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Filing Best Practices
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It is still unclear how the courts will rule on the multitude of variations that
can arise in relation to the type of digital signature used. At this time, it is quite
possible that a character-based name on a message will be sufficient, though
encrypted digital signatures that are much more difficult to duplicate will likely
become the norm.
As more companies take advantage of this new law, we will see efficiency
improvements in all of the following areas:
• Customer orders. A customer order typically requires a signature by a corpo-
rate manager, which is then hand-carried, mailed, or faxed to the receiving
company. Digital signatures can cut much of the delivery time out of this
process by sending orders by e-mail straight to the recipient, which will
greatly speed up the order fulfillment process. In addition, it reduces the risk
that an order will be lost (as is frequently the case when orders are faxed).
• Human resources. The human resources department is awash in documents
that require signatures—W-4 forms, I-9 forms, 401(k) forms, benefit forms,
and so on. By switching to digital signatures, a company could not only
avoid much of the physical paper flow that is currently needed, but also
reduce much of the face-to-face time between human resources staff and
other employees that is now needed to complete paperwork. This could be
replaced by a vastly greater degree of automation that would convert the
human resources staff from paper processors to managers of the process.
• Legal documents. Many business agreements require the transfer of docu-
ments back and forth between the concerned parties, usually by expensive
overnight delivery service, to ensure that signatures are appropriately affixed
before the documents are finalized. This extra time period can be avoided by
the use of e-mail documents.
• Purchasing. The purchasing staff can issue purchase orders to suppliers by
e-mail, with full digital authorization, rather than having to laboriously print
out a purchase order, find an authorized signer for it, and fax or mail it to a
supplier. This improved process will greatly increase the speed and effi-
ciency of the purchasing department.

The exact type of digital signatures used will become more apparent as the
cost-effectiveness and security of various solutions become more apparent in the
marketplace. At the moment, the market leaders include Entrust Technologies,
Verisign, and Baltimore Technologies.

Cost: Installation time: