Enterprise customers who focus on SAS-70 vendors realize that not all SAS-70 certifications are the same.  AssureSign, like some other electronic signature vendors, provides customers with the security of running their cloud-based, or SaaS, offering in a SAS-70 Type II environment.  However, other signature vendors merely host their application on other systems, located in someone else’s SAS-70 data center.  That’s great, they are SAS-70 Type II, but there is more to SAS-70 Type II certification than outsourcing your data center.  Which is why AssureSign runs our own Tier 4 (highest possible type) SAS-70 Type II data center.

AssureSign takes it to the next level.  First, we have explicit control over uptime – our own enterprise class, fully redundant (also geo-redundant) in-house data center is SAS-70 Type II certified, offering a Tier 1 level of reliability, providing our customers 99.994% uptime over the last 4 years!  Secondly, we take it to the next level with enterprise-wide SAS-70 Type II certification.

Obtaining enterprise-wide SAS-70 Type II certification means that ALL aspects of AssureSign have a specifically defined tested process and we’re audited annually to assure we adhere to those processes.   This certification includes all internal processes and systems such as software/code development, quality assurance, soft releases, human resources and billing.  Just as important are all customer facing processes such as sales, training and customer support.  The all-encompassing certification means that the way we develop our industry-leading applications and deploy them on our owned and controlled servers while supporting them in certified processes ensures the best possible level of service.

This is important to us and should be more important to our customers.   In order to provide a true enterprise-class SaaS offering, all aspects of the business need to operate in an enterprise class environment at all levels.  This is certainly exemplified by our ever-expanding enterprise-level customer base, who see the value in enterprise-wide SAS-70 Type II certification and, more importantly, understand and appreciate the difference between AssureSign and any other electronic signature vendor.

AssureSign and sister company 3PV have over 10 years of experience in providing SaaS applications, having processed 30 million transactions and over 100 million unique ‘signature events’ and we will continue to lead the field in enterprise class offerings in products, features and customer support.

Version 1.4 of AssureSign DocumentLAUNCH™ for Windows is being released the week of June 7. As we implement new customization options in the DocumentNOW® interfaces, we follow up by adding related functionality in our downloadable client applications to provide new, rich features.

For example, DocumentLAUNCH now supports the ability to pass in documents containing dynamically created JotBlocks (the interface for handling this was implemented in DocumentNOW in version 2.1.1 of the AssureSign application). Additionally, new features introduced in the online AssureSign application such as the ability to specify regular expression string validators on parameters (being released with version 2.1.2 of the AssureSign application) are now supported in DocumentLAUNCH. When you specify custom validation handlers and messages during the template creation process they will now be enforced and displayed within DocumentLAUNCH. Other performance enhancements and features based on customer requests have also been implemented.

Current users will be able to download the latest version when logged in to their AssureSign account, from the AssureSign Tools section of the help pages. Please contact your AssureSign account representative for a demonstration if you are interested in finding out how DocumentLAUNCH can get you up and running with integration from the desktop with minimal technical requirements.

AssureSign version 2.1.2 is being prepped for release to the developers' sandbox the week of May 10.  

A large number of under the hood enhancements are being implemented to improve document processing throughput, particularly when documents are streamed in via DocumentNOW® services.  The Text version of the SubmitWithFile interface has been enhanced to improve throughput, however all submission operations should experience performance gains on the sandbox.  Changes will be made in stages, whereby first software will be upgraded followed later by additions to our sandbox hardware environment to improve your experience there.

Most visible operation of the application remains unchanged with this release, however we will be adding in features to allow for improved disclosure and compliance for specific jurisdictions.  For example, in consultation with your legal staff and your AssureSign account manager, it will be possible to configure templates to display custom disclosures based on your needs, such as in the case of specific types of transactions or to meet certain countries' requirements.  We are also adding in some powerful new features for document submissions, including the ability to configure template parameter regular expression checking server side and to return parameter regular expressions to your front-end application.  

Sandbox client contacts will be receiving notification regarding the upgrade.  The application is currently being qualified for production release in QA with an expected release to production in early June.

