The global digital signature market size was valued at USD 7.13 billion in 2023. It is expected to reach USD 62.28 billion in 2032, growing at a CAGR of 27.23% over the forecast period (2024-2032). Government regulations and legal frameworks increasingly mandate the use of digital signatures, ensuring secure and verifiable digital transactions. Compliance with laws such as the eIDAS Regulation in the EU and the ESIGN Act in the US drives market growth by legitimizing digital signatures and providing legal recognition equivalent to handwritten signatures.
Digital signatures are being used in a variety of fields to support government initiatives. A real estate company called ERA Realty Network started using digital signatures for tenant agreements in November 2020. This saved its agents time that they would have spent meeting with property owners in person to get wet-ink signatures. This should help property owners overseas and make it easier for agents to serve clients during the COVID-19 pandemic with less physical contact.
Digital signatures provide verifiable and secure transactions to support the expanding digital economy. At the sender's end, electronic documents are encrypted. The receiver is given the right to decode data using a digital signature to extract the data from the document. Software, digital documents, and electronic messages can all be validated and authenticated using the digital signature approach. Handwritten signatures verify physical documents. E-mails, Word documents, and portable document formats are all digital documents that use digital signatures to confirm and provide consent to their contents.
The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) did a service called "sign pass" that lets businesses securely verify electronic signatures. This service can be used for legal and business documents that used to have to be signed in person. Streamlining digital transactions is a key part of digitizing business, and the digital signature market is ripe for disruption. A number of companies have bought cloud-based digital signature companies in order to digitize important processes.
Modern e-signature solutions offer more than just the convenience of signing electronically. They also offer a wide range of other benefits. By automating document workflows across departments like sales, logistics, and HR, e-signatures can help businesses of all sizes get rid of paperwork bottlenecks and save a lot of time and money. Documents are digitized by e-signature solutions, which are much more efficient than the old pen-and-paper method.
E-signature solutions are helping many industries go paperless, which is the quickest way to improve their businesses, make more money, and give their customers a better experience. Using these solutions in the real estate industry, for example, offers agents and brokers the mobile tools they need to put together contracts anywhere.
The latest technology trend in the business world is cloud-based solutions. The goal of cloud-based solutions is to digitally manage business transactions that involve essential documents and data from start to finish. Digital solutions allow employees at different levels of the organization and in different parts of the business to send and receive documents, share information, and work together on projects. A cloud-based solution makes the business run more smoothly and makes employees more productive, whether they work in the office, at a satellite location, or from home.
Companies that offer e-signatures and cloud services are also working together in a big way. For example, Signaturit and Ivnosys joined forces in April 2021 to offer e-signature software in Spain. Ivnosys' main cloud platform, IvSign, could be used to manage and sign digital certificates. With this deal, Signaturit is a cloud-based e-signature platform, and Ivnosys' suite of digital signature solutions are combined to make a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company. And with this, the global digital signature market is progressing forward.
It used to take a lot of time to manage, store, and track documents, which further slowed down other work processes. Additionally, the demand for increased operational efficiency and worries about data security have contributed to the development of digital signatures. The security of digital information moved between individuals or departments is crucial for industries including banking and insurance, retail, real estate, and government. Many massive, transaction-driven enterprises have started implementing digitally enabled signatures into their work processes to accommodate their requirement for secure online transactions. Due to its ability to demonstrate the legitimacy and integrity of the document, this technology is seen as appropriate for highly regulated businesses. It helps businesses increase productivity while conserving time, space, and money. Similarly, corporations are encouraged to choose digitally enabled signatures due to the necessity for authentication and multi-level security.
To increase the security and efficiency of digital documents, numerous nations in the European Union, Asia, and the Americas are also employing digital signatures on legal papers. Businesses that use this technology can boost transparency, create strong efficiency, improve document quality, and see cost savings. It assists enterprises in at least 80% cost reduction in document handling.
Additionally, it guarantees the data's non-repudiation and integrity. Traditional businesses are creating a significant need for these signatures as e-businesses multiply and adopt digital technologies. The development of software that enables users to utilize digital signatures in digital documents has been encouraged by this, leading certain software companies like Network Associates and Entrust Technologies to do so. Such expanding technological use cases accelerate the transition from traditional to electronic commerce, fueling the market's expansion.
In the past few years, the threat of cybercrimes has grown into a big problem for people, businesses, and society as a whole. The main reason for these attacks is that more and more people are using the internet and digital services, which attract criminals who want to make money.
For example, the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom says that cybercrimes have become more common than any other type of crime. Multiple clients of a company need the documents they give the company to be in line with government regulations. So, digital solutions must have the features and extra steps that are needed to fully comply with all privacy laws and protect the information of the company and its clients.
In the digital age, it is important to protect digital documents to avoid data breaches and attacks from hackers. Many companies that use digital solutions are very worried about security. A data breach can cost you money, but it can also cost you, customers, hurt your brand's reputation, let out company secrets, and cause legal and compliance problems. Also, as more documents are managed and stored online and on mobile devices, there is a higher chance that important data and credentials will be lost or stolen.
