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The Challenge for Enterprises to adopt blockchain

Traditional and legacy enterprises have faced challenges when it comes to integrating with blockchain technology. Despite the availability of privacy features offered by permissioned blockchain technologies like Hyperledger and Corda, these enterprises are often hesitant to send their data into a shared and replicated database. This is especially true for companies that deal with highly sensitive and heavily regulated data, such as healthcare providers. 

Additionally, designing a blockchain solution is a highly intensive process that requires significant resources to build out a full-scale solution. Enterprises need to gain buy-in from multiple stakeholders in the ecosystem and hire experienced blockchain developers to deploy and manage the system. 

The current blockchain ecosystem is highly fragmented. 

Despite blockchain's value proposition of creating an interoperable ecosystem, the current landscape is highly fragmented and isolated from each other with multiple private consortiums built by large multinational corporations and smaller players deployed on their own networks.

Introducing Dedoco Trust Engine

To help enterprises overcome this barrier to blockchain adoption, Dedoco has taken an alternative approach to help companies overcome this challenge - by separating the document or data from the blockchain provenance.

This means that sensitive documents that need to be trusted and shared within the ecosystem are not directly stored on the blockchain. Instead, we only store the document hashes and all business processes that are applied to the document.

This alternative approach ensures that only the document holders can get access to the information contained within the document and also verify its audit trail.

What is Dedoco Trust Engine?

The Dedoco Trust Engine is a blockchain-based solution that enables businesses to securely store, manage, and verify documents across multiple networks.

It provides a simple yet powerful API integration that allows businesses across various industries to seamlessly write and read blockchain data, and manage information exchange. With this singular solution, enterprises can reap the benefits of enhanced security, transparency, and trust without blockchain expertise.

Deploy without blockchain expertise

The Dedoco Trust Engine is designed with the intention of creating an easy-to-use set of APIs for any business to be able to tap into blockchain features via smart contracts.

The APIs are made available as a Web2 friendly environment that is able to be integrated into any existing infrastructures and enterprise softwares without having to deal with the blockchain components.

Modular & Incremental Adoption 

As opposed to private consortiums when ecosystem members are required to undergo intensive integration and data migration, the Dedoco Trust Engine allows users to take a modular approach when integrating with Dedoco Trust Engine. This means that a company can start with the most basic functionalities with a simple API request, and incrementally add on more smart contract features on-the-go based on the business requirements.

Dedoco Trust Engine API: Multi-Chain Interoperability

The Dedoco Trust Engine enables business applications to call the API service with different requests to write and read the blockchain data. It utilises GraphQL to index and consolidate the blockchain data, making it easy for users to query. Acting as a moderator to the API requests, it uses indexed data to post and retrieve information to the various connected blockchain networks. This unique feature allows for the verification of documents on Dedoco across different networks using one single API. 

Business Optimised Smart Contracts

DTE allows users to read and write smart contracts that are catered towards business processes. These include document hashing, transaction signing, business attestations, certificate issuance, ownership transfers, revocations, and verification.

To cater for differing customisation needs by different user demographics, our smart contracts are deployed on various blockchain networks such as Polygon Matic network and Hedera Hashgraph.

Users of the trust engine will not need to interface with this layer and will use these functions via the APIs.

Benefits of blockchain for Enterprises

1. Enhanced security & traceability: the immutable record cannot be tampered with, and the end-to-end encryption helps to prevent fraud and unauthorised activities. Audit trail documents the provenance of an asset and all actions taken to it at every step of its journey. This audit trail can be used as a proof for industries that requires provenance system due to regulations, or when the consumers want to verify audit trails for ESG disclosures.
2. Digitalisation: Traditional paper-based processes are highly time consuming, prone to human error, and often requires third party mediation. The shared and replicated ledger on the blockchain acts as a one source of truth, eliminating the need for paper exchange, and streamlining the settlement process.
3. Automation: Smart contracts can automate transactions and settlements. It acts as a parametric solution that automatically triggers a process once a pre-specified conditions are met This reduces the reliance of a middle man to oversee the process that requires significant lead time.

Explore the endless possibility with Dedoco Trust Engine Today

Dedoco Trust Engine is an easy to use on-ramp service for web2 companies to deploy web3 features within a short timeframe. With this singular solution, enterprises can reap the benefits of enhanced security, transparency, and trust without requiring their own in-house blockchain expertise.