Rigorous Certification Reaffirms AssureSign’s High Quality Operational Standards and Controls

AssureSign LLC, a leader in electronic signature technology, today announced that it has successfully completed an enterprise-wide Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS-70) Type II audit, which assesses the operational effectiveness of internal controls within service organizations. The audit provides assurance that AssureSign employs uniform and reliable operational controls to safeguard customer data, meeting the strictest industry standard. AssureSign completed the SAS-70 Type I audit in June 2009.

The SAS-70 Type II certification designates that adequate controls and safeguards are in place and operating effectively in regards to customer data that is hosted or processed by AssureSign. These high quality operations are required today by all industries, particularly by organizations that deal with financial transactions or critical data.

The SAS-70 audit, issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), defines the professional standards used by a service auditor to assess the internal controls of a service organization. It was developed for service providers who wish to demonstrate the establishment of effectively designed control objectives and control activities, and has become one of the most widely recognized auditing standards for service organizations.

The scope of AssureSign’s SAS-70 audit is not exclusive to its world-class, mission critical data center; it incorporates controls from every aspect of AssureSign’s operational process including: human resources, information technology physical security, information technology logical security, client provisioning and account maintenance, accuracy and timeliness of transaction processing, application development, testing and change management, and statutory compliance.

“Achieving SAS-70 compliance demonstrates AssureSign’s commitment to delivering value to our customers and exceeding their expectations. As a hosted services provider, it’s essential for our customers to have effective controls, standards and infrastructure in place to completely protect their data,” said Steven Cardillo, AssureSign’s chief financial officer. “We feel strongly that our processes and transactions fall under the same scrutiny. It is very important that our clients feel that we have their best interest in mind.”

“It’s important to AssureSign’s customers that we have safeguards in place to protect the security, privacy and sensitivity of their data, and completing an enterprise-wide SAS-70 Type II audit provides further validation and assurance of that,” said David Brinkman, AssureSign’s chief executive officer. “We are proud of this very significant investment in time and resources and know it significantly sets us apart from our peers and competitors.” 

The latest version of AssureSign, version 2.1.1, is currently being qualified and is being released for our integration clients to the development sandbox on January 20 with production release scheduled for mid-February 2010.

A key feature of this release is dynamically defined JotBlock signature locations.

Templating the signature process has proven to be a powerful feature, opening the door to a limitless variety of uses of our DocumentNOW integration interfaces.  And automation through integration produces the most cost effective solutions.  While it has always been possible within AssureSign to dynamically create single use document patterns with distinct layouts, we have developed a well-defined process that allows our customers to programmatically vary the signature areas in a way that best suits their existing processes.

Client suggestions and feedback played an important part in crafting this solution.  These also created an early puzzle that caused our engineers to approach the problem cautiously.  Some clients wanted very low level programmatic control of the process, others wanted a simpler in-document tagging mechanism; some clients needed to be able to define information embedded within their streamed-in Word documents, others wanted to apply information to their PDFs using existing toolsets.

Our final solution provides all of these options and offers the flexibility to mix and match the features that suit your needs.  You will be able to define JotBlocks:

• in the template creation process
• in a text tag within the document to be signed
• through XML
  

or combinations of

• tag + XML
• tag + template
• XML + template
• tag + XML + template

For example, in a simple case where all workflow rules are well established, such as there being only 1 signatory in a single signing step who will sign 1 specific signature block that may vary in its location due to variation in the agreements terms, then the JotBlock could be defined in advance on the template and an embedded tag in the streamed-in document could indicate merely the final signing location.

In the case that an entirely new signature area is to be defined that was not known when the template was created, this could be done with embedded text or through XML.  The XML could completely describe all attributes of the JotBlock, including height, width, x/y coordinates, signing order, signatory, special instructions, etc.  Or the XML could describe complex information but a text tag with the same name could intrinsically define the location of the signature.

We are excited about the possibilities these new features provide our customers.  Existing sandbox users will have early access to documentation and examples from within the sandbox environment in the DocumentNOW help section.  For more information about these and other features of the AssureSign application, please contact sign@assuresign.com.

Overwhelming adoption and acceptance of the AssureSign biometric mouse-based signing process leads one to wonder why you would implement an electronic signature solution any other way.  At first glance it may seem awkward and uncomfortable, but just as those signature pads in retail stores felt ‘different’ not so many years ago, they are now ubiquitously deployed and no one gives them a second thought as they have become part of our culture. 

