European Forum of Electronic Signature, which was moved from Międzyzdroje to Szczecin this year.  Why the change in location?

 

Andrzej Dopierała: One could say that we have returned home, because Unizeto Technologies organized its first conferences here in Szczecin. This is the sixteenth edition, and our move to Szczecin is one of many changes linked with Asseco’s acquisition of Unizeto.

 

First of all, it is easier for our foreign participants to find the conference if it is organized in the centre of a large city and not in a seaside resort. Szczecin is uniquely positioned along the east – west and north – south lines. This year we had many guests from Scandinavian countries, and generally, many more participants than during the previous editions – 140 visitors in total and over 30 delegates. At the same time, many more countries were represented. Now we can rightfully claim that our forum really grows in popularity.

 

What has changed in Unizeto since its acquisition by Asseco Data Systems?

 

Asseco bought Unizeto in May 2015. As a consequence of the transaction, in April this year Unizeto was incorporated into the Polish structures of Asseco Data Systems. Despite that, we are still keeping both offices of the former Unizeto in Szczecin. In addition, Certum electronic signature certificates and other data security Certum line products will continue to exist, only their official name will change to “Certum by Asseco”.

 

It is worthwhile to mention that there is only one team focused on the electronic signature and trust service development within the entire Asseco Group which employs over 20 thousand individuals. The corporation has its footprint in 50 countries of the world, but such expertise, competence and product quality is not to be found anywhere else.

 

We have about 250 employees in Szczecin and a small but important team in Koszalin. Apart from the Certum Certificate Centre, we also have a Data Centre with branches in Łódź and Bydgoszcz. There is a Mass Communication Service Centre in Szczecin and another one in Łódź. Many specialists, programmers, analysts and IT engineers who are engaged in almost every line and speciality of the new company, work from the office in Szczecin.

 

What is the future potential of the electronic signature?

 

We believe that it is huge. The purpose of the electronic signature is to improve cooperation.  Today, in order to sign a contract, the representatives of the parties need to meet in person.  In this context, signing a document electronically seems far easier. The electronic signature also is much of an improvement when business and administration meet.

 

That is why we very much hope that trust services will thrive.  e-IDAS - the new regulation of the European Parliament  on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market that comes into effect on  July 01, will surely contribute to popularization of the electronic signature.  Hence, considering that we are the largest Polish and one of the largest European certification centres, our situation is favourable. The only question that remains to be answered is when the new law is to be enacted in Poland. The legislative efforts of the Ministry of Administration and Digitalization are still in progress.

 

Moreover, we are planning to bring CloudSign to the market. Today, in order to place an electronic signature, one needs to have a smart card (like a SIM card) with our certificate on it. The other certificate is in the trust centre. We advocate a departure from the requirement of physically holding a card and a reader for it.  Today, fast and easy solutions that can be available via smartphones are in demand - and CloudSign is our response to that need. CloudSign is currently in the testing phase and we plan to launch it in autumn. Further simplification of the electronic signature technology should additionally foster the business.

 

What is more, Asseco Data Systems being a member of the Asseco capital group, has its footprint in 50 countries of the world, which will give us an opportunity to develop electronic signature business on a global scale.  We have already started negotiations about inclusion of the solutions developed in Szczecin into the offer of our Spanish, Turkish and Russian partners from the Asseco Group.

 

Interviewed by Alicja Kowalska