Converge ICT Solutions promotes e-signature efficiencies with Adobe Acrobat Sign

In today’s world, easy access to the internet is essential for businesses and individuals as they go about their everyday lives. For many people, reliable internet service is taken for granted. But in some countries, like the Philippines, providing dependable, high-speed service can be a challenge.

Installing and managing modern telecommunications infrastructure across the many islands that make up the Philippines requires huge investments. Converge ICT Solutions was founded to do exactly that.

By entrenching a pure fiber network across Luzon Island, home of half the country’s population, and laying undersea cable extensions to the Visayas and Mindanao island regions, Converge has helped the country leapfrog into an era of widely available, high-speed connectivity. Its digital services make a positive impact on the lives of nearly two million residential subscribers and more than 37,000 business customers.

Ulysses C. Naguit, executive vice president and chief information officer at Converge ICT Solutions, is focused on making sure everyone has a good experience with the brand through its internal and external-facing systems. This includes customers as well as employees and prospective new hires.

Simplifying high volumes of e-signatures for HR

Like many Philippine businesses, Converge typically used courier services to shuttle paper documents requiring signature across the islands. The complicated logistics of interisland transportation routinely led to lengthy contracting processes for new business partnerships or bringing on new employees.

Aiming to make the most of the digital infrastructure of Converge, Naguit set out to implement digital workflow solutions that would improve experiences while streamlining operations. With Adobe Acrobat Sign, Naguit and his team introduced an electronic signature and digital document platform to replace inefficient paper contracts and wet ink signatures.

Today, Converge and its Metroworks ICT Construction subsidiary rely on Acrobat Sign to secure electronic signatures on employee contracts and other human resources documents. Automations help route documents for e-signatures in the correct order, track status, and send email reminders to recipients.

“In the past, routing documents often took three weeks or more. With Acrobat Sign, approvers can review and sign within two to three days, even if they are traveling or working remotely,” says Naguit. “We can track the status in real time and automatically remind approvers of their pending signatures using email notifications to expedite turnaround times.”

The procurement and accounting departments use e-signatures to accelerate bidding documentation, payment requests, and purchase requests. Employees particularly appreciate how the streamlined, digitized process speeds up their expense reimbursements.

Staffers also appreciate features that make their jobs easier. The Create a Template tool instantly detects form fields in a PDF, while Fill & Sign enables the team create forms that recipients can easily fill, sign, and submit. Additionally, employees can password-protect sensitive documents before sending for e-signature.

When evaluating alternatives, Naguit and his team noted that Acrobat Sign was more intuitive to use. “We were easily able to configure customized form fields and incorporate company logos,” Naguit says. “During the rollout, Adobe helped us with the setup and training for our users.”

Cost and paper waste savings

The solution has been adopted with enthusiasm across many Converge and Metroworks (A Converge subsidiary) departments. Adoption surged during the pandemic. Today, Naguit and his team continue to promote its use across the business and by affiliates for saving costs, time, and other important resources.

“We save nearly ₱$500,000 annually in printing costs alone using Acrobat Sign,” Naguit says. “At the same time, we reduce the amount of waste generated by paper documents.” The e-signature solution supports the company’s corporate sustainability goals for 2030, which include a target of zero landfill waste and a 75 percent reduction of Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Acrobat Sign allows people to sign documents from anywhere. We’ve been able to eliminate the need to travel to in-person meetings to sign documents, which reduces our carbon emissions,” says Naguit. “It’s more convenient for our employees and a lot better for the planet.”

In the future, Converge and Metroworks may explore integrating the solution with Smartsheet, Microsoft 365, and Salesforce, further boosting productivity by making it easier to manage e-signatures without leaving those platforms. The positive impacts will multiply as Converge further expands operations across the Philippines and overseas.