Technological insights for signature platforms and SaaS providers

Implementing a pan-European Trust Service Provider and crafting user-friendly e-signature processes for signature platform providers and SaaS and PaaS solutions.

Technical challenges faced by SaaS and PaaS providers, and signature platforms

Scaling IT Infrastructure with Swisscom Trust Services

Scalability

In today's digital economy, where demand for cloud services skyrockets, SaaS (Software as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service) providers face the challenge of not only keeping pace with escalating user and data traffic but also ensuring a seamless, uninterrupted user experience. This growing demand necessitates infrastructures that are flexible and, more importantly, scalable, capable of dynamically adjusting to changing load requirements without compromising performance or availability. Such infrastructure requires deploying smart, automated solutions that enable real-time scaling and optimization of resources. To achieve this level of flexibility and scalability, successful SaaS and PaaS providers embrace the implementation of advanced, forward-thinking technologies and architectures, ensuring they meet these demands and provide their users with outstanding performance and availability, even during peak times.

Cyber security with Swisscom Trust Services

Security

Since SaaS and PaaS providers manage their customers' sensitive data, security is paramount. In today's digital era, where cyber threats are increasingly common, more than meeting minimum security standards is required. Instead, there's a crucial need to foster a culture of security that emphasizes ongoing improvement and adaptation to emerging threats. This involves deploying cutting-edge encryption methodologies, digital identity and authentication solutions, regular security audits and assessments, and effective incident response strategies. SaaS and PaaS providers must adopt a proactive rather than merely reactive approach to maintain data integrity and earn their customers' trust. Implementing robust security measures to safeguard data against unauthorized access, data loss, or breaches is essential. This includes continuous monitoring and updates to security frameworks and vendor systems to ensure resilience against even the most sophisticated cyber threats.

Interoperability with Swisscom Trust Services

Interoperability

SaaS and PaaS platforms are at the heart of many businesses' digital transformation journey. Consequently, integrating them with a diverse array of systems and applications within a client's enterprise architecture becomes crucial. This integration spans beyond just CRM systems, vital for managing customer relationships and email platforms that play a pivotal role in a company's communication strategy. It also includes external APIs facilitating access to valuable data and services from third-party providers. The critical challenge is ensuring seamless interoperability across these varied systems and platforms. Achieving this requires meticulous planning and the deployment of well-documented APIs that act as interfaces between the different systems.

Furthermore, standard protocols are critical to enable smooth communication and data transfer. Middleware also plays a vital role as a bridge that simplifies integration, reduces complexity, and enhances compatibility across different technologies. To accomplish this level of integration demands a deep understanding of the respective systems and their technical requirements. A collaborative approach is necessary, involving developers, IT specialists, and business analysts working closely to ensure that the integration is technically feasible and strategically beneficial. Companies can boost efficiency, enhance the user experience, and ultimately gain a competitive edge by creating a seamlessly integrated digital ecosystem.

Compliance with Swisscom Trust Services

Compliance and Regulation

SaaS and PaaS providers are tasked with adapting their services to meet ever-evolving legal regulations and compliance requirements. This is particularly crucial in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, and the public sector, where adherence to these regulations is a legal obligation and a key component of maintaining user trust and security. To meet these demands, SaaS and PaaS providers must consistently review and update their systems and processes and ensure that their partners and suppliers adhere to equally stringent technological standards. This also necessitates open and transparent communication with customers about the security measures taken, and compliance standards met, thereby building trust and laying the foundation for a long-term partnership.

Compliance Anforderungen für SaaS und PaaS

Advantages of technically integrating a Qualified Trust Service Provider

Scalable IT architecture

Integrating Trust Service Providers (TSP) streamlines development workflows and simultaneously cuts down on the expenses of embedding e-signature solutions into an application. Typically, TSPs offer geo-redundant and scalable infrastructure, enabling signature platforms and PaaS and SaaS providers to efficiently and swiftly process a vast volume of user signatures. This enhancement scales their applications' processes and fosters business growth.

Security and Innovation

TSPs leverage the latest asymmetric cryptography security standards, providing cutting-edge, ready-to-deploy solutions for identification, authentication, and electronic signatures. By implementing trust services, SaaS and PaaS providers can reduce the risk of IT security breaches, strengthen their customers' digital trust, and significantly lessen the burden of audit processes.

Standardized interfaces

Trust Service Providers are steadfast in their commitment to open standards such as OIDC, PAR, CIBA, or the ETSI interface 119 432 for Remote Server Signing. This adherence to standardization streamlines the process for signature platform providers, as well as PaaS and SaaS solutions, to integrate or switch between modular functionalities of an e-signature flow, tailoring them to enhance their customers' experience. Moreover, this approach eliminates the need for additional investments in proprietary interfaces.

Compliance and accreditation

A Trust Service Provider is certified according to current regulatory requirements and standards. However, only a select few trust services in the market adopt a pan-European approach, achieving accreditation under the EU's eIDAS regulation and Switzerland's Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ZertES). This presents a significant advantage for SaaS and PaaS providers serving international customers and partners, as integrating a TSP enables them to support cross-border business processes efficiently.

Prepare for digital trust of the future - with our cutting-edge architecture

Smart Registration and Signing Service

Our embedded remote signature platform allows partner applications to implement electronic signatures or e-seal processes:

  • Qualified and advanced e-signatures or qualified/regulated and advanced e-seals including qualified timestamps
  • Pan-European solution compliant with ZertES and eIDAS
  • One-shot or repetitive e-signing
  • Only transmission of hash values to Swisscom Trust Services
  • Geo-redundant architecture

> Learn more about electronic signatures

> Learn more about electronic seals

 

Multiple Authentication Broker

Our remote signature solution includes a broker that orchestrates identification, registration of an approval method, and e-signature in an e-signing workflow with a partner application.

  • Largest selection of identification and authentication methods as a registration solution for e-signatures (compliant with ZertES and eIDAS)
  • No additional audits required for implementing user-friendly digital signing processes
  • Customized digital user experience tailored to individual customers; users can choose their preferred identification and authentication method for e-signature usage

> Learn more about our identification methods

> Learn more about our authentication methods

Why Swisscom Trust Services

Swisscom Trust Services stands as an accredited Trust Service Provider across Europe and a Certification Service in Switzerland. We empower software application and solution providers in their digital transformation journey, ensuring the final process steps are seamlessly integrated with our legally secure electronic signatures and seals. In doing so, we meticulously cater to the industry-specific and regulatory needs of our clientele.

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Compliant with eIDAS Regulations

Qualified and advanced electronic signatures and seals are recognized across all EU member states.

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Compliant with ZertES Standards

Qualified and advanced digital signatures and regulated and advanced electronic seals are recognized in Switzerland.

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GDPR and DSG Compliance

Protecting our clients' privacy and personal rights per the latest data protection regulations in the EU and Switzerland.

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Compliant with ETSI standards

Our standardized APIs leverage OIDC and OIDC-PAR/CIBA and adhere to the ETSI Standards TS 119 432 requirements for remote signatures.