Energie AG Oberösterreich is a leading energy and services group that has played a key role in shaping the regional energy supply since 1892. With a broad portfolio of electricity, gas, heat, water as well as waste disposal and ICT services, the company stands for quality and reliability for customers, suppliers, employees and the public. Through an extensive network and its own power plants, Energie AG ensures a sustainable and reliable power supply for more than 450,000 customers. As a partner of over 1,000 municipalities, it is also active in the field of water. All this always under the highest ecological standards.

Company Name: Energie AG Oberösterreich

Short description of the project:
Implement a digital signature solution to support efficient, flexible business processes and meet data protection requirements.

Why sproof sign:
“We already have several different solutions in-house, which has taught us which features are most important to us and which ones can’t give us the flexibility we need. When evaluating potential vendors, we therefore defined specific requirements (…) sproof sign was able to provide us with them.”

How did the decision to introduce the digital signature come about?

Burger: “We decided to implement a digital signature solution to address two key challenges. First, we noticed that we often encountered a media break in our processes with end customers. A lot of information was submitted in paper form, which led to time-consuming manual processes of capture, archiving and further processing. This media disruption slowed down our processes considerably. By digitizing these processes and introducing the digital signature, we were able to eliminate this bottleneck and increase efficiency.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to adapt our internal processes. The traditional method of physically signing documents was no longer practical due to travel restrictions and work-from-home arrangements. The need to implement a digital solution became apparent in order to maintain business operations. In this context, we were looking for a solution that could provide us with the necessary flexibility.”

For which use cases is the digital signature used?

Burger: “We use the digital signature for various applications. On the one hand, we use it in customer contact, for example when a customer wants to conclude a contract or needs to confirm a service provided. Another use case is internal use, especially in situations such as the rapid implementation of new regulations, such as the home office regulation. In such a case, we needed to process documents quickly for 1500 employees, which would not have been possible with traditional paper-based processes. To handle this process, we used internal solutions that are integrated via a specially developed app. A release process was implemented in which the documents were first approved by the direct supervisors before they were sent to the employees with the predefined signature placeholders.”

Why did you choose a European signature solution and what role does the GDPR play?

Burger: “We operate as an energy supplier with critical infrastructure in a highly regulated area. Privacy is of the utmost importance to us, as we are constantly working with personal data. Therefore, it was crucial to find a provider in the immediate vicinity, preferably in Austria or at least in Europe. An American provider would have been associated with too many uncertainties and challenges, as we cannot take any risks. Our policy therefore places a clear focus on European providers to ensure that we meet the requirements of the GDPR and minimize data protection risks.”

What standards in terms of data security and compliance must a software solution meet in your company?

Burger: “In addition to the GDPR, other standards are of great importance to us, such as ISO 271001. This is particularly important to us because we are certified ourselves and expect our suppliers to be able to meet the same safety standard as we do. We also conduct regular security audits to ensure that our infrastructure is always protected. These reviews are conducted annually to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities in a timely manner before security incidents occur, which can be costly.”

“A lot of information was submitted in paper form, resulting in time-consuming manual processes […] Led. This media disruption slowed down our processes considerably. By digitizing these processes and introducing the digital signature, we were able to remove this bottleneck and increase efficiency.”

Dr. Franz Burger
Consultant Content Management and Collaboration

What is the evaluation process for digital signature solutions like in a company of your size?

Burger: “We already have several different solutions in-house, which has taught us which features are most important to us and which ones can’t give us the flexibility we need. When evaluating potential vendors, we therefore defined specific requirements, including the ability to move the signature placeholder as desired and adjust the scaling, as well as the ability for users to flexibly configure their signature role. We didn’t find that everywhere. We have also placed emphasis on the ability to integrate with existing processes, especially via the REST API, to ensure seamless integration into our workflows. “

What do you particularly like about sproof sign?

Burger: “After a survey of our key users who use the product frequently, the point of usability in particular was emphasized particularly positively. The user interface is intuitively designed, which simplifies the signing process for users. It also works smoothly on the go, which is very much appreciated by our employees. In addition, they needed little or no training to use the product. This significantly minimized the training effort and was a great advantage for us. Another positive aspect is the possibility to freely configure signature stamps. This allows us to cover different requirements and support individual processes. Other signature solutions have simply failed to meet this challenge.”

Are there any ideas for future use cases of sproof sign?

Burger: “We are currently in the test phase of an integration with SAP for the quotation process. This is where quotes are created, approved, and signed before being sent to the customer. This integration has already been set up and will be rolled out gradually from the summer. Something that would probably also have potential is our internal HR department. We have about 4,500 employees who need to be looked after. Of course, everything that works digitally and goes away from paper is an enormous lever.”