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Microsoft inks digital signature integration deal with DocuSign

Partnership will allow users of the office suite to digitally sign documents from within Microsoft's desktop apps.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
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Microsoft Office 365 users will soon be able to submit and digitally sign documents without leaving Microsoft applications.

The software announced a "long-term strategic partnership" on Monday that will see the integration of DocuSign's eSignature apps with Office 365. Apps that integrate with Outlook, Word, SharePoint Online, and SharePoint Server 2013 are expected to arrive in the Office Store in March, the companies said in a statement.

"This partnership with DocuSign helps our customers keep transactions digital and manage eSignatures seamlessly from within Office 365, where they already communicate, collaborate, and create," John Case, vice president of marketing for Microsoft Office, said in a statement.

Documents digitally signed with DocuSign apps will be stored automatically in Microsoft OneDrive for Business for full control and access. Administrators will be able to add the DocuSign apps to all users from their administrator consoles, while individual users will be able to access apps and Word templates at the Office Store.

The partnership is the latest in a recent string of enhancements Microsoft has made to its suite of office productivity applications. Microsoft announced last week that it would extend multifactor authentication to all Office 365 subscribers in an effort to reduce users' vulnerability to online identity theft. The company announced last November that it planned to introduce message encryption for Office 365, allowing users to send automatically encrypted e-mail to recipients outside of their companies, regardless of the destination.