Sirius Decisions does a thorough review of DocuSign and its capabilities. This includes functionality, vision, support, best practices, etc. With signatures and transaction finalization becoming harder and harder, Sirius Decisions concludes that DocuSign with its focus on speed, accuracy, and cost is a viable and cost effective alternative to overnighting envelopes or faxing.

1. C A T E G O R Y : S A L E S O P E R A T I O N S
C L A S S : S A L E S P R O D U C T I V I T Y T O O L S
© Copyright SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved.
Years ago, companies would commonly sched-
ule face-to-face meetings to finalize contracts.
When the cost of travel began to dramatically
escalate, mailing two copies of a contract for
signature became the norm. Fax machines and
email further simplified the process, but each
still required someone to sign a physical docu-
ment. Fast forward to today, when electronic
signatures now allow an authorized individual to
“sign” a document anywhere, anytime, on any
Internet-connected device.
Because of legal changes that have made
electronic signatures an acceptable way to vali-
date contracts and other legal papers, many
b-to-b organizations have already benefited
from the efficiency this method can bring their
sales process. Vendors such as DocuSign, which
offers an electronic signature software-as-a-
service (SaaS) application, also have stood to
benefit.
The DocuSign eSignature Transaction
Management Platform can be purchased via a
per-user subscription model or an envelope
capacity model, which applies to each document
transacted. The subscription model starts at $15
per user per month, while the envelope model
starts at $1,500 for a capacity of 500 envelopes.
FUNCTIONALITY AND VISION
The presence of functionality is a dimension we
use to evaluate a vendor’s offerings; in addition,
vendors must demonstrate that the functionality
is capable, and have a vision for continuous
improvement. Our analysis of DocuSign around
these components follows:
• Functionality presence. The DocuSign
eSignature Transaction Management
Platform provides electronic signature
capabilities for users on multiple device
types (e.g. PCs, tablets, smartphones). The
platform’s functionality addresses the
needs of document senders and signers,
streamlining transactions through three
steps: preparation, execution and comple-
tion. Preparing transactions is done
through an interface that allows setup by
users without any specialized technical or
programming knowledge. Execution of the
transaction is done through one click, with
security managed behind the scenes.
Transaction completion maintains the com-
pleted documents and an audit trail for
compliance; the platform can be set up to
retain transaction information as long as
required by the customer’s industry or
policies.
• Functionality capability. The DocuSign
eSignature Transaction Management
Platform supports the development of elec-
tronic forms and data capture within a
DocuSign
Vendor that provides
electronic signature
capabilities, and related
document management and
workflow features
Functionality is divided
into three key categories:
preparation, execution and
completion
Integration with sales force
automation platforms allows
transaction data to be
captured and associated with
opportunities in the pipeline,
creating a closed-loop process
VENDOR AT-A-GLANCE: DOCUSIGN
Contact Information Client Roster Operations
111 Sutter St.
Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA 94104
(866) 219-4318
www.docusign.com
info@docusign.com
Cisco
HP
McKesson
Salesforce.com
TD Ameritrade
Xerox
Revenue: Not Disclosed
Employees: 300
Global Presence: Worldwide
Key Industries Served: Financial Services,
Healthcare, High Technology, Real Estate
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2. C A T E G O R Y : S A L E S O P E R A T I O N S
C L A S S : S A L E S P R O D U C T I V I T Y T O O L S
© Copyright SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved.
transaction, and manages the workflow from company to signer
and back during the preparation phase. This allows companies to
take existing transaction documents (e.g. .pdf, .jpg, .doc) that con-
tain critical information it needs to capture, and use them within
the electronic signature process. For the execution phase, the plat-
form electronically captures and manages the individual signatures
that must be included in the transaction, and offers the capability
for data collection and electronic payment. Signers are not required
to register or release any personal data to work within the platform,
even if they have never previously done so. Once a transaction is
completed, the platform provides reporting capabilities, a retained
audit trail and storage of each transaction. Companies can analyze
the time it takes to complete transactions so they can plan potential
improvements, in conjunction with legal or contract administration
functions. They also can achieve industry compliance for tracking
and storing executed transactions without the need for physical stor-
age of documents. To maximize uptime and security for business
transactions, DocuSign has multiple redundant data centers located
around the world and maintains a disaster recovery center that can
handle any single full-site failure. To ensure that customers feel
secure in the transactions they process through DocuSign, the ven-
dor is the only eSignature provider that is ISO 27001 and eTrust
certified, SSAE 16 examined annually, PCI DSS 2.0 compliant, and
a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor.
• Vendor vision. Moving forward, DocuSign is focused on in-
creasing its global reach and expanding on its industry vertical
solutions for customers (e.g. deeper solutions for financial services,
healthcare).
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
As important as features and functionality is a vendor’s ability to deliver
and implement its solutions. Our analysis of DocuSign along this dimen-
sion that we call “essential elements” is as follows:
• Integration. DocuSign’s Integration Framework allows customers
to integrate the application with legacy internal systems, sales force
automation systems (e.g. Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics,
Oracle, Sugar CRM), financial systems and human resource sys-
tems. Through the eSignature representational state transfer (REST)
application programming interface or the Simple Object Access
Protocol (SOAP), integrations are not always out-of-the-box but can
be quickly completed across many applications. DocuSign offers
approximately 10 out-of-the-box implementation processes based
on the experience of previously installed customers; these processes
help keep the time to productivity a week or less. If customers
require further customization, the average project cost is $2,500 plus
travel and expenses for the DocuSign professional services team.
• Training. Access to self-paced training courses designed to help
users get started is included in the DocuSign subscription cost.
DocuSign also offers a fee-based custom training offering priced
according to the specific needs of a customer. The vendor is also
developing a more robust training program, DocuSign University,
which it plans to launch in early 2013.
• Support. Customer support is offered across three levels:
Community-only support, covered by the subscription cost; Plus
support, priced at 10 percent of annual contract value, which deliv-
ers chat and email support seven days a week during business
hours; and Premium support, priced at 20 percent of annual con-
tract value, which includes telephone, email, chat and API support
24x7. All customers are assigned an account manager to help with
ongoing needs and questions.
• Best practices. Integrating DocuSign within an SFA system helps
sales reps stay focused on using the system to manage their
accounts and opportunities through every step in the sales process.
Its workflow capabilities enable key business units and functions to
be properly connected to a deal, so that each step of the transac-
tion process can be efficiently completed and delays avoided.
• Vendor viability. DocuSign is a private company founded in 2003.
It has had multiple rounds of venture capitalist funding (totaling
$122 million by October 2012). The company recently closed a $56
million investment round ($122 million total) led by Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, Accel Partners, Google Ventures, SAP Ventures,
Comcast Ventures and others, positioning the company well to
deliver on its future vision. As with any private vendor, we recom-
mend securing customer references as part of your due diligence.
THE SIRIUS DECISION
The final step of a successful deal – getting the contracts signed – can
prove harder and longer than all the previous work that it took to get
there. With its eSignature Transaction Management Platform focused on
the speed, cost, accuracy and security of electronic signatures,
DocuSign’s technology is designed to eliminate many of the obstacles to
getting deals signed. Finding efficient ways to finalize a transaction not
only helps to increase sales reps’ capacity to focus on more opportuni-
ties, but also positions companies as easy to do business with. Sales
organizations that understand the advantages of moving away from
paper contracts will find the DocuSign solution worthy of consideration.
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