by Jim Lundy
Summary: Nintex announced its own eSignature solution, Nintex Sign, which is powered by Adobe Sign. This move enables Nintex to offer a complete digital transaction management (DTM) portfolio.
Event: On January 24th, 2019 Nintex announced Nintex Sign, which is part of an expanded strategic relationship it announced with Adobe. The announcement was issued via a press release.
Analysis
With the launch of Nintex Sign, Nintex now becomes a complete DTM provider that can supply both basic and advanced DTM solutions. While many would have expected Nintex to partner with DocuSign for eSignature, it was DocuSign’s move away from partnerships that drove Nintex to look for other, more synergistic, alternatives.
Simplifying DTM Journeys
Nintex’s move to become a complete DTM provider mirrors recent moves by others (DocuSign, HelloSign, and Conga) and it represents a shift in the DTM market—one in which enterprises want to buy a complete solution. The rise of microservices has made it easier to integrate offerings. Enterprises see this and they want a one-stop solution with fewer vendors to manage.
A Different Nintex
As both the DTM and now the workflow and content automation (WCA) categories have taken off, so has Nintex. With Nintex Sign, Nintex’s entire global partner network will now be able to sell this new offering in conjunction with the rest of the Nintex WCA offerings. This makes Nintex a full content platform with Promapp Process Mapping, Collaboration, and Management; Nintex Forms, Mobile Apps, and Workflow; and Drawloop Document Generation, now with native eSignature and a growing set of content analytics capabilities via Nintex Hawkeye.
Part of the change at Nintex is a revamped management team. CEO Eric Johnson, who has been in the position for less than a year, has strategically built out his team, adding former DocuSign CMO Dustin Grosse as his Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer in 2018. The battle-tested team, combined with the market demand for DTM and WCA solutions, is helping to power Nintex’s growth.
Countering DocuSign with Adobe
In the past, Nintex was a key partner for DocuSign. That partnership changed in August 2018 after DocuSign announced it was buying SpringCM for contract lifecycle management. As we predicted, after that deal was announced, Nintex distanced itself from DocuSign, given its change in how it leverages partners. Nintex will, however, continue to support customers that leverage DocuSign through its DocuSign eSignature connector as the company believes in an open marketplace and supports interoperability.
Nintex is now front and center with Adobe and while they have overlapping products, this deal is a white-label offering that expands Adobe’s distribution while also giving Nintex’s partners native eSignatures within an expanded DTM portfolio they can begin selling immediately.
The Consolidation Phase of DTM
Aragon feels we are now entering the consolidation phase of DTM. Many pure-play eSignature providers will be acquired, as will standalone workflow and content automation providers. On top of that, legacy CCM providers may also look attractive.
Basic DTM vendors that could be ripe for consolidation include:
- AssureSign
- Sertifi
- SignEasy
- SignNow
- ZorroSign
Workflow and content automation providers that could be ripe for consolidation include:
- PandaDoc
- S-Docs
The Next Wave of Content Automation and DTM Will Be Fueled by AI
Intelligent content analytics (ICA) refers to the use of analytics to derive insights from content where the text, voice, image, video, or a higher-level abstraction of meaning—called a concept—has been organized in a model that can be mechanically processed. One of the fastest growing areas of ICA is evaluating existing documents for both risk management and for revenue growth.
DTM providers like Nintex have an opportunity to leap ahead of others by making an acquisition of an ICA provider.
Aragon Advisory
- Enterprises should add Nintex to the evaluation list for basic DTM solutions, including those who are looking to replace their existing provider.
- Enterprises need to understand what intelligent content analytics is and how it can help them understand what is happening inside of their transactions.
- For advanced DTM solutions, where content assembly and transactions are needed, enterprises should evaluate Nintex and others as a one-stop shop.
Bottom Line
The DTM market continues to grow and providers like Nintex are not standing still. As the DTM market becomes a replacement market, enterprises should look at their entire document lifecycle for the possibilities that a complete DTM provider can offer.