Google opens eSignature beta for Google Docs and Google Drive | TechCrunch

Digital signature has change into desk stakes for corporations concerned in doc storage and administration. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that Google introduced an open beta of its new-ish eSignature functionality in Google Workspace at the moment. The brand new characteristic might be obtainable particularly for Google Docs and Google Drive for particular person and varied group accounts.

The brand new characteristic, which had been in a restricted alpha launch up till now, is geared toward solopreneurs and small companies as a technique to simply gather and observe digital signatures proper within the doc with out printing, signing, scanning and emailing to get a signature.

“To assist streamline this workflow, we’re natively integrating eSignature in Google Docs, permitting you to request and add signatures to official contracts, immediately in Google Docs,” the corporate wrote in a blog post asserting the brand new characteristic.

It’s nothing fancy actually. It’s simply an digital signature area you can add to the doc. Different capabilities anticipated to be added later this yr may embody an audit path report to trace signatures in Google Docs paperwork, the flexibility to take care of a number of signers and ship paperwork to folks exterior the Google Workspace ecosystem, and at last, with the ability to seize an digital signature in a pdf of the doc.

Picture Credit: Google

Field launched the same functionality with Box Sign in 2021. Dropbox acquired HelloSign in 2019, however it doesn’t bundle the characteristic like Field and Google.

Alan Pelz-Sharpe, founder and principal analyst at Deep Evaluation, who has coated the doc administration house for a few years, sees this transfer as Google simply aligning with the market, and by providing it at no cost, giving clients the chance to make this a part of their workflow. “It’s been on the playing cards now for some time that digital signature will change into a bundled characteristic perform. Field offers it as normal, now Google. Over time it’s probably Dropbox and Microsoft will do the identical or a minimum of present a substitute for third get together choices,” he mentioned.

The corporate might be rolling out the brand new characteristic for free of charge to particular person Workspace customers over the subsequent 15 days. Numerous group customers can take part by having their Workspace admins apply for the Beta.