by Katie Bartenslager

We have been having more conversations about digital transaction management (DTM) every day. With digital workplaces becoming the new normal, our day to day activities need to adapt and change accordingly. When purchasing a product or service or adding a new client to your network, paper processes are no longer reliable, efficient, or secure. Digital transaction management has given rise to additional technologies that are making transactions more efficient and more effective.

While many companies have adopted programs that allow consumers to easily sign contracts or record payments, one of the problems that has arisen with the increase in eCommerce and online transactions is the question of security. How can we validate the authenticity and the security of online transactions? We can no longer have a person sitting in front of us with their face visible to verify their identity in real time, so how do we know the person virtually signing the contract is who they say they are? How can companies protect themselves from false signatures and fake contracts? And how do we keep up with such high demand?

There are three digital transaction management technologies to keep your eye on that can be a game changer with security and efficiency. But before we dive into those DTM trends, it is important to understand what DTM is.

What Is Digital Transaction Management (DTM)?

To keep it simple, digital transaction management is a set of cloud-based tools that help companies manage document-based transactions. It is all about moving from paper transactions to digital transactions, which is a huge necessity in the shift towards the digital enterprise.

Three Important and Helpful DTM Trends

These three trends are important to keep your eye on because they will enhance your security as digital transactions increase. We have seen an increase in popularity of all three of these processes, and I’ll dive into why that is below.

1. Document Assistants

Process bots have become more common on webpages. They can help move or enter data in a timely manner. But what is becoming even more popular are document assistants. Document assistants can communicate with a human and help you create documents through asking a simple question. This is becoming increasingly more popular due to its efficiency and its ability to decrease errors which has made a major impact as demand continues to rise.

Digital Transactions should be safe and secure

2. Increase In Clickwrap Transaction Platforms

Clickwrap platforms will be a game changer. They provide the opportunity for companies to keep up with a high demand of online transactions by allowing companies to replace e-signatures with the ability to simply click a box or button that includes acceptance language such as “I Agree” or “Accept”. This can help decrease time-intensive negotiations and help manage the legal terms or conditions associated with online transactions. Clickwrap transaction platforms  also serve as an easier and more secure way to track and manage all online transactions by adding more security features, such as by enabling the vaulting and screenshotting of clickwrap transactions.

To go into more detail about the rise of clickwrap and the impact it can have on your business, read our research note on The Rise of Clickwrap Transaction Platforms.

3. Image and Video Analytics 

There are a fair share of fake photos and videos on the internet and it is getting harder to distinguish if a photo has been altered due to more advanced photoshop technology. Image analytics can digitally scan photos and distinguish between real and fake images. Video analytics will actually compare a face in the video to that person’s government ID to authenticate their identity. Now that face-to-face transactions are scarce—a trend that has been accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic—the urgency of this technology is noticeable. Therefore, both image and video analytics are essential for security when dealing with digital transactions that involve identity authentication. This will decrease a person’s ability to take advantage of digital processes with these safeguards. 

All of these DTM technologies are beneficial alone. But together, they can help create a three-step process that increases your efficiency and security immensely. That is why we expect to see these trends continue to grow well in the future. 

Bottom Line

As AI technology continues to grow and face-to-face transactions continue to decrease, it’s time for CIOs to embrace technology that enables more efficient, secure transactions. These trends will continue to be on the rise and are important for all CIOs to keep an eye out for. To learn more about the major providers in this area, make sure to read our Globe for Digital Transaction Management.