21 Dec 2021
Interview with Georg Lindsberger (CEO XiTrust) and Andreas Koller (CEO XiTrust Germany/Switzerland) about the development of electronic signatures and the changes in corporate culture in the second year of the pandemic.
In our talk from last year, Corona's influence on the digital transformation played a central role. Where are we today?
Georg Lindsberger: The pandemic was something of a challenge for many companies this year as well. The main difference is certainly that the corona virus was nothing new in 2021. Much of what went along with it is now everyday life – like working from home in particular. Working from home is becoming the standard, a plannable component of a company, with all the consequences that remote structures entail.
In which respect?
Georg Lindsberger: Working from home challenges people in the social sphere in quite a different way, because strong social ties work differently than just looking at the screen. How this will affect the corporate culture in the long term remains to be seen. A demanding task that will require a lot of tact.
Alongside this, the corona crisis once again highlighted how companies can future-proof their business with a serious digitalisation agenda.
Georg Lindsberger: Working from home and other changes in the past two years represent the global trend of living decentralised, mobile working on a daily basis. More than ever, it is about being present, regardless of physical presence. It is in this spirit that XiTrust has set up its "Be present" campaign. Electronic signatures secure the presence of entire companies and their decision-making processes. They do this not as an equivalent in difficult times, but as a logical cultural development of the handwritten signature.
Andreas Koller: Market reports confirm significant growth in the eSignature industry. After the sales volume cracked the billion dollar mark for the first time in 2019, analysts expect a global volume of 25 billion dollars by 2030. We see with more and more companies that electronic signatures are no longer a crisis issue. Perhaps they were in a certain phase. In the meantime, this has changed emphatically.
»MOXIS is not just a smart signing tool, it is our interpretation of the electronic signature.«
Georg Lindsberger, CEO XiTrust
In which way?
Georg Lindsberger: The desire to firmly integrate electronic signatures into internal and external company processes is being formulated more and more clearly. The qualitative and quantitative improvements of individual processes are unmistakable. For XiTrust in 2021, this meant in concrete terms: The best promotion for MOXIS was the product itself.
How has the customer view of electronic signatures changed in 2021?
Andreas Koller: Two trend lines are emerging. MOXIS is increasingly being rolled out to other fields of application within companies. At the same time, more and more customers are using it in their own B2C business. We support our customers in optimally designing this "last mile" to the end customer. A trend that will intensify in 2022. XiTrust is currently implementing such projects with customers such as Energie Graz or Raiffeisen Bank International.
Georg Lindsberger: The advantages of the eSignature have perhaps never been communicated to so many users in such a short time. However, it is about more than the technical provision of electronic signatures. MOXIS is not just an intelligent signing tool, it is our interpretation of the electronic signature. Deep knowledge of corporate requirements and processes has gone into the product - whether it is data protection, interfaces to IT infrastructures, constantly improved usability or signature qualities. MOXIS has already answered all the questions that companies will be asking themselves about signatures in the coming years.
Is MOXIS taking on a pacemaker role for the digitalisation of companies?
Georg Lindsberger: It has definitely promoted the motivation to digitise comprehensively. The basic realisation was always the same: If it is as easy and quick to switch from handwritten to electronic signatures as it is with MOXIS, then perhaps digitisation with the right product and partneris easier than one might have feared.
»In 2022, there will be no one left who will not come into contact with electronic signatures in one way or another.«
Andreas Koller, CEO XiTrust Germany/Switzerland
Have the sustainable learning processes in digitalisation issues that you predicted last year come to pass as expected?
Andreas Koller: Above all, learning processes have opened up for XiTrust itself, in which we have become better acquainted with the performance range of our product. Who would have guessed two years ago that our customer BMW is now vaccinating almost 25,000 employees against COVID-19 with the support of MOXIS? MOXIS was designed as a co-creation with XiTrust customers from the very beginning. In this context, the Xperts User Board was created in 2021, where customers regularly share their experiences with MOXIS – and thus actively contribute to the further development of the product.
XiTrust itself has also developed geographically. In 2021, the XiTrust AG was established in Switzerland.
Andreas Koller: We have been present on the Swiss market for several years. This is also how our cooperation with Swisscom came about. MOXIS meets the requirements in the Swiss legal area as well as in Germany, Austria and all other states of the European Union. With the Swiss subsidiary, we have given this a form that enables us to be even closer to our customers.
What can we expect from XiTrust and the topic of electronic signatures in 2022?
Andreas Koller: Reliable quality on the product side and the best support. I would make the prediction that in 2022, there will be no one left who will not come into contact with electronic signatures in one way or another.
And within the company?
Georg Lindsberger: XiTrust itself is changing in 2022 by not only providing more space in a growing company with new headquarters. As a digital company, we are investing in our culture because we know that this is the only way to ensure cohesion within XiTrust. Signature processes can be permanently digitised and deployed remotely. Employees definitely cannot.