The beta release of Dedoco Trust Engine is currently available on Dedoco’s permissioned chain and polygon Matic public network. For companies that are keen to explore the potential of DTE, our sandbox environment on polygon Mumbai Testnet is available for free access. 

If you wish to access the beta version of DTE, contact us. For further information about DTE, check out our white paper and documentation.

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Blockchain technology has gained significant traction in recent years, demonstrating its potential to revolutionise the retail sector. Beyond the speculation surrounding cryptocurrencies, blockchain is transforming the way retailers operate in various ways, from improved management of consumer data to enhancing loyalty programs, tracking inventory, and ensuring food safety.

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1. Enhancing Consumer Data Management with Blockchain

One of the primary concerns for consumers today is the security of their personal data. Blockchain technology enables individuals to store their data outside organisational databases using decentralised identity (DID). This approach gives individuals control over their personal data, allowing them to decide who has access and when.

Blockchain also empowers individuals with autonomy over their DID, enabling them to securely and easily store their personal data and share it across various platforms. This streamlined process allows retailers to efficiently collect and manage consumer data while also ensuring that consumers' privacy remains protected.

Despite its potential, there is a lack of successful implementations of DID in the retail sector. While the concept seems promising on paper, it may prove to be challenging to implement in reality due to the complexities involved in integrating blockchain technology with existing systems. 

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2. Supply Chain/Inventory Tracking with Blockchain

In today's retail environment, effective supply chain management is crucial. Blockchain technology can enhance transparency and oversight for retailers, ensuring that they can monitor inventory levels and avoid stockouts. This, in turn, leads to increased efficiency and cost savings. Blockchain helps retailers track assets throughout the supply chain using unique identifiers, improving order fulfilment, supply chain management, and reducing the risk of counterfeit goods in circular economies.

Dedoco’s Trust Engine (DTE) addresses these challenges head-on. For example, DTE can be used to trace the lifespan of a luxury watch: 

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Without DTE integration, the entire process is manual and often lacks records, relying on trust-based transactions. Authenticity and maintenance records are not guaranteed. However, with DTE integration into existing platforms, interested parties can query the audit trail on the blockchain, ensuring full traceability and automatic data generation.

However, with DTE integration to existing platforms, the audit trail can be queried on the blockchain by interested parties. Buyers can transact in peace with full traceability and automatic data generation on the blockchain.

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3. Ensuring Food Safety with IoT and Blockchain

Food safety is paramount, and retailers bear the responsibility of ensuring that the products they sell are safe for consumption. While the FDA’s Hazard and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system is designed to address food safety concerns, manual processes can be laborious and susceptible to fraud. Blockchain technology, combined with IoT (Internet of Things), enables retailers to track food products from farm to table, ensuring their safety and freedom from contaminants.

Blockchain technology can help retailers improve food safety by increasing transparency and traceability. This, in turn, builds consumer trust in their brand, enhances customer satisfaction, and ultimately drives sales. So how can IoT and blockchain come together to assist? Let us take a butcher’s shop for example.

1. An IoT temperature sensor detects that the required temperature for poultry storage has exceeded the HACCP defined limit
2. A notification is sent to an employee on their smartphone
3. The employee lowers the temperature to a temperature within HACCP’s guidelines
4. As the temperature is lowered, the platform verifies that relevant measures were taken into place and such information is recorded on the blockchain

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Such use cases of blockchain have already been adopted by retailers. In 2019, Carrefour implemented blockchain-based tracking for 20 different product types, including milk, cheese, chicken, eggs, and other essential products. This enables customers to scan a QR code and access detailed information about the product's origin, such as the producer's name, cultivation location, harvest date, and package date. Carrefour also reported that products tracked through blockchain reportedly experienced a significant increase in sales. 

In 2021, Carrefour expanded the use of blockchain to include tracking its exclusive textile products, and in 2022, it became the first retailer to apply blockchain to its own branded organic products. As a result, the entire range of Carrefour Bio products is now traced through blockchain, giving customers greater confidence in their purchases.

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In conclusion, blockchain technology is transforming the retail industry in various ways. From better management of consumer data to improved supply chain management and food safety, blockchain technology offers retailers new opportunities to enhance their operations and customer experiences. Dedoco’s Trust Engine (DTE) has the potential to address the challenges identified in these areas by providing a robust and secure solution for data management, supply chain tracking, and food safety monitoring.

