Maximize Your Microsoft 365 Investment for Better Public Sector Outcomes

Governments run on agreements. The U.S. federal government alone processes more than 106 billion forms each year, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

That staggering number reinforces just how critical agreements are to every agency. However, while these forms and agreements drive essential functions, they also represent one of the greatest sources of untapped value for federal agencies. 

Unlocking this potential isn’t just about efficiency - it's about empowering government teams to deliver on their missions with greater speed, precision, and impact. 

Government form data is stuck in the Agreement Trap

From creation to commitment to storage, the lifecycle of each form requires effective management to ensure that obligations are met by all parties involved. Many agencies still rely on manual, inefficient processes and disconnected systems that fail to integrate with their core workflows and systems of record. This fragmentation not only slows down operations but also increases the likelihood of errors, wasted time, and taxpayer dollars. 

Agreements also often contain inaccessible valuable data because it’s locked away in static, flat files. Without the ability to access, analyze, or have visibility into this data, agencies miss out on insights that could enhance decision-making and streamline their operations. We call this the “Agreement Trap.”

Agreements have a tremendous impact on agency performance. Disconnected agreement workflows can delay the lifecycle by an average of two weeks, according to a recent Deloitte and Docusign study. The same study also found that 51% of organizations struggle to meet agreement security and confidentiality requirements.

In addition, 67% of mission leaders say their decision-makers lack access to the data they need to guide their organizations effectively, according to a recent ICF study.  Together, these challenges create significant inefficiencies and delays, making the agreement trap a major source of waste in government operations. 

Solving the Agreement Trap with Microsoft and Docusign

Fortunately, it is possible to break out of the agreement trap by introducing ease, collaboration, and efficiency throughout the entire lifecycle with the Microsoft apps you already use. 

• With Docusign for Word, you can create, edit, and sign documents directly within Word. This streamlined process eliminates switching between applications, saving time and effort. 

• Docusign for Outlook also simplifies the signing process by allowing users to upload documents directly from a new email or reply window. The integration even pre-populates signers from your email messages, making the workflow faster and more intuitive.

• The Docusign for Teams integration enables agreements—like onboarding documents or sales contracts—to be sent for e-signature quickly and easily. Plus, in Teams, users can get real-time updates and automatic reminders to keep everything on track.

Achieving mission success often depends on reducing busy work and improving productivity. By automating repetitive manual tasks, agencies can free up valuable time and resources to focus on what truly matters. For example, Docusign for Power Automate allows you to streamline and connect Docusign eSignature workflows across various applications, including Microsoft Dynamics, SharePoint, Office365, and OneDrive. 

This seamless integration ensures consistency and saves time. Docusign for SharePoint enables users to sign or request signatures on any document stored in a SharePoint document library. With centralized document management, collaboration with employees and vendors becomes more efficient and effective.

Docusign offers connectors for the products mentioned above at Microsoft AppSource that enable our customers to connect to Microsoft’s Government Community Cloud (GCC) environments:

• GCC: Outlook, Word, Dynamics, SharePoint, Teams, and Power Automate

• GCC High: Outlook, Word, Dynamics, and Power Automate

Docusign eSignature provides a secure and trusted platform that enables agencies to operate efficiently while maintaining compliance. It is authorized at FedRAMP Moderate Impact Level and GovRAMP (formerly StateRAMP), and provisionally authorized at DoD IL4.

How the technologies work together

Let’s take the example of filling out an internal system access request form.

By leveraging a Microsoft Power Application as the front-end interface, you can replace outdated, cumbersome PDFs with a user-friendly solution that simplifies form initiation. 

Once the forms are initiated, the process gets even smarter. With Power Automate and the Docusign connector, the system can automatically generate the document, route it to the right individuals, and collect the necessary signatures—whether it’s a CAC signature, PIV Signature, electronic signature, or even a signature on a mobile device. 

When completed, the finalized form is pushed directly into SharePoint, the Dataverse (a data storage and management engine), or another third-party system of record. Whether managing a single form or scaling up to handle multiple forms, this single-application workflow simplifies complexity while maintaining flexibility.

By integrating with familiar Microsoft applications, agencies can simplify the entire form lifecycle. This introduces ease, collaboration, and efficiency at every stage and enhances productivity by enabling teams to focus on mission-critical tasks.

Ultimately, the automation enabled through the Docusign and Microsoft integration is the key to transforming outdated forms and processes into streamlined, modern workflows—unlocking the power of agreements for government.

To learn more, check out our latest brief: Optimize Mission Delivery and Enable Trusted Services with Docusign and Microsoft.