How e-signing for LotusLive will make Collaborative e-Commerce accessible to all

Today IBM and Silanis announced the availability of e-SignLive, Silanis' online e-signature services, as part of LotusLive. With it we are also introducing the concept of “Collaborative e-Commerce”– a term that to me describes the combined services. I wanted to take a moment to explain why I believe Collaborative e-Commerce is more than just a marketing term. And more importantly, why I believe it will be a real game changer for many organizations, both large and small.

It’s always 9 to 5 somewhere in the world.

We all know that maintaining electronic connectivity with our customers, partners and suppliers is critical for doing business in today’s global economy. Amazon, eBay and many other e-commerce sites have taught us that if you’re not open for business 24 / 7, you’ll lose out to the competition. But business-to-business commerce is more complex to execute online. Contracts, legal agreements and other types of documents need to be negotiated, reviewed and signed in order to close the deal or move business forward.

You can’t be a global player if you’re still on paper.

Organizations that break the electronic chain and fall back to paper every time a document needs to be signed will be left behind. Paper-based signing adds unnecessary delays, costs, errors and risks to business processes. It prevents you and your customers from being serviced at the speed and convenience of the web. While organizations have gotten away with the inefficiencies of paper until now, the new economic reality won’t allow for it much longer. That’s where Collaborative e-Commerce comes in.

Connect. Collaborate. Close.

Collaborative e-Commerce is about connecting, collaborating and closing business electronically –any time, any place, anywhere, and with anyone in the world. The combined IBM and Silanis services provide a secure online environment that lets you build, nurture and maintain long-term relationships with your customers, partners and suppliers. Where you can connect with your entire network to exchange ideas and negotiate business deals. And where you can capture everyone’s signatures in documents and close the deal all in one sitting. A real game-changer indeed!

Leveling the playing field for all.

The good news is that Collaborative e-Commerce is happening and is now within everyone’s reach. Both small and large companies can play in the same arena. Bob Catlin, founder of Signature Mortgage, an Ohio-based lender and beta customer of e-SignLive for LotusLive, plans to use our services to go head-to-head with national lenders by delivering superior customer service. He said it best in a recent announcement:

“The e-SignLive and LotusLive services give us a real competitive edge. As a small regional lender, Signature Mortgage doesn’t have the IT resources needed to develop and maintain a website that provides these kinds of services to our clients. But with the Silanis and IBM services, our customers can now complete mortgage applications with the speed and convenience of the web.”

How would staying connected change your business?
We’d like to hear from you. Where do your electronic business processes break down? How would staying electronic benefit your organizations? What problems would be eliminated? How can you leverage Collaborative e-Commerce to compete more effectively, globally?