eSignature technology coming soon to Office 365

Last week, Microsoft Corp. and DocuSign announced a long-term partnership to make DocuSign’s eSignature apps widely available from within Office 365 starting in early March.

DocuSign’s apps will enable Office 365 subscribers to submit and sign documents without leaving Microsoft Outlook, Word, SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server 2013.

John Case, vice president of marketing for Microsoft Office, said, “Leading partners like DocuSign are building apps on the Office platform to help our customers get more value directly from their most highly used applications. This partnership with DocuSign helps our customers keep transactions digital and manage eSignatures seamlessly from within Office 365, where they already communicate, collaborate and create.”

As part of the deal Microsoft expects to be able to provide the following:

• Easy administration and use. Office 365 and SharePoint administrators will be able to add DocuSign Apps for all users directly from their administration consoles.
• Single sign-on. DocuSign has adopted Windows Azure Active Directory to provide single sign-on capabilities with Office 365 credentials, providing a seamless path to manage accounts.
• Secured storage. DocuSigned documents are automatically stored in Microsoft OneDrive for Business for full control.
• Office Store availability. Individuals can use self-service to access the apps and Word templates directly from the Office Store.
• Continued innovation. DocuSign and Microsoft will continue to collaborate to bring new innovations to customers on the Office 365 platform.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has had a stake in DocuSign since 2009, when NAR subsidiary Second Century Ventures purchased a 5.43 percent stake in the company for $2 million.

DocuSign will present its new apps during Microsoft Corporation’s SharePoint 2014 Conference in Las Vegas, March 3 to 6, and during its own Momentum event in San Francisco, March 4 to 6.