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While integrating blockchain technology into retail operations may present challenges, the potential benefits are undoubtedly appealing. By leveraging the Dedoco Trust Engine, retailers can explore innovative use cases to solve critical problems and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Discover how Dedoco’s Trust Engine can help your retail business overcome its biggest challenges and thrive in today's competitive landscape. Learn More and embrace the potential of blockchain technology with Dedoco's Trust Engine to take your retail business to new heights. Transform your efficiency by implementing secure and transparent solutions that not only enhance the customer experience but also streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance.

Signing documents is a primary process of creating legally binding contracts. While the definition of a legally binding contract remained the same, signing a contract has evolved. In fact, the past decade has seen many of us moving from wet ink signatures to digital or electronic signatures as critical document standards. In this article, we will understand the meaning of a wet signature and whether these are better to use in the current technological era. 

What is a wet signature?

A "wet ink signature" refers to anyone placing a distinct mark or physical signature on a hard copy document. The process involves using a seal or pen to make a binding contract.

A wet signature is a handwritten approval mark. Anyone signing a hard copy of any document directly applies wet ink signatures. Typically, these signatures contain the signer name’s stylized cursive form. Wet ink signatures don’t necessarily need to contain the signer's name. In fact, it can be anything: a symbol, a trading name, or a word mark. 

Even though electronic and digital signatures have evolved the way we used to sign documents at present, wet ink signatures are still necessary for certain documents in government offices. These documents more often include a sworn statement, affidavit, or will in which Notary Public needs a person's identity verification.

On the other hand, certain business processes also require wet ink signatures for document execution. These more often include mortgage agreements, commercial leases, and promissory agreements. 

How is a wet signature different from a digital and electronic signature?

Most people don't know the difference between wet, digital, and electronic signatures. Before knowing which of these is best for you, it is important to know the difference between them. 

Historically, wet signatures have been used to prevent fraud; it is used to represent a binding contract. As technology evolves, digital and electronic signatures have started to carry the same legal effect and weight as handwritten wet signatures, especially in the business world.

Most importantly, electronic or digital signatures can help you save time and money while being much more secure than traditional wet signatures. 

Fortunately, various regions recognize electronic and digital signatures as legal. Due to their added benefits and convenience, these are now accepted in global and national commerce. 

Pros and Cons of wet signature: 

Wet ink signatures also come up with pros and cons: 

Pros of a wet signature 

1. Branding and Personality 

Wet signatures are powerful when it comes to branding purposes. These signatures are the best option for signing autographs; they can add warmth by imprinting personalities. 

2. Social and psychological effects ‍

While digital and electronic signatures are faster, wet ink signatures require a signer to be physically present, especially with other signees. This practice can help the signer and signees to develop a long-lasting business impact. Moreover, you can also use this particular event for social and marketing purposes.

Cons of a wet signature 

1. Forgeries 

Forgeries are way easier with wet ink signatures. While uniqueness is the only thing that can keep any wet signature safe at the end of the day. Unfortunately, even the most unique and difficult signature can be done by a forgery expert.

On the other hand, digital and electronic signatures are less vulnerable to forgery. The statement is true when you utilize dedicated contracting solutions to secure digital signatures. 

Security is arguably the key concern in wet ink signatures. Any physical document left around for a while can get into the wrong person's hands. In addition, without appropriate document protection, these signatures also pose a higher risk of being tempered, forged, or copied without your knowledge. 

2. Slower process 

Unlike digital or electronic signatures, it takes a longer period of time to process a paper-based document with wet ink signatures.

The process can also be tedious for both signers and signees as it involves various repetitive tasks. It also affects the accuracy of documents due to the increased possibility of human error risk. 

3. Costly process 

Creating and maintaining wet signatures on paper documents can be costly for businesses. Many businesses spend about 5% of their budgets filing paper documents for wet ink signatures. Besides that, businesses also spend an additional amount on managing these documents safely for later use. So, the overall process of wet signatures can add a significant cost to a business. 

결론

We usually manage multiple documents that require signatures in our lives. The world is becoming more digital; thus, businesses have also evolved their way of signing a document. Many businesses have now opted for digital signatures for their added benefits. Digital signatures are completely legally binding and easy to use. However, it would help if you choose the safest tools to sign a document digitally. 

