A Forrester Consulting
Thought Leadership Paper
Commissioned By Adobe
August 2020

How Digital Document
Processes Are Shifting FromBest Practice To Business
Necessity

Table Of Contents
1 Executive Summary
2 2020: A Paradigm Shift For
Workplace Practices
3 Organizations Are Increasingly
Recognizing The Importance Of
Digital Document Processes
6 Digitizing Document Processes
Unlock Business Opportunities
9 Digital Document Capabilities Are
Becoming A Business Necessity
11 Key Recommendations
12 Appendix

Project Director:
Line Larrivaud,Market Impact Consultant
Leon Zhang,
Associate Market Impact
Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s CIO Professionals
research group

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Executive Summary
In just a few short months, a global pandemic has disrupted the way
we work and live. Decision makers at organizations are being forced torethink how they empower their remote workforce and continue to serve
customers. This disruption is causing an acceleration in adoption of digitalcollaboration and productivity technologies, bringing digital document
solutions with capabilities including file sharing, e-signatures, and cloudstorage to the forefront.1

72% of respondents
say that digital
document
processes enable
their organizations
to better maintainbusiness continuity
amidst unforeseen
circumstances.

How can these solutions support an agile workplace during a crisis? And
how can they facilitate recovery? What are the implications for companies
with minimal digital document processes?
Adobe commissioned Forrester Consulting to answer these questions
by evaluating how digital document processes are supporting businessresilience. Forrester conducted an online survey with 450 senior IT andbusiness decision makers based in North America, Western Europe, andAsia Pacific (APAC) with responsibilities for digital document processing attheir organizations. We found that as companies continue to acclimatize
to virtual work en masse, it is increasingly important for employees andcustomers to share, review, sign, and store digital documents virtuallyand securely without the need for hard copies. Once considered a bestpractice, these capabilities are now becoming core functionality, and they
will endure beyond the current crisis to become foundational elementsof both the customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX)moving forward.
KEY FINDINGS“Digital document
technologies allow individuals
to continue working off-sitewhile protecting the content
through secure processing.”
Marketing senior manager,financial service company,
Hong Kong› Digital document processes help organizations maintain businessresilience. Organizations are leveraging their digital document
processes to serve their customers and increase employee productivity
and collaboration while operating remotely. In light of the pandemic,
72% of respondents agree that digital document processes support
business continuity amidst unforeseen circumstances.
› Digitizing document processes reduces business risk and opens uprevenue opportunities. Organizations with digital document processes
in place are better equipped to continue to operate remotely without
interruption. Respondents from those organizations report 10 times
less at-risk customers and two times less at-risk revenue than thosewith companies that do not have these solutions in place. Reaping thebenefits of these solutions even more, 47% of respondents say that it isenabling them to pursue opportunities and gain new customers during
the current crisis.
› Digital document processes are becoming standard practiceand will help improve CX and EX in the long term. New business
imperatives have shifted the perception of digital document processes
from operational tools to true enablers of good CX and EX. In fact,
54% of respondents predict that the benefits of increased employee
collaboration will last beyond the pandemic, and 47% say the same
about increased customer satisfaction.

1 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

2020: A Paradigm Shift For Workplace
Practices
Ensuring business continuity during a global pandemic introduced aparadigm shift for organizations across industries and across the world.
It required new workplace strategies to adjust to the new normal,
which means some practices shifted from ”nice to have” to businessnecessities. As organizations enter the recovery phase, some of thesepractices are here to stay as companies look to embrace a new future ofwork. Our study found that:› The proportion of the workforce working remotely has skyrocketed,
and it will stay that way. Sixty-seven percent of the workforce is
now working remotely on a regular basis.2 That’s up from 20% prepandemic. As expected, remote work will continue to play a significant
role post-pandemic, with respondents anticipating 39% of theirworkforce continuing to work remotely on a regular basis› Organizations are adapting to the surge in remote workers byproviding employees with more collaboration and productivity toolsthat improve document processes. Sixty-four percent of respondents
say their organization has provided employees with technologies toassist or improve remote work, and another 30% say their organization
intends to do so within the next six months. This includes digital
document processes, which half of the respondents (47%) say theirorganizations use today.
› The use of digital document processes span across departments.
Most respondents say their organization uses a mix of paper and digitalprocesses (72%), while organizations that are more digitally mature use
digital processes exclusively (13%). Departments vary widely in theiruse of digital document processes with sales, marketing, and financeemploying it the most, while human resources, operations, and legal
use it to a lesser degree (see Figure 1). Considering the effects of paper
processes becomes more pertinent as decision makers increasingly
see digital document processes as required. For example, HR often
sets the tone for an organization’s EX, yet these departments use themost paper-based processes. This is especially prevalent in the higher
education and life sciences industries where one in four (24%) HR
departments uses fully paper-based processes.3› New challenges are arising during the pandemic. The crisis isbringing significant budget restrictions and adding an extra layer ofcomplexity as respondents perceive greater challenges around training
and change management in a remote work environment. To add,organizations also report regulatory and compliance risks impacting
the deployment of digital document processes. This is despite theregulatory environments that promote and support the use of digital
document processes in many jurisdictions. Increasing awareness of theregulations supporting the deployment of these solutions and weighing
the implications of not deploying these solutions from both a customer
and an employee point of view will help organizations avoid creating
unnecessary barriers to adoption.

