DocuSign Files S-1, Validates the $25 Billion DTM Market

by Jim Lundy

DocuSign officially filed its S-1 last week. For Aragon, this action validates everything we have said about the Digital Transaction Management market. When we first wrote about DTM in 2014, many end users and vendors were skeptical.

This blog highlights the DocuSign filing and why the DTM market shows no indication of slowing down.

DocuSign and Box: The Race to Revenue

While Box has long been a prominent vendor in cloud content management and has been public longer, DocuSign’s revenues have been on par. However, this was not apparent until the DocuSign S-1 was filed. To the surprise of many, DocuSign’s revenues in FY 2017 were U.S. $381 million.

This puts DocuSign in the big league of cloud-based revenue growth, and validates the DTM market’s strength and value. Events that reaffirm the robust presence of DTM also bode well for other DTM providers including Adobe, AssureSign, eOriginal, eSignLive, HelloSign, Namirial, and others.

The DTM Market: Is Imaging Dead?

People often associate DTM with e-Signatures, but DTM providers actually replace the paper-based process of contract signing. Given the race to digital, removing paper-based processes is one of the fastest ways to expedite business outcomes. Enterprises spend 1 to 2% of revenues on paper-based procedures.

In 2001, I wrote a research note that documented (for the first time) the true costs of paper and paper processes. This note went on to be widely sourced in the print and imaging market. Many tried to debunk what I outlined, but paper costs and transactions cause many large firms to store paper and pay millions of dollars to firms like Iron Mountain.

Now in 2018, hard copy transactions are outdated. Digital transactions are the new way.

The DTM Market and the Race to Automate Content

Figure 2 shows that the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for DTM was $10 billion in 2017, and will be $25 billion by 2023. The shift toward paperless processes is still in an early stage, as many countries still run on paper.

The Rise of Content Automation

One of the subtitles in the content management and DTM markets is Workflow and Content Automation (WCA). WCA leverages software to completely automate document creation and movement toward a completed transaction.

Aragon feels that the WCA market will provoke the consolation of workflow and Customer Communication Management (CCM) providers; two separate products is now unnecessary with offerings like Conga, HelloSign, Intelledox, Nintex, and other traditional CCM providers.

So, how is your organization automating its content processes? The race to digital starts with DTM, as we have reiterated for the past four years. Of course, there are disruptive plays—like blockchain—coming to these markets, so it is important to remain up-to-date with technologies driving digital transformation.

Check out our Special Report on blockchain, WCA, and DTM.