Fortunately, tools like dSign can provide a smarter and safer way to sign a document. With dSign, you can sign and certify your important documents safely from any device. Most importantly, the tool provides advanced verification and encryption to protect your signature.

소개

Electronic signatures (e-signatures) and digital signatures are gaining traction as the world is moving closer to digitalization. There is a significant difference between them, and both terms are often utilized interchangeably, which may create confusion.

Generally, e-signatures and digital signatures enable the electronic signing of documents, but they operate differently when it comes to legality, security, and implementation. E-signatures are used for digital contracts, agreements, and forms. This type of signature can be made by simply typing one's name into a document field or using a stylus or finger on a touchscreen device. No doubt, electronic signatures are easy and secure for everyday use.

However, digital signatures are an improved form of electronic signature that provides encryption-based technology to verify the signer's identity and enhance the security and authenticity of the signed document. To authenticate the signer's identity and bind the signature to the document, digital signatures require a unique digital certificate issued by an impartial third party. As a result, digital signatures are more difficult to forge than e-signatures and offer more excellent legal protection.

If your company intends to sign documents electronically while still complying with applicable laws and protecting sensitive data, you must clearly understand the difference between electronic signature vs digital signature. 

What is a Digital Signature?

A digital signature is an electronic fingerprint that can verify the origin of a digitally transmitted message or document. It is created with the help of cryptographic algorithms, which makes it difficult to forge or alter the signature.

The main features of a digital signature, include:

• 인증

Digital signatures authenticate the document or message's author and verify the signer’s identity. The signature can be checked with a public key infrastructure (PKI) or another digital signature verification tool to ensure authenticity.

• 무결성

This type of signature ensures the integrity of the message or document that is not tampered with after its initial transmission. It is undoubtedly considered void if the document is altered in any way.

• Non-repudiation

 As the signer cannot deny signing the document or message, non-repudiation is a crucial feature of digital signatures. This is because a public key infrastructure can accurately verify the authenticity of the signer's unique signature.

• Effectiveness

There is no need for physical or paper-based documentation because digital signatures are easily generated and verified.

• Legality

Digital signatures are legally binding and recognized in many countries, making them a trusted and widely accepted method of signing and authenticating digital documents.

What is an Electronic Signature?

The electronic signature is used to verify the signer's identity on digital documents and is considered an excellent replacement for a handwritten signature. It is a widely accepted signature because it is legally binding with electronic documents. There are plenty of benefits of using the electronic signature that makes this signature more convenient and trustworthy than a traditional signature.

The key features of an electronic signature include:

• Authenticity
  

With the help of an electronic signature, the signer's identity can be verified in several ways, including passwords, biometric authentication, and digital certificates. These methods enable signature authentication that reduces the chances of it being forged.

• Non-repudiation

The signer cannot claim they never signed the document by using an electronic signature. This can be accomplished accomplish with the help of digital certificates, which serve as a form of personal identification for each signer.

• 안전

Electronic signatures provide security and protection for the signer and the document's authenticity. This can be achieved using the encryption technique, making it impossible for unauthorized access.

• Convenience

Electronic signatures are simple to use, which makes them very appealing. You can sign this type of signature by sitting anywhere or any place, but you need to access an internet connection. Because of this, most companies find these signatures very useful for online business and other forms of telecommuting.

Electronic Signature Vs Digital Signature

Signing electronic documents can be accomplished in a few ways, the most common of which are electronic and digital signatures. While both have a significant signature difference that can confirm the integrity of a digital file, they take different approaches and provide varying degrees of protection.

Electronic signature Vs digital signature.

Electronic signatures have different categories, including typed signatures, scanned signatures, and even a simple click on an "I Agree" button, which is used to sign electronic documents. Generally, a document can be considered as a “sign electronically,” if the signer's identity is verified and the indication of signer's intent.

Digital signatures are more secure than electronic signatures.

Digital signatures, by contrast, use cryptography to produce a unique digital fingerprint of the signed document. After this digital fingerprint is added to the document, the signature can no longer be revoked, even if the original document is altered. Contracts, agreements, and financial transactions are typical examples of legally binding documents that frequently utilize digital signatures because of the added security they provide over electronic signatures. 

