Feature Company

Interview with Lewis Levey, President and CEO, Computime, Inc.

September 2008

FB

Can you please provide our readers with a brief background of the company?

Computime

Computime, Inc. was founded in 1980 as a distributor of mission critical printers and pcs that marketed to enterprise end users and resellers in Missouri and the contiguous states. In 1990 as a distributor for rugged tablet pc’s made by GRID Computer it learned about capturing a handwritten signature in the context of electronic forms. In 1993 when the first iteration of tablet pc’s lost their market appeal we sold signature pads attached to traditional notebooks as part of field automation applications particular to the insurance industry and photo ID card dealers. In early 1996 we became fulfillment partners for Topaz Systems and sold the printer and pc business in May of 2006. Today Computime, Inc. promotes and distributes Topaz Systems products as our sole focus, with several thousand customers in 92 countries with a majority of those customers’ resellers.

FB

Can you review your Biometric signature product lineup?

Computime

The core Topaz technology is in the capture, binding and verification of a handwritten signature with forensic qualities in the context of any electronic form, document or receipt. This includes both a robust SDK (Sig Plus) that enables rapid application development and the most diverse number of signature pads that yield multiple choices. The software and hardware have numerous patents and patents pending.

The software SDK includes sample code in Active X, JAVA Bean, .Net, and C Library formats (all cross-compatible) with numerous examples, plug in’s and tools. There is compliance with all electronic signature legislation and particular emphasis on California’s version of the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act that specifies if the electronic signature is a handwritten signature the vendor must provide Software Tools to easily put the signature to authentication and repudiation testing. Topaz also provides patented software tools for signature authentication - SigCompare for the real-time visual verification Sig Analyze for the professional document examiner.

On the hardware lineup Topaz provides multiple series of products that are based on either resistive or electromagnetic technology. This permits an ink tip to be inserted in the pen or just a plain stylus. The benefit is that the user can print and sign with ink or simply sign and print only on demand. The Gem series is electro magnetic and ranges from non LCD, to multiple LCD formats, monochrome and color; and standard letter size or Legal size Clip Board formats. The resistive technology based Sig Lite series carries a lower cost and also comes in various non LCD and LCD formats. It carries a one year warranty and the Gem series carries a three year warranty. We also have specialty pads with built in fingerprint readers, Magnetic Striper or card readers and various wireless configurations that support DSSS, Wifi and Bluetooth.

All Topaz pads are supported with a common Software Development Kit that has been developed and supported directly by Topaz beginning in 1996, and continuing as a major ongoing emphasis in the company.

We have been promoting and distributing Topaz products for 14 years.

FB

Has this been a good year for the company?

Computime

Yes. Every year has been better than the year before from both revenue and profitability perspectives. From a standing start in 1993 our signature pad sales have increased year by year. 2006 we did 19M, 2007 25M, and 2008 is projected to be 32M. We are private, productive and profitable. Our market share is dominant in the document centric application space. We are not a major player in the payment or receipt centric space where the signatures are generally simple fax-type bitmaps with a receipt-filing-system emphasis.

FB

What would you say are the key advantages of signature?

Computime

A handwritten signature is the most traditional, popular, and accepted form of authenticating an individual’s identity and self acknowledgement of consent and commitment. The challenge is in using it in an electronic method in such as way to comply with past and current legal tests. Topaz methodology emulates the pen on paper process and is easy to implement (through Sig Plus Software Development Tool Kit) and easy to understand by the legal community and forensic document examiners. The answer in the broader sense is that if the document, form or receipt is created on a computer then it can be signed with Topaz electronic signature technology in its original format. There is no need to not be green. You do not need to print and then scan it in order to sustain all the benefits of electronic means. Since in our case it is a forensic or biometric signature it can be easily bound to the document and pass legal tests that image or bitmap signatures can not.

FB

Which vertical markets are ideal for signature biometrics?