As AssureSign users know, we offer the choice of biometric or typed ‘certified’ signatures (representing your signature as a font).  An overwhelming majority of users, more than 90% of AssureSign customers, use the mouse-based signature option.  Both options are equally ESIGN and UETA compliant, each capturing the same metadata and forensics around the signature process for compliance and non-repudiation.  So, why does our user community overwhelmingly select biometric signatures?  Quite simply – it looks like a real signature and most closely replicates the pen and paper process.

Feedback from customers and partners has been overwhelming as well.  In fact, several of our customers came to us after using other electronic signature solutions because their signatures were not accepted by third parties such as financial institutions and government agencies.  When documents signed electronically look like a real signature, rather than a ‘font-in-a-box’, third-party acceptance dramatically increases.  This is why other vendors are launching campaigns to challenge financial institutions and the federal government to accept their electronic signatures, which in fact, do not look like a real signature.   There is no need for this – just use mouse-based signatures and documents will be much more widely accepted.

One of our favorite customer quotes comes from Drew Hyde of Aurora Lifetools, who said “AssureSign Saved Our Company! ...to our horror, the Federal Government refused to accept E-Signatures over 90% of the time. In other words, we could not get paid without ‘real’ signatures.   We found AssureSign, and literally, their product has saved our company. Their Biometric Electronic Signature solution captures ‘real’ signatures similar to the pads in retail that everyone is familiar with.”

We are flattered that other electronic signature vendors who offered certified signatures have begun to have similar offerings as well as newcomers launching with mouse-based signatures.  This certainly further validates our industry-leading position on this important aspect of electronic signature deployment.   

To experience the biometric signature process simply visit www.assuresign.com and Try It Now, selecting the biometric option or enroll in one of our free webinars at www.assuresign.com/webinars.html.

Well, things have slowed down a little after an exciting Dreamforce and the Thanksgiving Holiday and it’s time to reflect back on our experiences at Dreamforce 2009!

First, thanks to the thousand-plus customers, prospective customers, partners and monkey-seekers for stopping by to visit with us at our booth and at our partner’s booths, Riptide and BigMachines.  Many of you got to see first-hand the new, game-changing offer in AssureSign Verbal Agreements, plus see how our enhanced integration is the most streamlined way to get electronic signatures launched (verbal or written) and processed within Salesforce CRM.

One of the most exciting things was the resounding endorsement of Verbal Agreements.   We all know that electronic signatures speed up the document execution process, but what if you can gain an equally ESIGN and UETA compliant verbal agreement while you still have the customer on the phone?  Since we have been doing this for years outside of Salesforce CRM it was only logical to extend our offering.   We had many telesales, trading and not-for-profit organizations interested in these applications.

As electronic signatures become more widely accepted the most frequently asked question was “how is AssureSign different from other vendors?”  Well, it’s pretty straight-forward and was easily demonstrated....

·        We, along with all AppExchange electronic signature vendors easily and seamlessly integrate with Salesforce Realtime Quotes – of course there are differences in all vendors.  AssureSign’s document launch is more streamlined and transparent... Of course there’s more...

·        There really IS something to be said about signing with a mouse – it is familiar to signers, it looks like a real signature, is more broadly accepted, is equally ESIGN and UETA compliant and simply a better way to do it.  Why would anyone want to use a font to represent your signature?  Why would a third party accept a font-based signature?

·        AssureSign is the most transparent signature solution on Apexchange – you can completely brand the entire signature workflow so a signatory would never know they are using a 3^rd-party signature application

·        AssureSign offers the ability to pre-sign documents by originators within the Salesforce CRM application – no need to leave Salesforce AND countersignatures are also accomplished without email, within Salesforce.  This creates a single user experience for complete document execution.

·        Immediate signing within Salesforce CRM – for field personnel with tablet PC’s or hand-held devices, signatures can be done face-to-face for field representatives

AssureSign would like to thank Riptide Software and BigMachines for their support and endorsement of AssureSign by demonstrating our application in conjunction with theirs in their respective booths. 

We look forward to upcoming Salesforce events and of course, remember to sign-up for one of our webinars to learn more.

