Whether it’s certificates, community notifications, food licenses, we utilize Secured Signing everywhere in the organization. Working from home or getting a customer to sign a document has never been easier than with Secured Signing.”Lockyer Valley Regional Council started off with a small group of people involving key personnel who were interested in using digital signatures for their specific use case of generating letters. It was a small project, but it was easy to see the opportunity that implementing a digital signature system would provide the organization.The change management process for Lockyer Valley was straightforward as they had recently undertaken a Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint implementation prior to implementing Secured Signing.“There was hesitation amongst some staff around implementation of digital signatures, but once we ran through the system and had a trial period, there was greater buy-in and adoption.”Today, Lockyer Valley has 60 people using Secured Signing.“At the end of the day, it is only the originator of the document that needs an account, and the other 300 staff can simply receive the documents and sign them. We do not even need to show people how to use the system. For example, when a new staff member joins, the product champion, or functional leaders as we call them, will undertake all the training.”If the council did require support or additional training, Secured Signing were quick to respond.“Additional feature requests have been developed by Secured Signing for the Council. Gal Thompson (CEO at Secured Signing) and Mike Eyal (Founder and CTO of Secured Signing) listened to our concerns and with quick turnaround, the features were available to Lockyer Valley Regional Council, as well as any user within the Secured Signing platform.”Lockyer Valley Regional Council continues to use Secured Signing and has been seeing increased interest in the digital signature space. An example being local Australian councils approaching Ajana for a referral, which he is happy to give.“We’ve started to see a readiness in many organizations to digitize their documents,” says Geoff Thompson, Enterprise Sales Director at Secured Signing. “This comes down to three main things- document and signature security, enabling staff to securely work from anywhere, and document flow efficiency. Secured Signing is more than a digital signature platform, it also helps businesses streamline their document processes, which is of great value, as seen in Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s case.”For more information contact Secured Signing at www.securedsigning.com/contact
Secured Signing is approved and listed on the New Zealand All of Government (AoG) Marketplace Posted on December 2, 2021 - 12:00 am by John Webster Secured Signing is excited to announce their listing on the All of Government (AOG) Marketplace, which lets businesses offer their products and services directly to New Zealand government agencies.New Zealand government agencies can now select Secured Signing Limited under the Managed Services – Digital Experience Services category. Secured Signing is the local choice for government agencies, providing a one stop digital signature platform that delivers a full range of form completion and eSigning capabilities. Using advanced Digital Signature technology, it is more secure than a plain electronic signature, and has customers such as the Department of Corrections and Ministry for the Environment. “Since 2010, Secured Signing has been committed to the local and central government sector and our approval on the AoG Marketplace is a reflection of that,” says Harrison Stott, Senior Account Director at Secured Signing. “Our platform is more important than ever with the shift in working environments due to the pandemic. Organizations are adapting processes and the entire Secured Signing team is working tirelessly to assist in making the adoption successful.” With Secured Signing gaining ISO 27001 Certification and being listed on the Marketplace, it allows government agencies’ procurement teams to make a faster, educated decision on adopting the digital signatures platform into their business. “Getting listed (on the Marketplace) makes it easier to offer our services to government agencies and positions us as the Local digital signature platform for kiwi government agencies,” says Gal Thompson, CEO at Secured Signing. “Our listing not only demonstrates our commitment to improving local government agencies in their day-to-day operations, but also our dedication to create awareness around how our platform increases sustainability by removing paper-based processes.” About Secured SigningSecured Signing, a New Zealand own, is a digital signature platform used by customers in over 30 countries across the world and has been operating since 2010 with their head office in Auckland, New Zealand. Secured Signing enables its users to use any device to capture their graphical signature, fill-in, sign, seal and verify documents anywhere, anytime. The solution streamlines business processes, cuts back on expenses, expedites delivery cycles, improves staff efficiency, and enhances customer service in a green environment.