Computime

The Financial services industry that includes banks, credit unions, and brokerage house enrollment; insurance companies for policy enrollment by the customer and financial illustrations by the agent and any document that needs chain of custody and documents cash values are the pioneers and made up the lobby efforts for electronic signature legislation. Enrollment and "sign in" applications for health clubs, voter registration, finger print registration, sign in and out personal property either from private security or public safety organizations. Compliance documents of any kind. Field automation: whether sales contracts for office equipment (Pitney Bowes) or renewal of distribution agreements (RJ Reynolds); or technician visits are both strong application markets. Interestingly, the law requires a signature for only contracts for goods of services that extend for more than a year; any form of Real Estate contract; and a marriage license.

The earliest use of signature pads was the placement of a captured signature on photo ID cards or access control badges but they were also just image files without the forensics. The same pads were then used for Driver’s license purposes. The use of a forensic signature derived from a signature pad was pioneered on tablet pc’s in compliance of FDA requirements of sample drugs being received by doctors from pharmaceutical companies.

FB

Can you also tell us about a typical deployment?

Computime

The process begins with a demo loan of a pad for proof concept. The form is often signed with a plug in for Microsoft Word or an Adobe PDF. This can be done in a few minutes. We have ROI templates that can be used by the end user to make the business case. If done properly a development effort commences with use of our source code examples in either VB script or C++. The IT department often can do a make or buy analysis with a third party vendor familiar with the vaulting, storage and retrieval of electronic forms. Our technology is the easiest for either the end user IT department or third party vendor to deal with as it is the last piece of a very large puzzle.

Once we help in the consultation of what pad to use (based upon the intensity and friendliness of the signing environment as well as a thorough understanding of the demographics of the relying and signing parties not to mention the budget constraints) there normally is a pilot phase of anywhere from 20 to 200 users. This number is a function of the end user organization’s ability to do training and risk containment. The next step is a managed rollout. This can be state by state, branch by branch, quota achievers or non quota. Volunteer sales agents willing to pay for the pad or captive agents versus independent agents. We often provide free training and documentation for the customer help desk prior to transitioning from prototype to pilot to a managed rollout. Also, we are supporting independent third parties in this effort that can range from a local reseller to folks like Unisys, IBM, HP and Dell.

FB

What are some of the challenges you face with this technology?

Computime

In the 1990’s the most frequently asked question was "Is it Legal?" I often wanted to sarcastically reply with "No, we sell illegal technology." This is infrequent today, because the eSign law that went into effect in 2000 and not only provides an instant answer to those concerns, it also spurred the growth of the industry.

Then we have the continuing challenge of educating customers about what truly makes a legally binding electronic signature. There are more alternatives presented out there every day, most of which do not have the techniques, processes, and patents to really protect the customer in the event of a signature dispute. So, we are frequently called upon to differentiate the Topaz techniques from other kinds of signing methods, some of which claim to be more cost effective – like PKI or Voice, but don’t really deliver. On a recurring basis, the cost per signature using Topaz is less than a penny a signature, and is the most cost effective, legally binding method available. In addition, , especially when you consider that all Topaz software, updates and support are provided at no charge - the setup, training, and maintenance costs of the Topaz system are very, very low. Even if you intend to capture only a single signature; you are hundreds of dollars ahead using the Topaz system.

Our sweet spot is therefore low cost per transaction, minimal to no ongoing support or maintenance, while providing the quality of a forensic / biometric electronic signature that provides for true non-repudiation and authentication. This stands in sharp contrast to image or bitmap signatures or other non-signature signatures. If one sells that superiority along with our other features and benefits there is increased value of Topaz pads to the relying party.

On the operations side, Computime perceives the technology to be demand driven and largely insulated from the ups and downs of our economy, which has proven out especially in light of recent economic events. So a challenge is keeping our inventory in tune to demand. We solve this by erring on too much rather than too little. As we add new pads to enforce the benefits of choice for the customer as well as the various options that create more and more SKU’s this requires more and more inventory. Our single focus on Topaz branded products make this easier.

The maintaining of integrity of an ever expanding distribution model is a business challenge rather than a technological one. And related to that distribution channel we are looking for additional products that are not competitive to Topaz that meet the demand of a diversified end user community.

FB

In terms of new product development, what can we expect to see in the near future?

Computime

More applications for wireless products, larger displays, more use of color, and somehow meet the demands of converging markets for payment and identification authentication.

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