And, lastly, please remember to take a minute and tell us 'where they are now’. In this season of giving and reconnecting with those we may have lost touch with over the last year, we at AssureSign would like to take this opportunity to get back in touch with some friends we haven't spoken to in a while.

We adopted out several monkeys at Dreamforce 2009, and would like to know more about where they now call home. Is your monkey in the loving arms of a child? Or sitting on your desk ready to cheer up a coworker on a rainy day? We will be setting up a "Where Are They Now?" blog, on which we will be posting updates from our long lost friends. If you know a monkey you'd like to see featured on the blog, please send us a picture and/or any information you have about its whereabouts. Keep checking back to read about other monkeys and their travels across the country and the world.

Electronic Signatures Provide a Simple and Smooth Contract Process

AssureSign LLC, a leader in electronic signature technology, today announced it has entered into a partnership with Riptide Software, Inc., a salesforce.com integration partner, to provide comprehensive solutions to Salesforce CRM users.

As salesforce.com partners, AssureSign  and Riptide are collaborating to bring best of breed, unique solutions to market together with the inclusion of new industry-leading verbal agreements. Riptide will be the preferred Salesforce CRM integration partner for the AssureSign solution, bringing electronic signatures and verbal agreements to a broad range of salesforce.com users. Additionally, Riptide has chosen AssureSign to be its preferred partner for integrated electronic signatures for its Real Estate applications – Riptide Real Estate and Riptide VOS (Vacation Ownership Software) – as well as its Human Resources application –  Riptide Recruiting.

AssureSign and Riptide will be demonstrating their integrated solutions at the Dreamforce Global Gathering 2009 Expo in San Francisco, November 17-20. Please visit AssureSign in Booth #1201 or Riptide in Booth #1202.
“AssureSign is committed to providing customers with the latest technology and the simplest integration into their business process workflows,” says David Brinkman, AssureSign’s Chief Executive Officer. “Through our partnership with Riptide, Salesforce CRM users can easily create documents for signing electronically with robust tracking, workflow and reporting capabilities, for improved and accelerated business processes.”

 “AssureSign’s product makes Riptide’s commitment to a paperless business process one step closer to reality,” says Philip Loeffel, Riptide’s Chief Executive Officer.  “Our partnership with AssureSign allows us to utilize our integration experience to guarantee our customers success, reduce their document tracking expenses, and show how going green in the real world can save money for everyone.”

It feels great to be known as leader and innovator.  It feels even better, and it’s very flattering, that our competitors have replicated some of our popular features this year.  With ground-breaking firsts including biometric signature capture with a mouse, data collection in the signing process, the ability to completely embed electronic signatures in existing applications with 100% customer branding (no receiving emails from some unknown or unexpected source) and the ability to sign remotely and in-person, we are very excited to offer the next game-changing offering with AssureSign Verbal Agreements.

Customer acquisition – getting the contract signed faster – is one of the greatest benefits recognized by electronic signature users.  With new verbal agreements, you can speed that up even more – no waiting for emails to arrive, waiting for the customer to open and sign, you can now secure their verbal agreement while you still have them on the phone – it simply could not be faster than that!

Using the latest in speech recognition software and systems, AssureSign customers can now capture a legally binding, ESIGN and UETA compliant, verbal agreement with just a click of the mouse.  The company representative simply makes the request from their desktop, dials an 800-number and creates a conference with the AssureSign system and their customer.  By answering a few simple identification and compliance questions, a signatory can agree to terms and conditions and sign verbally.  The recording of this agreement, in its entirety, is captured, stored and retrieved in the same way as a written agreement that is electronically signed.

Customers can also secure a verbal agreement or commitment and follow-up with a traditional written agreement that is electronically signed.  Serenity Insurance has been doing this combination since 2006 and has increased their policy close rates by 65%!

You are probably asking, “Is this for real?”  Well, of course it is!  With more than 26 million written and verbal agreements to-date, AssureSign remains the industry thought leader and innovator and the ONLY electronic signature vendor to be enterprise-wide SAS 70 certified (not just our data center)!

The game has changed again – and we can’t wait to show you our new verbal agreements.  Contact us today to schedule a demonstration or come see us at Dreamforce 2009!