Middlepost Blog

Happy Holidays from the Middlepost Team

2007-12-21T16:09:00.001-08:00

The Middlepost Team would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2008. A special thanks goes out to our customers, investors and everybody else who has helped us along the way in 2007.

Watch for some big enhancements to our offerings at the start of the new year.

Insurance carriers must adopt e-commerce initiatives for competitive edge, says TowerGroup

2007-11-13T10:11:00.001-08:00

I came across this article today about research done by TowerGroup on the Insurance Industry. Here's an interesting excerpt from the article:

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) opened the doors for financial services organizations to adopt electronic-commerce initiatives such as electronic signatures (e-signatures) and secure documents. According to TowerGroup, this has resulted in segments of financial services realizing decreases in processing time by as much as 50 percent and transactional cost declines of up to 75 percent. However, the insurance industry continues holding onto the traditional contract execution model.

These are exactly the problems that Middlepost solves. Are you an insurance company? Please contact us to see how you can realize these benefits.

About the report:

The TowerGroup report titled "Electronic Signature and Secure Forms in the Insurance Industry: Taking the P&C Pen to the Web," authored by Karen Pauli, senior analyst in TowerGroup's Insurance practice, explores the numerous opportunities for insurance carriers to improve operations by implementing electronic signature and secure documents technology.

eSignature Stamp Redesign

2007-11-02T16:05:00.001-07:00

We've redesigned our signature stamps with the following goals in mind:

The stamp is signed live online to give the feeling of actually signing a piece of paper
Noticeable, so signers know exactly what to sign and readers can easily see the signatures in the document

With that, we've settled on the following esignature stamp design.

And this one is a cut away of the signature area of a custom QuickForm:

The stamp on the left is waiting to be signed and the one on the right has been signed.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

We Got Groups

2007-10-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

Today was a big day for us at Middlepost. We launched a major new feature set for Business and Enterprise Edition customers: Middlepost Groups.

Middlepost Groups provides your organization with the following benefits:

Access - Give your employees access to all documents and forms they'll need to get their job done. Manage their access rights in a hierarchical organization structure.
Central - All documents are now stored in central group repositories making it easy for people to find and re-use common documents.
Visibility - Get live updates and see what people are working on, and see the status of all your organizations documents. Nothing can slip through the cracks.
Communication - Get your teams talking. Now they have a way to discuss the documents that they are working on.
Speed - Cut down all the email, meetings, and floating documents. Eliminate time wasted faxing, scanning and printing. Save time and increase your companies work flow with a simple team based system.

And now for the fun stuff, here is a review of the features along with some screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

Group Feed

Every Group has a feed that keeps everyone up to date with what is going on. Similar to the personal Home page feed, but it covers all activity for every member of the group.

Group Forms and Document Library

Create QuickForms and/or upload your organizations documents into a group repository. A Document Space can be created in one click from the Group Forms and Documents list, ready to send out for signature.

Active Documents

All active documents in a group can be seen from the group page by the group members.

Subgroups

The Groups structure is hierarchical and allows an unlimited number of sub groups. Create groups for each department, location, or any way you see fit. Members are granted access to specific groups in the hierarchy providing a powerful document management access system.

People and Roles

Each group member is given a role in the group that allows them to perform different actions. Normal, Editor, or Administrator.

Central Accounting

One bill for all employees.

All Wrapped in a Single Location

Manage your entire group in a clean, rich, ajaxified interface.

Is it Safe to use a Scanned Signature to Sign a Document?

2007-10-18T10:39:00.001-07:00

Someone asked us today why they should use Middlepost Docs instead of copying and pasting their scanned signature into a document. This is a very good question. And here is why you should NOT use scanned signatures.

Big personal security risk making you an easy target for fraud.

Using a scanned signature is a major security risk. If you send someone a signed document with your scanned signature, they will then have a copy of your signature and now can use that signature to sign documents as you. If you are only using an image of your signature to verify yourself, you are asking for trouble.
Storing an image of your signature on your computer is also a liability if someone gains access to your computer.

One off solutions are time consuming and a bad business practice.