2 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

Figure 1“To the best of your knowledge, towhat extent are the following
departments employing digital
documentation tools?”(Displaying “fully digital” answers)
62%

Sales
Marketing

57%

Finance

53%

IT

41%

Legal

39%

Operations

35%

Human
resources

28%

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision
makers based in North America, Europe,and APAC with responsibilities for digital
document processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conductedby Forrester Consulting on behalf of
Adobe, June 2020

Organizations Are Increasingly
Recognizing The Importance Of Digital
Document Processes
In comparison to other digital transformation initiatives, digitizing
document workflows hasn’t necessarily made the top of the priority listin the past. However, the pandemic has shifted how decision makers
view these tools. While they’ve traditionally seen digital workflows
as operational tools with the primary benefit of reducing printing andstorage costs, they now consider them to be strategic imperatives tokeep business moving. Our study found that:› Decision makers increasingly see digital document processes asenablers of good CX and EX. Forty percent of respondents say they linkincreased customer satisfaction and increased employee productivity
during the pandemic with digital document processes, which is up from
28% pre-pandemic. Further, they say they anticipate this will last beyond
the pandemic. Improving employee collaboration (54%) and increasing
customer satisfaction (47%) rank among the top three benefits linked
with digital document processes post-pandemic (see Figure 2).
› The shift to a virtual working environment has emphasized therole digital document processes play in maintaining business
continuity. The pandemic has brought to light the importance offeatures including document sharing, real-time collaboration, workflow
automation, and e-signatures. Seventy-two percent of respondents saythat digital document processes support business continuity amidst
unforeseen circumstances, and 77% of respondents with organizationsin North America say that e-signatures are very important or a criticalrequirement to supporting business resilience.
› Digital document processes are complementing other digital
initiatives, not cannibalizing them. Decision makers now view digital
document initiatives at much higher levels of importance, equal to or
greater than previous leading initiatives such as expanding automation
capabilities, moving to the cloud, and developing agile capabilities (seeFigure 3). Due to the far-reaching business impact and potential forbusiness acceleration of digital document processes, decision makers
now see them as foundational elements required for continuity, agility,
and ongoing resilience.
› Decision makers don’t consider digital document processes
as a “point solution” anymore, but as an integral part of theirorganization’s IT landscape. Sixty-five percent of respondents say
integrating digital document processes with everyday productivity
applications is very important or a critical requirement. Digitizing
workflows holistically with end users in mind is helping organizations
reap all the benefits from their modernization initiatives.

3

77% of respondents
with organizationsin North America
say e-signature isvery important or a
critical requirement
to support businessresiliency.

Figure 2“We’ve listed some of the benefits provided by digital document processes andtools below. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, please select the mostimportant benefits from these solutions to your organization.”(Displaying “pandemic recovery” answers)
Accelerating document processing

55%

Improving employee collaboration

54%

Increasing customer satisfaction

47%

Improving employee productivity andtime savings

45%

Enabling document access, editing, andsharing while working remotely

44%

Reducing printing and storage costs

37%

Ensuring document tracking

36%

Ensuring data security and compliance36%

Maintaining and/or increasing revenue

35%

Increasing document workflow flexibility

33%

Increasing employee engagement

32%

Leveraging data analytics and insights

31%

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, andAPAC with responsibilities for digital document processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe,
June 2020

4

Organizations arereassessing the role ofdigital documentation
processes, fromoperational tools toenablers of good CX
and EX.

