Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. has reportedly announced developing an electronic signature, called Hitachi Electronic Signature Service, that is based on blockchain technology. The service, which incorporates secure electronic contracts, is anticipated to digitize the seals and signatures of important paper documents, thereby looking forward to eliminating the need for personal seals.
The use of blockchain technology is likely to guarantee the authenticity of signature data and enhance the resistance to data tempering. It has been speculated that the electronic signature service delivers stable system operation by making use of the Hitachi Blockchain Service for its blockchain platform for Hyperledger Fabric.
Furthermore, it is also deemed suitable for transaction between numerous corporations and has been majorly used in inter-company supply chains for traceability systems.
According to credible reports, the company had already commenced operation of the service at its procurement department at its head office this month. Besides, a source close of the company has cited that Hitachi is all set to launch sales to corporations in Japan after July. Moreover, it also plans to roll out the service to global corporation with a major focus being laid on North America.
How will this service work? When a user signs a document in the Hitachi service, time stamp information and hash information for the digital data are recorded in the blockchain. The information in the blockchain is considered to be highly resistant to tempering, and compared to the use of traditional relational databases, the validity of the data is enhanced.
It would be essential to note that the electronic signature service provides a function for central document management that imports inked documents by connecting to other electronic contract services through an API that facilitates information exchange among different enterprises. Reports have it that the connected services would be further expanded in future.