As Enterprises have become more dependent on electronic transactions and digital information, they are usually prone to privacy issues. With the proliferation of cyber-attacks, businesses need to opt for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) methodology. It is because PKI enables to create, manage, distribute and store information in a highly secure environment. In addition, it goes beyond the use of IDs and passwords by leveraging cryptographic technologies such as digital signatures and digital certificates. According to a report by Frost and Sullivan, the Public Key Infrastructure technology, particularly related to digital certification and associated solutions is estimated to be worth 532.8 Million USD by 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 30 percent in the next five years.

Enabling Digital Transformation

Bangalore based eMudhra Limited leverages Aadhaar card in providing digital signatures to consumers. The company’s electronic signature service known as eSign allows any Aadhaar Card Holder to digitally sign an electronic document.
“The customer needs to just put the Aadhaar number and validate with OTO or Biometric; the name , photograph and address details will automatically be filled in any form and one can avoid the lengthy process of getting the form filled, printed, signed and enclosing the KYC documents etc. ,” shares V. Srinivasan, Founder Chairman of eMudhra Limited. Before establishing eMudhra in 2008, Srinivasan was the Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer of 3i Infotech. He is also the author of the book “New Age Management Philosophy from Ancient Indian Wisdom”.

He shares that his company is a Certifying Authority licensed by the Controller of Certifying Authorities, Government of India and Mauritius. eMudhra operates under the guidelines set by Information Technology Act and has so far issued over three million certificates to subscribers who use Digital Certificates for Income Tax returns, MCA (ROC), Employee PF Transfer, Tenders, Foreign Trade, Banking, Railway transactions etc. This Bangalore based company issues Digital certificates for Signature, Encryption, Device or System, SSL Server, Code Signing and Document Signer. Further the certificates are issued in the category of Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 to address various risk levels of relying parties.

Srinivasan, further explains that his company has done other innovations around Public Key Infrastructure technology and data analytics service. Those innovations encompass eMAS (eMudhra Authentication Server), emSigner (paperless office solution), eSign (anytime, anywhere digital signing with Aadhaar), emLocker( a Digital locker solution) and Prism (a big data analytics solution). eMudhra’s authentication solution (eMAS) is used by several large banks and other organizations.

To help streamline document signing and document management process of various organisations, eMudhra has developed a solution known as emSigner which allows signing of any documents. Further emSigner is an end to end workflow product, which is embedded with the digital signature. Thus it can transform any organisation into a completely paperless organisation claims Srinivasan. emSigner can be implemented on premise or on cloud and accessed through a browser over any network or through intranet or can be interfaced with existing CRM or ERP solutions.

eMudhra performs eServices such as eSign, eKYC and e-authentication based on integration with the Aadhaar. eServices help improve efficiency by facilitating organizations to identify and validate their customers or employees and enable signing of any documents with them digitally. eMudhra provides digital locker service to its customers; this enables customers to securely store any document and send those documents to anybody in an encrypted form with digital signatures. Moreover, documents can be sorted, managed and organized by tagging them to category for easy retrieval. This would allow users to access the documents and also ensure privacy and authorized access.

Srinivasan shares that players in this market do not provide complete paperless workflow solutions, however eMudhra provides entire range of end to end PKI solutions. He adds that other players are providing only one aspect of PKI which can be digital signature for instance. In addition, other players collaborate with foreign companies to provide PKI solutions, but eMudhra has developed in-house solutions and it sells to various industries. “Whatever is conceptualized by us, that product or solution quickly comes to the market; and the innovation and the speed of action have kept us ahead in the market,” shares Srinivasan.

Easing Business Workflow

Growing Internet penetration and legal issues have made eMudhra’s digital signature solution – ‘eSign’ an ideal option to automate business processes, and reduce paper costs. Srinivasan explains that eSign is being used by various organizations to streamline and speed up customer relations and transactions in a secured way.

For instance, a brokerage company can acquire its customers with esigned application form encompassing the KYC information in an online real-time basis. “Through the help of eMudhra’s eKYC and eSignatures, the Customer acquisition process has become much simpler,” points out Srinivasan. Even the Banking sector is also increasingly adopting paperless processes to automate document workflows. Although banks around the world have invested huge sums in automating their business workflows, yet they still find themselves printing paper for the purpose of obtaining signature approvals. As confidential messages travel across various bank networks, banks need to leverage the PKI Technology. “To address the issue faced by banks, eMudhra offers the solution where messages can be digitally signed at each node and also be encrypted to provide confidentiality. Our emSigner enables Banks to digitally sign hundreds of electronic statements and send them through mail to the customers. It provides complete document management features including audit trail,” adds Srinivasan.

He further briefs that these offerings of eMudhra makes it a one-stop solution provider of digital signature and associated solutions. The solutions of eMudhra are helping consumers make informed decisions, transact securely as well as effortlessly navigate the complex financial and statutory systems. When customers navigate the financial and online statutory systems, they sometimes become the victim of online frauds through phishing, fake emails or even through spy SIM card interceptors. However eMudhra has ensured to get rid of these threats by leveraging and developing in-house PKI technology solutions. “While issuing the digital signature, PKI technology verifies the identity, signature and other details of the person are verified. After a document is digitally signed, if anybody alters the document then signature becomes invalid and so it is safe,” shares Srinivasan.

Digitalization Journey Ahead

PKI’s ability to integrate security with transaction management and its user-friendliness is now at the core of its success and it is expected to increase sharply as mobile devices and IoT proliferate. Srinivasan briefs that with the growth of IoT, it will be vital to authenticate devices and so his R&D team is working on authentication of IoT devices in addition to ways of leveraging blockchain technology.

When it comes to digital signature, he explains that many companies have digital signature technology but they might have not associated products. As eMudhra offers end to end digitalization products, he believes that his company can penetrate into various markets across the globe. “We have already partnered with Mauritius and the Indian government and in the near future we will be selling our products into neighboring countries where we see a lot of potential for growth,” unveils Srinivasan. He envisions gaining strong market position in Asian market and later aims to penetrate in the European and the US market.

Owing to various innovative solutions in India , the company has scaled form ten percent market share to around forty percent market share in 2016 and is confident to grow in the future by offering solutions to other nations. “Digital Signature and PKI Technology is the major transformation area which will change the way companies and banks work and we are well positioned to leverage PKI technology for the better future of our customers,” concludes Srinivasan.