Adobe Buys EchoSign For Electronic Signatures

Adobe Systems has made a strategic move after announcing that it has acquired EchoSign, a web-based provider of electronic signatures and signature automation.

Adobe officials said EchoSign’s electronic signature solution will be a key component of the company’s document exchange services platform for reliably exchanging documents for universal access, review and approval, in a press release on the acquisition.

Adobe did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Document Signing

EchoSign’s solution supports more than 3 million users, Adobe said. The solution will be offered as part of Adobe’s online document exchange services platform and will be integrated with other Adobe document services, including SendNow for managed file transfer, FormsCentral for form creation and CreatePDF for online PDF creation.

“Adobe’s document solutions help organisations turn inefficient, paper-based workflows into streamlined electronic ones,” said Kevin Lynch, vice president and general manager of Acrobat Solutions and Digital Enterprise Solutions at Adobe, in a statement. “By adding electronic signature capabilities to Adobe’s document exchange services platform, we will be addressing the need to provide better customer experiences by significantly reducing the time, cost and complexity associated with having a document signed.”

Indeed, by reducing the time and costs of having documents signed with traditional methods, such as fax and overnight envelopes, the EchoSign solution can enable customers to significantly accelerate sales cycles, improve tracking and centralize the management of signed agreements through a simple-to-use cloud service, Adobe said.

With one click, the EchoSign electronic signature solution automates the entire signature process from the request for signature to the distribution and execution of the form or agreement, Adobe officials said. The EchoSign solution provides a secure subscription-based service to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprise customers, enabling real-time visibility into the signature process and automatically storing and managing all signed documents.

Partner Integration

The EchoSign service includes a set of APIs for incorporation with company-specific solutions to improve the process of sending, tracking and signing digital documents. The EchoSign service also integrates with partner solutions, such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite.

“Bringing together EchoSign’s ease of use for contracting on the web with Adobe’s brand, reach and trust in the document space, I fully expect that electronic signatures will soon become the common way for people to sign documents,” said Jason Lemkin, CEO of EchoSign, in a statement. “With nothing to download, learn or install, there is simply no faster or more secure way for organisations to sign, track or file contracts – and close more business quickly.”

EchoSign is based in Palo Alto, California, and has a sales presence in the UK and Germany.

The founders of EchoSign and all full-time employees will join Adobe, the company said.