In today’s real-time, mobile-first world, businesses have digitized almost every touchpoint—except one of the most critical: approvals. Whether it’s onboarding a banking customer, signing off on a procurement contract, or approving patient consent forms in healthcare, the signature step is often the weakest link in the digital chain. Even traditional eSignature platforms haven’t kept up.

Legacy solutions like DocuSign and Adobe Sign were pioneers—but they’re now showing their age. From rigid workflows to escalating costs, they often fail to deliver the speed, intelligence, and flexibility that modern enterprises demand.
Enter the next generation of AI-powered soluitons like Certinal. These new players go beyond simple digital ink. They automate workflows, reduce approval times, integrate deeply with business systems, and do all of this at a significantly lower cost.
This article explores how next-gen eSignatures are reimagining approvals—and why enterprises can’t afford to be stuck with legacy tools.
Legacy eSignatures: Built for Yesterday’s Business
When eSignatures first gained traction, the business world was a different place. DocuSign and Adobe Sign led the way in digitizing paper-based agreements. But their platforms were built for simple, static workflows—a world where a PDF was signed and emailed, and that was the end of it.
Fast forward to today, and that model no longer works.
Modern organizations need dynamic, integrated, and intelligent signature workflows. Whether it’s a multi-step procurement process or customer onboarding with KYC validation, approvals now sit within broader ecosystems of tools, data, and compliance protocols.
Legacy tools struggle to adapt:
- They rely on clunky add-ons or external systems for automation.
- Their UI/UX feels outdated in mobile and app-first contexts.
- They lack true intelligence—no smart routing, tagging, or error prevention.
- Customizations require long implementation cycles or costly upgrades.
The result? Many enterprises are stuck using a “digital signature” that’s barely more efficient than pen and paper.
The Pricing Problem No One Talks About
Beyond functionality, one of the biggest complaints about legacy eSign tools is pricing—and it’s a conversation that needs to happen more openly.
Let’s start with DocuSign pricing. On the surface, it looks simple. But once you start scaling usage across departments or integrating with business systems like Salesforce, SAP, or Workday, costs spike dramatically. API usage comes with strict limits or add-on fees. You might also pay extra for bulk sends, compliance features, advanced analytics, or even basic customer support.
Adobe Sign pricing isn’t much better. While it’s bundled with the Adobe ecosystem, businesses often find themselves paying for capabilities they don’t need—or locked into user tiers that don’t reflect actual usage. And when it comes to integration or scaling across global teams, costs escalate quickly.
The hidden truth? Most legacy eSign tools were designed with small business or legal departments in mind—not large enterprises. Their pricing models are per-user or per-envelope, which punishes growth and creates budgeting headaches.
For enterprises trying to scale digital approvals across multiple geographies, departments, or use cases, this model is not just unsustainable—it’s a barrier to transformation.
What Makes New-Gen eSignatures Different?
Today’s digital approvals demand more than just a signature—they demand intelligence, integration, and speed. That’s exactly what new-gen eSignature platforms offer.
Here’s how they’re different:
1. AI-Native Functionality
AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s at the core of the experience. From auto-tagging fields on uploaded documents to smart error detection and routing based on business logic, AI removes human friction from the process.
2. Built for Scale and Integration
Modern platforms integrate natively with the tools enterprises use daily—CRMs, ERPs, CLMs, HCMs, and more. No expensive middleware or custom dev cycles.
3. Enterprise-Grade Security and Compliance
Support for industry-specific compliance like HIPAA, 21 CFR Part 11, eIDAS, and SOC 2 is built in, not bolted on. New-gen tools offer automated audit trails, tamper-evident sealing, and granular access control.
4. Flexible, Usage-Based Pricing
Say goodbye to per-user or per-envelope pricing. New platforms offer volume-based, pay-as-you-grow models—making it easier to expand usage without breaking the budget.
Certinal: The AI-Native, Enterprise-Ready eSignature Platform
Among these new-generation platforms, Certinal stands out as a leader built from the ground up for enterprise needs. It’s not a repackaged solution—it’s a fundamentally different way to think about digital approvals.
Unlike legacy platforms, Certinal uses AI to orchestrate end-to-end workflows. It’s not just about signing; it’s about automating document prep, routing to the right stakeholders, flagging incomplete submissions, and generating audit-ready logs—without manual effort.
It comes with a no-code form builder, allowing business users to spin up digital forms for onboarding, intake, or internal approvals in minutes. It also features native integrations with key platforms like Salesforce, SAP Ariba, Workday, and Oracle—ensuring zero disruption to your existing ecosystem.
Where legacy providers add extra charges for every API call, seat, or storage expansion, Certinal keeps things transparent with usage-based pricing that scales with your organization, not against it.
Certinal is fully compliant with global regulations like eIDAS, ESIGN, HIPAA, and UETA. Whether you’re operating across the EU, APAC, or North America, you’re covered—without extra complexity.
Certinal vs. Legacy: A Smarter, Scalable Alternative
While DocuSign and Adobe Sign offer basic digital signature capabilities, their platforms come with trade-offs—rigid workflows, steep pricing, and limited automation.
Certinal, in contrast, is:
- Smarter: AI handles routing, field detection, and compliance tagging.
- Faster: End-to-end workflows reduce back-and-forth delays.
- More Affordable: No hidden fees. Transparent, usage-based pricing.
- More Flexible: Integrates natively with your stack. No dev cycles required.
- Built for Enterprise: From global compliance to granular access control, Certinal checks all the boxes for large-scale deployment.
For a business that’s scaling fast and wants intelligent, integrated approvals—not just digitized paperwork—Certinal is the obvious choice.
Real Business Outcomes from Smarter Approvals
It’s not just about features—it’s about what enterprises can achieve:
- 60% Faster Onboarding: Banks using Certinal have cut onboarding time by more than half by eliminating paper trails and delays.
- 40% Lower Operational Costs: Thanks to automation and pricing transparency, enterprises save significantly over legacy tools.
- 50% Shorter Internal Approval Cycles: From HR to legal to procurement, teams move faster with digitized sign-offs.
- Improved Compliance and Customer Trust: Audit-ready workflows and secure storage mean fewer errors and stronger accountability.
The business case for switching is clear—and measurable.
Conclusion: Why It’s Time to Upgrade
Digital transformation doesn’t stop at customer-facing channels. If your approval workflows still rely on outdated tools or legacy eSignatures, you’re leaving speed, savings, and customer satisfaction on the table.
Legacy platforms like DocuSign and Adobe Sign served their time—but they weren’t built for today’s dynamic, AI-first enterprise landscape. Their pricing structures are opaque, their automation is limited, and scaling them can be a logistical nightmare.
Certinal is different. It’s smart, scalable, and affordable—purpose-built to help enterprises streamline approvals across every department and geography.
Whether you’re digitizing patient consent, supplier onboarding, or internal HR approvals, the future of eSignatures is intelligent, flexible, and enterprise-grade.
The future of digital approvals isn’t just paperless—it’s AI-powered. And with Certinal, it’s already here.