What is the “Anywhere Economy” and What Role Do Electronic Signatures Play In It?

Over the years, the method in which companies conduct business has steadily changed. Technology impacts how we interact and perform certain functions and has essentially increased reach and accelerated growth for many businesses, including with remote working.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it transformed how we work as a society in several significant ways, with many experts believing the change will be permanent.

This brings us to the concept of the “anywhere economy.” While the traditional economy concept has stalled and fluctuated during the pandemic, the anywhere economy has skyrocketed, and it is driving significant changes and decisions for businesses throughout practically every industry.

But what exactly is the anywhere economy? Perhaps more importantly, how do things like electronic signatures support this kind of rapid economic growth and continued business improvement?

Below, we’ll take a deeper dive into this critical post-COVID-19 economic change and explore the vital role that e-signatures play in it.

The anywhere economy is a term used to describe a way of working and doing business that allows goods and services to be provided anywhere and anytime. This isn’t a concept that’s relegated to a particular sector; it’s an approach that concerns all forms of business worldwide.

While the anywhere economy developed out of necessity during 2020’s pandemic, experts believe this more remote and technologically supported method of providing goods and services isn’t going away. In survey results released by Forbes in February of this year, 74% of working professionals stated that remote work would become standard, and a similar 76% of entrepreneurs polled mirrored the same feelings. In a different Forbes report from 2019, it’s expected that by the year 2020, “Two-thirds of all customer experience initiatives will use IT by 2022, a jump from half in 2017.”

Because the anywhere economy represents the idea that business can be conducted anywhere, by anyone, it has provided a way of changing the way we think about work to connect more businesses and consumers together prosperously.

Let’s first consider the number of people working from home; CNBC reports that 1 in 4 Americans will be working remotely by the end of 2021. While many companies made the switch to more remote work in the past year due to the ongoing pandemic, there has been a steady shift in this direction for some time.

To support the continued growth in remote work and consumer solutions, more tech solutions than ever are relied on to help promote remote collaboration and business efforts. These solutions are focused on things like remote communication, joint tasks, scheduling, cybersecurity, cloud storage, eCommerce, and digital document completion through electronic signatures.

In 2020, companies that directly support the ability to conduct business anywhere saw tremendous growth. Zoom sales skyrocketed by 326%, data warehousing company Snowflake saw 124% sales growth, and Etsy was up by 111%. In the electronic signature industry, incredible growth from $1.83 billion to over $2.8 billion was seen with no predicted slow down; by 2026, a 31.0% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected.

The continued presence and expansion of these solutions is what drives the anywhere economy worldwide. In fact, certain aspects simply aren’t even possible without e-signatures.

A dedicated e-signature solution allows companies and clients who are working and communicating remotely to complete transactions, sales, and various business and legal processes through signing a document or other item through their computer. Essentially, the crucial role that e-signatures play within the anywhere economy is the ability to sign most documents from anywhere.

In the post-COVID-19 economy, more businesses than ever have turned to continue the completion of daily tasks by allowing remote working. Electronic signatures have been helpful in this transition as essential business documents can be easily and quickly completed, such as:

But the usefulness of electronic signatures in the anywhere economy and with remote working doesn’t end with internal transactions. Companies and organizations have found that electronic signatures are pivotal in completing essential functions with customers and vendors, such as:

In years such as 2020, many of the everyday processes such as those listed above simply wouldn’t have been able to be completed were it not for digital signatures. E-signatures have genuinely supported the anywhere economy and the continuance thereof with practices such as remote working and electronic services being made easier and more sustainable.

Electronic signatures won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Not only did this form of digital technology help keep businesses running during one of the most challenging economic years in modern history, but they’ve securely cemented themselves as part of the process for the foreseeable future due to their considerable benefits for remote working.

At Foxit eSign, we provide cost-effective, secure, and compliant electronic signature solutions for businesses across all industries working remotely. We pride ourselves on providing the right kind of solution for anyone in the anywhere economy today.

From healthcare providers to education or legal services, our signature solutions help businesses and organizations who are working remotely to quickly and securely complete processes anywhere in the world. Each day, companies choose Foxit eSign as their electronic signature solution because: