Until recently, the relationship between public administrations and new technologies was not uncommon, in some cases the presence of a solid IT infrastructure was absent. However, good results, private organizations that invest in technology, and new laws that force public administrations to create policies that enable citizens to have a fluid relationship with administrations have radically changed the situation.
In general, businesses that now find themselves needing to communicate with customers, employees and suppliers through a variety of electronic document systems that must consistently guarantee integrity and authenticity.
From a technological point of view, electronic signature has made a difference in the way Public Administration works. Electronic subscriptions enable Administrations to process a number of requests and issues without physically moving.
Believe in the new model
Electronic and digital signatures are often confused, although the difference is clear in a professional environment. An electronic signature is a digital signature stored in the hardware device, while the digital signature is part of the software (certificate and password).
This can be more easily understood if we say that the signature is based on an electronic document, for example, a digitization or scan of the user’s original signature, or a photograph of this signature. In other words, an electronic signature is a group of data in electronic form that, associated or combined with other data, can be used as a way to identify the signatory. A digital signature, on the other hand, is a digital mathematical scheme that adds more information to a document such as the identification and authentication of the sender and the document data through an encrypted form of a digital surgery key. Any modification applied to the document cancels the electronic signature and the document loses any legal value.
With regard to such we may conclude that electronic signature is a large and rather indeterminate technological concept with a generic meaning. A digital signature is simply a form of electronic signature.
Public Administrations first realized that the traditional system based on paper transactions was inefficient, as it needed a physical presence to obtain a signature. The figures conclude that up to 40% of users who have not yet obtained a digital signature will experience difficulties in the administrative procedures. In fact, up to 23% of these users are experiencing delays in business because they cannot digitally sign documents.
Not only citizens, but also public and private companies regardless of business area get benefits with using digital signatures in their daily business. After all, a digital signature has not only legal value, but also the identity of the signatory, the integrity of the signed document and the non-repudiation of the signatory.
Therefore, a large number of companies in the technological market are dedicated to the development of document software that includes e-sign. functionality This feature enables users to generate documents with electronic signatures by corresponding digital signatures. This is really useful for financial affairs over the Internet, with electronic signature invoices (eInvoice), as well as in digital communications with the Public Administration.
The main advantages of electronic and digital signature are: the security process, because it verifies the identity of the signatory and the integrity of the document; confidentially, as content to be made only by the parties concerned; how easy it is when it relies on public keys and private keys; that which is managed by him, that the management and system of action has a positive effect on optimizing work time; Cost savings, which are obtained by not using paper and ink, providing a better company image; and finally, a significant reduction of the physical space required for paper documents and digital documents can be stored in PDF format. We must not forget that the storage and retrieval of these documents have certain personnel related costs.
One of the main sectors that came to public administrations in realizing the benefits of electronic signature was the Banking sector. Most banks have already implemented electronic banking services that allow their customers to access and manage their accounts via the Internet. In addition, these new technological tools make it easier for more and more customers to work with mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
But it is not only opinions and mutual technological influences between public and private companies that are important. It is also agreed that direct communications between citizens and the Public Administration are more fluid due to the technological development that has been made through document management tool companies. In addition, many companies now save a large amount of costs by having more than half of their legal documents stored in electronic form.