The time spent getting your signature, adding it to signature lines, saving it, and then attaching it to an email is inefficient and not a solid business practice for any company. It is much better to use a scalable and more efficient solution.
Most people do not have a scanned signature on their computer to use so if you send someone a document for a signature, they will be unable to sign it electronically.
There is no easy way to manage all the documents when you do it through email. Especially in a business scenario where many people are involved, not just in each document, but in managing all of the documents.
Signed documents are generally very important and should be stored/archived for many years. Therefore you will need a long term storage system so you can pull up that document 5 years from now.

Not possible with un-editable files like PDF.

You can only paste your signature image into editable documents like a Microsoft Word document or OpenOffice. File such as Adobe PDF are un-editable and will not work using this method.

No Third Party Verification

There is no third party verification when using a scanned signature so there is no bullet-proof way to find out exactly when or who signed the document.

As you can see, there are many reasons you should not rely on a scanned signature for electronic documents. The most important point being that it makes you vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. And you can't just go change the way you write your signature after someone gets their hands on it.

All of these problems are resolved if you use an online signature service like Middlepost Docs.

How To Verify a Printed Electronically Signed Document

2007-09-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

When a document is digitally signed as long as the document remains in an electronic format, it can be verified. So if you store it on a disk, a usb drive, or send it in email, everything is fine. For instance, if the document is an Adobe Acrobat file (PDF), then the Acrobat Reader can verify the signature and show you information about it. Here is a sample screenshot from a signed PDF:

But what happens when you print the document and pass around a printed copy? How can you be sure that it was actually signed by the correct person?

There was really no way to verify an digital signature on a printed document... until now. We've solved this problem by putting a unique URL for every document on each signature stamp. If you type the URL into your browser, you can see some high level document information along with who signed it and when. This is a screenshot of a document signed with Middlepost Docs:

So if you need to verify an electronic signature, but only have the printed copy, Middlepost has you covered.

Home Page Activity Feed

2007-09-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Would you like to know exactly what is going on with your documents at a glance? To see all document changes, comments, approvals and signing events? Well look no further, Middlepost Docs has you covered.

The "Home" screen you see when you first login to Middlepost is your global document feed:

The global feed captures everything that is happening with your docs and allows you to stay on top of things, all on one page.

QuickForms Released

2007-09-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to announce that Middlepost Docs has released a new feature: QuickForms.

QuickForms is a new way to create and manage forms online. While it is still possible with Middlepost Docs to use any documents in the Microsoft suite, or Adobe PDF format, we have added a completely new web forms management suite that makes it possible to easily create and manage any form online.

Forms save huge amounts of time. By sending someone a template you no longer have to create a new document each time that you need to collect information from a customer or colleague. And with QuickForms, you can easily and quickly create any form in our WYSIWYG editor, adding text boxes, check boxes, drop down boxes, and signatures in just minutes. No need to use Word or Acrobat to make your forms. Now you can just use a simple online editor to create a form template that you can then send to anyone in order to gather information and signatures.

With QuickForms, you can now complete documents online in just a few minutes. Sales forms, legal contracts, HR forms, or any other form that you need to complete quickly and efficiently. No more attachments, no more opening of Word or Adobe reader. Now your documents can be completed in a online in a web browser.

Simply select one of your forms stored in your forms list and send it to anyone. In just seconds they will receive a link in their email with your form. Upon opening the link, the recipient (or the sender) can fill in the form and sign it with a eSignature and time-stamp.

You can find more information on QuickForms here or try it out for yourself at docs.middlepost.com

Collaborating with Multiple Parties on a Document

2007-08-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Middlepost Docs has a unique feature allowing multiple people to collaborate and stay informed about a document. When you start a document, you can add as many people as you want by entering their email addresses in specific roles. The roles are as follows:

Signers - these people must sign the document to complete it.
Approvers - these people must approve the document to complete it.
Observers - observers are not required to take any action, but can still view the document, make comments and monitor progress.

More people can be added to a document at a later date if required.

Traditionally, keeping everybody involved with a document on the same page has been a difficult, chaotic process. Take, for example, a simple process of a sales person trying to complete a contract. The customer receives a standard company contract from the sales person requesting a signature. The customer reads the document and then sends a message to the sales person requesting a few paragraphs to be changed. The sales person then forwards the response to a lawyer who in turn changes the paragraphs and sends it back to the sales person, who then forwards it back to the customer. The customer forwards it to their signing authority for further review. This process might go back and forth over many different emails. Eventually the customer receives the final document which they have accepted and agreed to sign. Finally, they print out the contract, sign it, and fax it to the sales person or drops it in a Fedex package.