Figure 3“In your opinion, how important are each of the below initiatives and technologies in elevating your organization’s digitalmaturity?” (Displaying “very important” and “critical requirement” answers)
70%
Leveraging data analytics and insights

64%
Developing Agile and DevOps capabilities

62%
Migrating to the cloud61%
Adopting digital document processes and tools

59%
Expanding automation capabilities

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 20205

Digitizing Document Processes Unlock
Business Opportunities
The ability to maintain business continuity is dependent on digital
document processes. The more that companies use digital document
processes, the more agile and flexible they are to continue to serve theircustomers. As a result, companies exclusively using digital document
processes are seeing a five times improvement in maintaining business
continuity compared to companies with minimal or no digital document
processes. Our study found that:› Organizations with digital document processes have less businessat risk than other organizations. Respondents from organizations
with digital document processes in place say their companies have 10
times less at-risk customers and two times less at-risk revenue thanrespondents from companies that do not have these solutions in place(see Figure 4).

Respondents fromorganizations withno digital document
processes report 10x
more at-risk customers
and 2x more at-risk
revenue than thosefrom other companies.

Figure 4“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the best of your knowledge, please indicate the percentage of at-risk customer
and at-risk revenue at your organization due to a lack of digital alternatives.”

At-risk customers

At-risk revenue

We mainly use manual and/or paper-based processes andhave implemented minimal/no digital document processes.

44%

51%

We use a mix of paper-based and digital processes andtools for document management.

23%

37%

We mostly use digital document processes, but a number ofour processes still require paper-based or manual steps.

15%

29%

We exclusively use digital document processes.

4%

27%

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 20206

Figure 5“In your opinion, which of the following features provided by digital document processes and tools are the most importantin supporting your organization’s business continuity and agility?”(Displaying a selection of “very important” and “critical requirement” answers)
72% Document sharing
66% Document workflow automation
63% Real-time document collaboration
60% Document signing and approvals (e-signatures)
Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 2020

› Digitizing document processes better positions organizations toserve customers. Features like document sharing, collaboration,
automation, and e-signatures support business continuity by enablingorganizations to serve their customers despite a lack of direct contact(see Figure 5). Companies with minimal digital document processes
are missing a key enabler for serving customers and continuing to
grow. Eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents with organizations that
exclusively use digital documents say these capabilities allow theircompanies to continue serving customers to ensure business continuity
versus only 15% from organizations with minimal digital documents
capabilities. In addition, 47% of respondents with organizations that
exclusively use digital document processes say these solutions enable
their companies to pursue opportunities and gain new customers inlight of the COVID-19 pandemic, versus only 9% from organizations withminimal digital documents capabilities.
› Digital document workflows accelerate business. Manual or paperbased tasks slow processes, therefore they slow business. That isparticularly true during this pandemic as many respondents (56%)
say they see accelerating document processes as one of theirorganization’s biggest challenges to keeping the business running.
Digitizing document workflows is foundational in helping organizations
overcome that obstacle. In fact, 55% of respondents rate accelerating
document processing as the most important benefit coming from thesesolutions post-pandemic.
› Digital document processes boost employee productivity. An
alarming 97% of respondents from organizations with minimal digital
document capabilities are seeing a negative impact from the pandemic
on employee productivity, compared to only 18% of respondents
from more advanced organizations (see Figure 6). Having digital
document processes that support both at-work and work-from-homeenvironments clearly makes a difference in an organization’s ability tomaintain employee productivity.

7 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

Companies that
exclusively use
digital document
processes areseeing 5x more
improvement
in maintaining
business continuity
than companies
with minimal or no
digital document
processes.

› Conducting document processes online improves employee
collaboration and engagement. Research from the Forrester
Employee Experience Index™ (EXi) shows that having an environment
where employees can be productive and get their work done is a key
predictor for employee engagement.4 Digital document processes
play a key role here. Forty-five percent of respondents say that digital
document processes are improving employee productivity, and 64%
say the processes enable effective collaboration for remote workers.
More specifically, the pandemic is accelerating user adoption of
specific features such as document sharing (77%), cloud storage (73%),
mobile access (64%), and e-signatures (58%). These functionalities
are having a direct impact on the quality of EX as one out of two
respondents (45%) link digital document processes with increasing
employee engagement during the pandemic.

