Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) no longer have to deal with paper contracts and now execute and manage contracts entirely online. This new application named Contracts OnLine is a web-hosted application developed by IBM Research and is designed to reduce the time it takes to complete contracts.
The use of paper, e-mails and faxes to get a contract approved is a lengthy procedure. Further, several modifications are made during the process. Also the possibility of human error cannot be ruled out.
The application allows authorised users to securely upload documents, review, make changes, approve, sign contracts, and track progress in real-time using a Web browser. No additional hardware or software installation is needed.
The online service automatically sends e-mails to the right people to notify them when contracts are available to review and sign, delivers reminders for required actions and notifies all parties when a contract is about to expire. Users can also communicate, collaborate with other users, delegate tasks for contract approval and signature, and search and retrieve contracts.
Contracts OnLine keeps track of who did what and when to improve business control and auditing and automatically applies a watermark with signer names and dates when the contract execution is completed.
"Businesses no longer need to fax documents back and forth or take chances with undelivered e-mail or overnight services to complete a contract," said Cathy Lasser, vice president, industry solutions and emerging technology, IBM Research.
Lasser added, "Executing a standard two-party contract used to mean sending multiple e-mails and faxing copies for two or more days. Contracts OnLine can reduce this process to 15 minutes by totally eliminating hard copies and moving it to the Web where all parties can manage and complete a contract in real-time."
Contracts OnLine provides many advanced functions such as multi-party contract processing (for transactions involving one or more Business Partners, Clients), multi-level document routing (between businesses and within a business), multi-level organizational hierarchy (inter- and intra-organizational structures), multi-tenancy (multiple hosting organizations in one instance), multi-level user access control levels, electronic signature, automatic watermarking, document control and management and business report creation. The application also leverages IBM's leading WebSphere Application Server and DB2 database software.
Contracts OnLine is available for all US-based IBM business partners to help them conduct IBM-related business. US-based clients doing business with IBM, including lease or loan contracts from IBM Credit LLC, can also use this free service to speed up delivery of new IBM products and services. IBM will expand this service to business partners and clients outside the US next year.
|