Cybersecurity problems are happening more and more often in different parts of the world because businesses are becoming more digital and using digital solutions in their operations. IBM says that in 2020, Brazil had the most data breaches in the world, with 29 percent more than any other country. Such events are likely to make it harder for people to use digital signature solutions.
Most of the players in the market of digital signature are from both inside and outside of the United States. Technology improvements in the market also give companies a long-term advantage in the market. Market trends are changing because of technologies like the cloud. When it comes to R&D and consolidation, big companies have a big impact on the market. High market penetration and growing market fragmentation are two things that can be said about the market.
The big thing that affects the market is how the companies' brands are seen. Strong brands are often associated with better solutions, so players who have been around for a long time are likely to have the upper hand. The big tech companies that have been around for a long time have the edge over their new competitors because of their distribution channels, business relationships, and innovative platforms. Overall, the competition between the vendors is likely to be high and get worse over the next few years.
| Study Period | 2020-2032 | CAGR | 27.23% |
| Historical Period | 2020-2022 | Forecast Period | 2024-2032 |
| Base Year | 2023 | Base Year Market Size | USD 7.13 billion |
| Forecast Year | 2032 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 62.28 billion |
| Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Europe |
The global digital signature market share is primarily divided into three regions, namely -North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, where Asia-Pacific is the leading region among the others with the major market share.
North America has been one of the highest-earning markets, mostly because more companies are switching to cloud-based solutions, mobile use is growing quickly, and there are a lot of big players with a lot of market share, which is why the said region has the market value of USD 1 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at USD 10 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 25%.The United States Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act of 2000 makes electronic signatures legal in all states and U.S. territories where federal law is in effect. Additionally, most U.S. states have ratified the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which applies when federal law does not.
Digital signatures increased during the UK's COVID-19 stay-at-home period. Due to the need for physical distancing, many pre-pandemic processes shifted to e-signatures. Real estate transactions, sales contracts, and employee onboarding are examples. Now that people are used to e-signatures and businesses trust them, their use is likely to continue and grow, which is why the Europe region has a significant market value of USD 1 billion in 2021 and growing to USD 10 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 27%.
Asia-Pacific is the most developing region in the world. With the presence of emerging economies like India, China, and Japan, the said region dominates the overall market share of the global digital signature market with a market value of USD 1 billion in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 12 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 32%.The government of India is focusing on providing e-signature facilities and has passed a law under I.T. 2000 for legalizing e-signature. In China, the government has proposed E-Signature Law and highly promotes digitized signatures for documentation. This is likely to drive market growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Throughout the predicted period, growth continuously occurs across the Middle East and Africa. Due to the increased investment in the area, the GCC is anticipated to gain momentum. To supply electronic and digital signature technologies, for instance, Adobe, Inc. has partnered with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the federal telecommunications regulatory agency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Latin America is also anticipated to experience substantial growth during the predicted period.
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The global digital signature market share is segmented by deployment and offering.
The market, when segmented by deployment, is further classified into on-premise and cloud, where cloud segmentation dominates the global market.
The on-premise segment accounts for a market value of USD 2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to USD 17 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 25%. This gives the company and its customer's full control over their data. Some businesses in industries with a lot of rules have strict rules about how to store transactional data on-premise. It also gives businesses in industries with strict privacy and compliance standards full control over where their servers and data are stored.
The cloud segment is the most dominant one in the global market, which accounts for a market value of USD 2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 24 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 31%. The cloud signature consortium plans to follow the new rules for European Union businesses and governments.
The global market, when segmented by offering, is further classified into software, hardware, and service, where the software segment owes the major market share.
The software offerings have a major market share that accounts for a market value of USD 2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 14 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 28%. As the need for online and remote work grows, companies have to use digital technology to stay in business. Digital signatures are being used and encouraged by governments all over the world to reduce the number of paper transactions. In India, the government is focusing on using the digital platform to its fullest. The government backs smart ID/card readers, electronic signatures, smooth pass, biometric signatures, and other digital ways to sign and verify. Not only in India but globally, the digital signature software is widely used, which is why the said segmentation is ruling the market offering.
With an emphasis on electronic signatures, the MA series can be paired with 10 or 12-inch electromagnetic pen displays that have a biometric authentication feature to support signature and fingerprint verification. So, the integrated hardware offering is likely to grow because it gives a better security portfolio as a whole. The growth of the hardware segment is driven by partnerships between companies that make hardware for digital signature and verification and software companies that make solutions for specific applications. It accounts for a market value of USD 1 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to USD 12 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 27%.
The e-Sign service is one of the most important parts of the paperless revolution. It is part of the government's Digital India Program. As part of the Digital India Initiative in India, eMudhra has made eSign services. It is an innovative electronic signature service (eSign) that lets application service providers (ASP) let their users electronically sign documents in seconds using their PAN card or Aadhaar number from anywhere and at any time. It accounts for a market value of USD 1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 30%.