Only 18% of respondents from organizations with advanced
digital document capabilities see remote working
negatively impacting employee productivity, vs. 97% fromless-advanced organizations.
Figure 6“Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statement.” (Displaying “agree” and “strongly agree” answers)“The lack of adequate technology and tools is impacting employees' productivity in this virtual workforce
environment.”

97%

72%

22%

Of organizations withminimal/no digital
document processes, andmainly using manual and/or
paper-based processes.

Of organizations using a
mix of paper-based anddigital processes andtools for document
management.

Of organizations mostly
using digital document
processes, but with anumber of processes stillrequiring paper-based or
manual steps.

10%
Of organizations
exclusively using digital
document processes.

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 2020

8 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

Digital Document Capabilities Are
Becoming A Business Necessity
In the wake of the pandemic, online interactions augment — and in many
instances — replace in-person interactions. In response, organizations areaccelerating their adoption and expansion of technologies that facilitate
serving customers virtually and support their distributed workforce. With
these new imperatives, digital capabilities that decision makers once
considered “nice to have” are shifting to become standard protocols.
Our study found that digital document workflows is one of these, playing
a foundational role in enabling mission-critical activities while yielding
benefits across CX and EX.
› Despite global economic uncertainty, expansion of digital document
processes is set to continue. In fact, one out of two respondents saytheir organization is planning to implement or expand its use of thesesolutions in the next 12 months (see Figure 7) and increase spend by
55%. In addition, 58% of respondents say the pandemic has caused
their organization to accelerate adoption of e-signature capabilities.
This is a significant increase at a time when business leaders aretasked with reducing spend.

“We are seeing an accelerationin user adoption of digital
document processes. The key
factor driving it is the needto increase collaboration andkeep projects moving.”
HR Director, advertising andmarketing company,
Germany

Figure 7“What are your company’s plans when it comes to digital document process solutions over the next 12 months?”

36%

35%

17%

Expanding or
upgrading
implementation

Planning to
implement in thenext 12 months

Implemented,
not expanding/
upgrading

3%

3%

3%

Interested but noplan toimplement

Not interested

Decreasing or
removing

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 20209› Companies with minimal digital document processes are also
expanding their capabilities. Among respondents with organizations
that do not consider digitizing document workflows a “standard
protocol” today, 71% report that this attitude is changing. Similarly,
among the respondents from companies that do not consider
e-signatures to be a best practice, 46% say this is now shifting tobecome a standard protocol. The pandemic has unlocked andaccelerated opportunities for these organizations, revealing thebenefits of using fully digital workflows for everything from document
processing to delivering quality EX and CX. The perception at theseorganizations is now evolving, and decision makers are beginning toconsider these solutions as critical/foundational infrastructure required
to conduct day-to-day business.

“When using digital document
processes there is no needfor printing, scanning, or
meeting up in person. This
saves time and improve
employee productivity, but
it also helps us follow social
distancing guidelines.”
IT director, education
institution, US› Digital document processes implemented today will endure to
become part of CX and EX post-pandemic. Sixty-six percent ofrespondents say their organization’s customers want improved
digital alternatives and interactions. A similar number of respondents
recognize that their organization’s employees also want more digitalalternatives to perform their day-to-day work (see Figure 8). Companies
leveraging digital document processes offer more choices to theircustomers and employees, show that decision makers listen to theirneeds, and establish stronger connections.

Figure 8“Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the below statements.”
Agree

Strongly agree

The way organizations handle business continuity will
impact their ability to attract talent in the future.

45%

Our employees and future new hires will want to continue
working remotely more frequently than before.

36%

Our employees are wanting a greater surplus of digitalalternatives.

44%

We will further develop out digital capabilities (e.g.,
eCommerce website, digital banking, digital communication,and events, etc.) to better serve our customers virtually.

38%

Our customers are wanting improved digital alternatives
and interactions.

44%

We will upgrade our technology for workforce continuity(e.g., IT solutions and tools to better support virtual working).

