The passage of the Digital Signature Act of 2000 positions the US certification market for tremendous growth over the next five to ten years according to research from Frost & Sullivan. The Act, which grants electronic signatures on contracts the same legal stature as those that are on paper, will generate significant new business for financial institutions, forecasts the report.
The Frost & Sullivan study, "U.S. Digital Certificate Markets" forecasts industry revenues of $4.9 billion by 2006. This compares to $177 million in 1999.
The acceptance and use of digital certificates by financial institutions is key for its widespread use and deployment, says the research. As executors of trust in transactional business dealings, the financial sector will play a prominent role in promoting digital signature technology to the general public.
"It is a two-fold stimulation for the digital certificate market," says Jason Wright, information security analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "First, millions of people are introduced to the technology that is implemented by this far-reaching industry. Second, many businesses are quickly forced to implement the technology in order to communicate and conduct business with financial institutions."