There are two alternatives for integrating electronic signature solutions ^[1], as they can be available as part of a total solution, for instance with the all-in-one SIGNificant Suite which includes a Server, Client and Biometric Server ^[2] and also be available through an SDK, that enables companies to develop a client application for their specific platform.

Although it might be tempting to consider using an SDK when integrating electronic signature solutions, thinking it could make for an easier, cheaper and seamless integration, actually starting with a total solution is usually a better choice for most companies. One shouldn’t underestimate the efforts that need to be invested in making a working solution from an SDK, resulting in much higher costs when programming your own solution in comparison to customizing a standard solution. Starting with a total solution is critically faster as typically the customization process is done within a few days. Furthermore there are additional costs that should be taken into consideration like maintenance and future developments.

Another important aspect, especially when integrating electronic signature solutions is that when using an SDK, the company’s IT department will need to manage all security issues independently. For instance protecting customers’ handwritten signatures from being transferred to an unauthorized document or stored somewhere in raw format, which is an enormous burden on the company’s internal IT department. This includes efforts to avoid misuse and careless coding by the company’s own employees, turning the task of providing a sufficient level of security tougher. The fact is that even if all security actions are implemented, this issue is usually not easily explained to end customers and third parties, as theoretically the company has the possibility to misuse this sensitive data. Whilst in the scenario of a total solution, the company can easily proof to end customers and if necessary also to court in case of a legal dispute, that it had no possibility to manipulate signatures.

Besides of the security aspects, a total solution offers much more than “just” embedding a signature into a PDF document. Including capabilities like automation of different documents with flexible signature fields positioning; PDF conversion; digital signing (sealing) of documents; encryption and embedment of signatures securely into the document, support for different signature pads and attachment of additional documents and scans. Furthermore the total solution offers predefined and ready to go interface functionalities; Citrix support; audit trailing and many other valuable features.

At the end of the day, each customer must decide what the best solution is for his purposes, but remember that in contrary to what is maybe expected at a first glance, a total solution might be cheaper and deployed faster than an SDK based approach.

To learn more about xyzmo SIGNificant’s solutions, please visit: www.xyzmo.com ^[3]