41%

28%

31%

22%

28%

19%

20%

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 2020

10 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

Key Recommendations
The global pandemic is proving the importance of digital document
processes. Forrester’s in-depth survey of 450 senior IT and businessdecision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC yielded
several important recommendations:
Recognize the importance of digital document processes for protecting
business and better serving customers. Organizations must recognize
the value that digital document processes provide in underpinningtheir business resilience efforts and understand their contributions
to full digital maturity. In this respect, digital document processes arefoundational tools that are cost-effective and quick to implement,
whereas more complex digitization initiatives take some time to provide
benefits.
Remember that digital document processes are as valuable in thefront office as they are in back office. Failing to digitize both front- andback-office departments and processes will erode the benefits of thesesolutions. Organizations should seize the opportunity now and identify
key use cases in every department that slow or delay business value due
to manual or paper-based steps. Applying digital document solutions
to enable collaboration, sharing, e-signing, and cloud storage brings
immediate benefits.
Digital document solutions are sound investments that address both
immediate and long-term needs. Given current uncertainties, technology
leaders must be cognizant of their company’s situation, revenue outlook,and resources as they adjust budgets during the pandemic. They must
look to prioritize projects, processes, and technologies that focus on
business resilience or new ways of working. Digital document processing
solutions address both these elements, which makes continued investmentin these capabilities a sound choice during these challenging times.
Ramp up digital workplace skills. Business and technology leaders musttake a human-centric approach when digitizing document processes.
They should support change management with innovative rollout
and training programs adapted to remote working in order to assist
their workforce and their customers and to become more fluent withsharing documents, using e-signatures, and working in collaborativeenvironments.

11 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To
Business Necessity

Appendix A: Methodology
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in
North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document processing at their organization to
explore how digital document processes are supporting business continuity. The study began in May 2020 and
was completed in June 2020.

Appendix B: Demographics
COMPANY SIZE
20,000 or more employees (global 2,000)

9%5,000 to 19,999 employees (very large)

23%

1,000 to 4,999 employees (large)

40%

500 to 999 employees (medium to large)

17%

100 to 499 employees (small to medium)8%

2 to 99 employees (small)

3%

INDUSTRIES
Other
20%
State government
9%Life sciences
20%
RESPONDENT DEPARTMENT
Finance/accounting
Human resources/training

15%
9%

IT

32%

Financial services and/or insurance
20%
Local or national government
11%
Higher education
20%
GEOGRAPHIES
Australia

8%

Hong Kong

11%

India

11%

Marketing/advertising

12%

Indonesia

2%

Operations

15%

Malaysia

2%

APAC:
200 respondents (44%)

Sales

5%

New Zealand

3%

Legal

6%

Singapore4%

Product development and technology

6%

Thailand2%

France6%Germany

11%

United Kingdom

11%

CanadaUnited States

6%
22%

Western Europe:
125 respondents (28%)
North America:
125 respondents (28%)

Base: 450 senior IT and business decision makers based in North America, Europe, and APAC with responsibilities for digital document
processing at their organization
Note: Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, June 2020

12 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity

Appendix C: Supplemental Material
RELATED COMMISSIONED RESEARCH“Digital Document Processes In 2020: A Spotlight On APAC,” a commissioned study conducted by Forrester
Consulting on behalf of Adobe, August 2020.
“Digital Document Processes In 2020: A Spotlight On Western Europe,” a commissioned study conducted byForrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, August 2020.
“Digital Document Processes In 2020: A Spotlight On Financial Services,” a commissioned study conducted byForrester Consulting on behalf of Adobe, August 2020.
“Digital Document Processes In 2020: A Spotlight On E-Signatures,” a commissioned study conducted by Forrester
Consulting on behalf of Adobe, August 2020.
RELATED FORRESTER RESEARCH“Center Your COVID-19 Recovery Planning Around Employee Understanding,” Forrester Research, Inc., June 17, 2020.
“The Pandemic Recession Demands A Digital Response,” Forrester Research, Inc., June 25, 2020.
“Your Automation Psychology And Roadmap Just Shifted Gears,” Forrester Research, Inc., May 29, 2020.

Appendix D: Endnotes
1

Digital document solutions include any processes, workflows, or platforms to manage the creation, collaboration,
distribution, and storage of digital documents and records within the guardrails of corporate policies. This
includes solutions that allow for reading, editing, signing, and sharing of PDFs and other documents.

2

Working remotely: Workforce (e.g., home worker, teams split geographically, etc.) working remotely on a regularbasis (e.g., at least once a week).

3

For instance, 20% of life sciences clinical trial enrolment processes, 19% of higher education enrolment andadmissions forms, and 18% of higher education faculty and staff contracts are fully paper-based.

4

Source: “Introducing Forrester’s Employee Experience Index,” Forrester Research, Inc., February 14, 2019.

13 | How Digital Document Processes Are Shifting From Best Practice To Business Necessity