Secured Signing provides a digital signature integration with Content Manager, a document management system Posted on March 15, 2021 - 8:41 pm by John Webster Content Manager users now have the option to send documents for digital signing directly from within Content Manager, thanks to a new integration with Secured SigningDemand for digital signing has increased during COVID-19, as organizations look for a method that ensures the integrity of a signed document without having to print, manually sign, then post or scan to return. The integration means that staff can initiate a document for signing directly from within Content Manager, and after it has been signed by one or more parties, the signed document will automatically be saved back into the record it was initiated from. Many organizations are experiencing efficiency gains in both time and resource savings, as well as improved capture of signed agreements. Several councils no longer need to print a document for council packs and have eliminated associated courier costs. A City Council using the new software integration has said “they’ve been waiting years for a solution like this”. “Now we can send documents for signing within Content Manager and once the document has been signed it gets checked into the right record location saving a lot of double-handling.” Digital signing in Content Manager through Secured Signing will not only mean it is quicker and simpler for users to sign, but it will also provide a clear audit trail of the signing process. Mike Eyal, Secured Signing founder and Managing Director, says, “it is another amazing tool that Secured Signing provides to enterprise customers to initiate the signing process directly from their document management system. Theintegrated solution gives users the ability to implement most of Secured Signing’s many features, as well as having a simplified one step login that creates efficiency and better control to manage the signing process in an all-in-one platform.” About Information ProficiencyInformation Proficiency is a Records & Information Management specialist providing a range of services and softwareincluding strategic plans, policy and procedure development, system integrations, data migrations, managed recordsservices, hosted system administration, and software development. The Information Proficiency team are experienced practitioners and can assist with anything information management. We work hard to understand our client requirements and implement solutions to match. View more here: www.infoproficiency.com.au About Secured SigningSecured Signing is a SaaS digital signing and online forms platform that uses the most secure technology, PKI encryption technology (the same encryption technology as what banks use and blockchain is built on). Secured Signing is headquartered in New Zealand, where it was founded in 2010. It has clients in 30 countries, including tax accountants H&R Block, Adecco, Manpower, Auckland District Law Society, and local government such asManningham City Council, City of Glen Eira, Napier City Council, DeKalb County.
DeKalb County selects Secured Signing as their Digital Signing Solution Posted on November 5, 2020 - 12:00 am by John Webster DeKalb County Government, in the Atlanta, GA metropolitan area, the governing body of over 760,000 people, has selected Secured Signing’s cloud-based digital signing and online forms platform to aid in the automation and signing of vital documents within their daily operations. In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, DeKalb County Government, like many other organizations had to mobilize their workforce in a virtual platform. “Many departments did not have a method of automation around signatures for vital records and contracts that allowed daily operations to continue,” says Felicia Green, Deputy CIO at DeKalb County Government. “We identified Secured Signing as a solution to quickly adopt and provide a level of automation and continuity in various high traffic departments including Legal, Purchasing, Executive Offices, and Courts to sustain a smooth operation.” The onset of COVID shifted the culture that was previously paper based to now function in a completely virtual environment. This shift translated to increased efficiency, the tracking to documents electronically and the ability to move through internal processes at a faster rate. DeKalb County’s ideal solution was one that had easy ramp up and administration, without the use of complex integrations. The tool would be easy to adopt and socialize through the organization and allowed for quick user trainings and configuration based on user needs to begin immediate use, migration away from paper-based signatures, and physical touch workflow processes. In evaluating other vendors, Secured Signing was a cost-effective solution during the initial onset of COVID to pay via credit card. Secured Signing offered an intuitive solution that provided signing workflow capabilities and streamlined the organization’s signing procedures. The ability to track and monitor documents at every touchpoint of the signing process ensured the right people were signing the right documents at the right time. This gave DeKalb County Government the peace of mind to proceed with Secured Signing as their digital signing solution. For complex signing processes, Secured Signing had inbuilt capacity if required, which further validated the signing platform as the ideal choice. Once DeKalb County Government was able to see the benefits and had thoroughly tested the product, they were ready to roll out Secured Signing to the wider organization. “The process to transition to an enterprise plan was a seamless process when our needs changed accompanied with competitive pricing options.” This is a key decision point for a County Government to keep cost in mind but empower a robust solution that offers scalable growth for future needs. Mike Eyal, Managing Director at Secured Signing is pleased with the outcome. “DeKalb County Government’s ability to successfully adopt Secured Signing within their organization, during these difficult times, is a testament to our teams’ willingness to deliver an effective solution. Our ongoing training and support allow businesses the opportunity to scale our platform up within their business operations.” Secured Signing’s digital signing platform provided a multitude of features: unlimited number of signers, templates and fillable forms, out-of-the-box security through PKI digital signatures, as well as notarization and video signing capabilities to ensure effective use across all departments. DeKalb County digitally executes thousands of documents using Secured Signing’s platform. About DeKalb County Government DeKalb County Government is the government body that provides Public Safety, Court Services, Water Supply and Distribution, Parks and Recreation, and other core Constituent Services to residents of DeKalb County in the greater metropolitan Atlanta, GA area. DeKalb County is Georgia’s fourth most populous County; comprised of 13 major cities (~760K in population). For more information visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov. About Secured Signing Secured Signing is a SaaS digital signing and online forms platform that uses the most secure technology, PKI encryption technology (the same encryption technology as what banks use and blockchain is built on). Secured Signing is headquartered in New Zealand, where it was founded in 2010. It has clients in 30 countries, including tax accountants H&R Block, Adecco and Manpower. For more information visit www.securedsigning.com. Press Contact: John WebsterSecured Signing LtdE-mail: marketing@securedsigning.comPhone: +64 9 4799 044