Moreover, digital signatures are considered authentic if the signer has a digital certification by a prominent certificate authority (CA) that can verify the signer's identity. This also ensures the signature's authenticity and non-repudiation.

In short, companies can employ both signatures to sign the documents digitally. But both signatures offer different levels of security features. For example, digital signatures provide a higher level of security and consider a preferred method for legally binding agreements. On the other hand, electronic signatures are widely accepted and used for informal agreements that do not offer high security.

결론

The choice between a digital and an electronic signature platform depends on the security and authentication required for the document. If you're looking for a next-generation decentralized platform for the digital signing of legal contracts, financial transactions, or sensitive documents, then our dSign tool is a preferred choice because it provides a high level of security, robust authentication, various signing options, and more.

Alternatively,  electronic signatures can be a suitable option for informal agreements and documents that do not need to be certified, making implementation simpler.

Therefore, when selecting between electronic and digital signatures, companies should consider the needs of the business and the nature of the documents. Both approaches have pros and cons, making a final choice should be based on a careful evaluation of needs and potential consequences.

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소개

Online contract signing is significant for every business that requires an efficient way to organise contracts. There are some traditional methods to sign a contract, such as printing out documents, signing them, scanning them, and sending them through email, which is complicated and time-consuming. Fortunately, signing a legally binding contract has become a norm in today's digital world, and you can do it in minutes. All it takes are a few clicks, no matter where you live and at any time of the day.

Signing a contract online can be challenging for unfamiliar people. Whether you’re a business owner or an entrepreneur, this guide walks you through our online digital signing platform that can help you sign documents easily.

Why sign a contract online? 

The practice of digitally signing legal documents has gained popularity in recent years for several compelling reasons. Firstly, it's especially convenient. Because using a digital signature service for signing legal documents will eliminate the need to print, sign, and return paper copies via postal service, fax, or email. As a result, contracts can be signed easily, saving time, money, and energy for both parties.

Secondly, you do not need to worry about the security of signing a contract online. Encryption and two-factor authentication are two of the advanced security features of various popular platforms. Because of this, sensitive information is protected, and the possibility of fraud is minimized.

Thirdly, signing a digital contract is environment-friendly. By eliminating the resources such as paper, ink, and shipping, online contract signing minimises waste and conserves natural resources.

Lastly, signing a contract online also facilitates team collaboration and communication. In this way, both parties can sign contracts, share files digitally, and work together in real-time, speeding up the process of getting on the same page and finishing projects.

In short, digital signatures have many benefits, including reducing paperwork, improving safety, minimising environmental impact, and encouraging better teamwork and communication. 

How To Sign Contracts Online?

Follow the step-by-step process for online contract signing with Dedoco:

Step 1: You can register for a free trial with our digital signing platform.

Step 2: Upload the contract from your computer or file-sharing platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox)

Step 3: Add the name and email address of the signing recipient. You can also add a contract observer for the signing process.

‍Step 4: Drop in the signature tags in the location where the recipient is required to sign

‍Step 5: Once all signers have signed the document, it will be automatically finalized and stored securely in your Dedoco account. You can then download a copy of the signed document or share it with others via email.

자주 묻는 질문

1. Are digitally signed contracts legally binding documents? 

Yes, contracts that are signed digitally are legally binding. Digital signatures are legal in most countries, including the United States and countries that are part of the European Union. They have the same legal effect as traditional signatures on paper documents. Digital signature technology checks the signer's identity and uses encryption and other security measures to ensure the document hasn't been changed.

2. Do recipients of the contract require a Dedoco account? 

Recipients of the contract do not need to sign up for a Dedoco account to sign a contract. Documents will be sent via email, and they can review and complete the signing process without creating an account.

결론

Online contract signing continues to evolve and has become the future of business since it is easy, safe, and legally binding for companies of all sizes. Fortunately, there are many digital contract signing services to choose from. Dedoco is one of the best platforms because of its security and efficiency, which lets you sign, monitor, and keep track of contracts online. With us, you can ensure your contracts are secure due to industry-leading encryption and authentication methods. Also, the platform provides several convenient features that speed up the signing process and increase efficiency.

With Dedoco, you can sign contracts electronically from anywhere in the world. No matter the size of your business, we offer a flexible and reliable solution that can streamline and improve your contract management procedures, resulting in significant time and money savings.