In contrast to mailing back and forth in dispersed communications, Middlepost Docs keeps everything related to a document in a single place. The benefits of this method are quite obvious, as everybody involved in the contract has complete visibility into the entire process. Every document has the current document status along with a history log that tracks all revisions (changes) to the document so all users know exactly what has happened with the document and old revisions can easily be viewed. The log also keeps all the communications and actions performed on the document such as signing and approving. In addition, email notifications are sent out to all involved whenever an activity occurs on a document.

The end result is a quicker, simpler process and a much happier customer.

Going Paperless

2007-08-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why people still use paper in the workplace? When you come into work, do you pull out a typewriter and get a bundle of paper out, preparing for your long day of typing up TPS reports? How often do you check your little mail cubby hole, weekly, monthly?

The answer to these questions seem fairly obvious. The reality is that people no longer rely on paper in day to day life. They might get paper in their mailbox. They might take notes on paper and then transcribe them onto Microsoft Word. But they do not rely on paper. Paper is now the exception. Email is now the normal mode of communication. Computers create and store files.

But then why do people still jam stacks of paper into file cabinets? Is a filing cabinet safer than a server backed up with redundant storage? No. And why is there a stack of paper on your desk? The simple answer: the signature.

People print documents so that they can sign them.

But that is all going to change. The eSign Act of 2000 made electronic signatures the equivalent of a written signature. And, in time, there will not be a need to print another piece of paper. This will of course take time. But, how many times a day do you write a letter and post it in the US mail? The adoption of email was not overnight, but it was widespread. It will be the same with paperless offices. In the future, a printed document will be as rare as a hand written letter. As people become more aware of solutions that make it possible to get rid of their printers, and scanners, and fax machines, there will be a transformation that will finally complete the paperless office. The last days of paper are closer than you think.

Middlepost Docs is Open to the Public

2007-08-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since our last post and that is because we've been working very hard to finish up Middlepost Docs, our electronic signature service. There are a ton of new, exciting features that we've managed to work in, the most exciting being forms. We'll post more about forms very soon, but for now, go sign up!

You can find our Price List here.

Enterprise Collaboration Going Mainstream

2007-07-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

There is an excellent article in Information Week about Proctor & Gamble and how they are making a push to move beyond using Email only as a medium for collaboration in the office setting. CEO Joe Shueller described Email as "the biggest barrier to employee use of more interactive and effective tools". Although email has been very effective as a first step to enabling people in a office setting to work with each other, it is not surprising that the evolution of the online workplace is surpassing the functionality of email. Just as chat and other modes of communication are working their way into the office space, so are new alternative products that will change the way work is done, relying less and less on email.

The reasons that emails are an insufficient medium for managing documents and work processes are fairly obvious. While effective in messaging, email is disjointed and unorganized and lacks centralization. It is nice to have all the document and communication resources in one interface, and focusing on the document rather than on message strings with documents attached makes much more sense. Centralizing documents and messages about documents makes tracking progress much easier. In addition, time saved searching for documents or keeping updated and "on the same page" adds up quickly.

It seems that the move from email communications to sharing files to working on files together will have a monumental impact on how people work. With massive companies like P&G moving towards using collaborative tools to make business more efficient, it seems to me that the idea of a collaborative office could finally become a reality.

Printing an Electronically Signed Document

2007-06-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering if it's possible to print out a document that has been e-signed with Middlepost Docs since you can't see an electronic signature. Au contraire! Middlepost Docs actually adds a Signature Stamp to every page of a signed document so even if you print it, you know it's signed. The Signature Stamp includes the name, date, and email of everybody that has signed the doc. Below is a screenshot of how it looks:

The signed copy is only generated after all collaborators have approved and/or signed the document, at which point you will see a new link that says "View Signed PDF". When you open that you will see the Signature Stamps at the bottom of each page and you can click Print to print it out.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

We have liftoff!

2007-06-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the official launch of Middlepost Docs!!! We have been testing the application for weeks now and it seems to finally be free of bugs and ready for Beta.

Welcome to the Middlepost Blog!

2007-05-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

This is where we'll keep you updated on the latest news, reviews, and features for Middlepost applications. So stay tuned, there is a lot of exciting stuff coming down the pipeline.