Local government shares insights on implementing digital signing Posted on October 12, 2020 - 2:37 am by John Webster Secured Signing had the pleasure of talking with Matamata-Piako District Council’s Jo Gifford on how digitizing their signing processes has helped them deliver on their strategic sustainability goals. We dove deep into why digital signing was required, the preparation required before implementing digital signing and what Jo learnt along the way. Main drivers for going digital Let’s go back to the beginning, when Matamata-Piako District were manually preparing and handling all of their documents. Back then, the democracy team were driving around delivering agendas and minutes to relevant councilors. Signed documents were stacking up and some signatures were taking months to be sent, signed, returned, and filed into the right location. A better solution was out there, and they were determined to find it. Three main drivers which led Matamata-Piako District Council on their digitization journey Time spent transferring information between councilors and internal stakeholders, Money spent on paper, people and postage The ability to be flexible. Options were investigated to bring councilors into the digital world. One thing Jo mentioned is that having “huge support from the CEO” and upper management aided in the project’s success. “Being able to do things digitally, we know the moment of signing, we can verify the identity… when contracts can be worth 5 – 15 million dollars, you need to be able to prove legitimacy over who is signing the document.“ Preparing to go digital For Jo, the Democracy team were the primary drivers for change and would be the biggest users of any digital solution that they would require. However, they involved other divisions to take advantage of the added efficiencies of digitization. These divisions included Procurement, Contracts, People, Wellness & Safety. In the early stages, it was important to bring in key people from each division, identify at what point do things need to be signed and when things need to happen made a huge difference when implementing digital signing. Choosing the right product Matamata-Piako District Council chose Secured Signing, but why? Secured Signing’s platform allows you to fill-in and sign legally binding documents, from any device, anywhere, at any time. These documents are sealed with a signature which means they cannot be altered, keeping your data safe. The product was easy to understand, implement and use. After the fact, Jo was impressed with the “responsive” support provided from the Secured Signing team. Emails replied to on the same day, phone calls if required, the initial training was interactive and useful and Matamata-Piako District Council staff have been able to sustain contact with Secured Signing allowing them to expand their knowledge of the product. From a practical standpoint, it was “right product, right time” and the window of opportunity was utilized. “It (the Secured Signing platform) just made life an awful lot easier.“ Key insights and recommendations Wrapping up, Jo was able to share her key insights and recommendations: Get a great champion who empowers your team and understands the full benefits of document digitisation. Identify teams who want to be a part of the document digitisation process. Workshop your processes so you know where the product will sit. Conduct research into the true costs of printing, scanning, postage, transportation, filing, etc. “We found that the savings we could make by going fully digital, just in the Democracy space, was enough to cover the cost of getting the product, Secured Signing, and paying the fees that we needed to. It also covered off the cost of supplying all of our councilors and the Mayor with devices and it covered the cost of the (communication) hub and the IT behind that. And all of the Office 365 licenses. Secured Signing was a no-brainer from a savings perspective“. Want to learn more? Watch the full recording here. About Jo Gifford Information Team Leader (Records & Land) at Matamata-PiakoDistrict Council, Jo Gifford has been working in local government for over 30 years with a huge breadth of knowledge across council, divisions, and projects. Her role in the Digital Signing project is one of the more recent ones, and was a project driven by the Corporate Strategy team and Communications team and supported by IT and management. The on-going management of digital signing and expansion of the opportunities it provides now sits with Jo.
Digital Signature – Governments’ choice for electronic documents Posted on September 15, 2011 - 12:00 am by John Webster The expansion of electronic documents usage carries substantial benefits along with challenges to the traditional working environment. Government departments and state institutions around the world are no different to any other business. They too are looking for ways to improve service efficiency, reduce costs, and respond to the current business climate. A recent case to the ever changing conditions is shown in Gartner’s latest report (8 September 2011) that predicts a sharp drop (from projection of 9.3 percent to 3.8 percent) in PC shipment growth due to a market shift to devices like tablets. Following the development of electronic products and services and worldwide legal recognition of electronic signatures, an increasing number of Ministries adopt digital signature technology for signing online electronic documents. The preferred choice seems very logical in light of the apparent ability to alter or copy electronic documents that can be used in unauthorized ways. The form of user-based PKI digital signature that utilises encryption technology to sign documents ensures that the signature is uniquely linked to the signatory and document, and that any changes can be immediately detected. There are countless examples of the above: Italy was one of the first countries in the European Union to use digital signatures to connect Government departments, Germany, and Spain who use digital signatures in transactions between citizens and public administration, India very recently (12 September) announced the deployment of digital signature technology in citizens services,US Federal Government agencies and the State of California to name a few. Carly Fiorina once said: “Many people see technology as the problem behind the so-called digital divide. Others see it as the solution. Technology is neither. It must operate in conjunction with business, economic, political, and social systems.”