What EchoSign Acquisition Means to Adobe

Software company Adobe Systems has acquired EchoSign to boost its document exchange services platform.

EchoSign, founded by Jason Lemkin and Jeffrey Zwelling, is a Web 2.0 electronic signature and enterprise content management system and is known for features including document signing, tracking and filing. It also supports signing by email (e signature) or by fax.

EchoSign solution saves valuable time for customers through electronic signature compared to documents signed with traditional methods, such as fax and overnight envelopes.

Since several legal documents are sent as PDFs, it makes sense for Adobe to buy an electronic signature company. The acquisition will provide Adobe new features for its document-handling software - Acrobat - in the form of electronic signatures.

Electronic signatures have held promise for years for letting people sign documents without having to resort to the paper-based hassles of scanning, faxing, and mailing.

Meanwhile, EchoSign's system doesn't require no software downloads or installation or training. One needs to fill a basic webmail form with who needs to esign with an electronic signature.

As a result, EchoSign solution improves sales cycles, tracking and centralizes the management of signed agreements through a simple to use cloud service. EchoSign technology is currently used by over 3 million users worldwide.

By adding electronic signature capabilities to Adobe's document exchange services platform, we will be addressing the need to provide better customer experiences by significantly reducing the time, cost and complexity associated with having a document signed, Kevin Lynch, vice president and general manager of Acrobat(R) Solutions, Digital Enterprise Solutions, Adobe, said in a statement.

Adobe will be offered as part of its online document exchange services platform and be integrated with Adobe's SendNow for managed file transfer, FormsCentral for form creation and CreatePDF for online PDF creation.

EchoSign is based in Palo Alto, California with a sales presence in the U.K. and Germany. The founders of EchoSign and all full-time employees will join Adobe.