“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
― Alan Cohen 

Today marks the first day of our inaugural Summer Recharge Break at Nitro. This is now a formal company benefit (during the first week of July), along with a Winter Recharge Break which will take place over the first week of January. 

We are keenly aware of the challenges and pressures our team has faced over the past 18 months as the world had to adjust to a new way of living and working, virtually overnight. However, despite challenging circumstances on many fronts, our Nitronauts have gone above and beyond in terms of maintaining amazing productivity and strong engagement throughout. Our team is such an inspiration to me, and a big part of what pushes us forward to continued success is our ability to listen and empathize with one another. As a result, we know that many Nitronauts are feeling some level of burnout right now, especially with the continued blurred lines between work and home life, and a lot of the team still living with ongoing pandemic restrictions and continued unknowns.  

So, from July 1-7, our Nitronauts around the world will be OOO and offline, completely. Our ability to genuinely unplug has a lot to do with the entire company unplugging at the same time, and so we are doing just that, and more. Back in January, we introduced the one-week Winter Recharge Break along with some adhoc, “as needed” Unplug Days, which have undoubtedly been the most appreciated perks we’ve ever introduced.  

These Recharge Weeks are part of a broader wellbeing initiative we’ve amplified over the past year which includes ongoing flexible time off (we encourage Nitronauts to take time off whenever suits), additional access to mental and physical health resources (including ModernHealth, Peptalk, and Aaptive), and revamping our Nitronaut Resource Groups so that our team has the support and a greater sense of community around the things that matter most, particularly in trying times. 

During this Summer Recharge Break, we will have a skeleton team in place to address any urgent customer issues or inquiries. The rest of the company will be back on July 8, hopefully feeling relaxed, reenergized, and ready to tackle the second half of the year.  

Wherever you are, we hope you’re also taking the necessary time to unwind and unplug – the benefits will speak for themselves.  

The post The Importance of Taking Time to Unplug and Recharge appeared first on Nitro Blog.

Today, I’m excited to announce Nitro’s acquisition of PDFpen, the much-loved suite of PDF productivity apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone developed by Smile, Inc. 

When Nitro went public on the ASX in late 2019, I recalled then how much our founding vision — to make document productivity easy, powerful and available to all — would continue to drive us forward in our next chapter. In fact, our mission to help customers along their digital transformation journey has only further solidified over the last 18 months with the revolution in remote and hybrid work, where streamlining and digitizing business processes and workflows is now more important than ever.  

During the pandemic we watched as the usage of our PDF productivity tools soared, with over two billion documents opened in Nitro Pro during 2020. In that same time, Nitro Sign also logged over one million eSignature requests (and counting!) as customers replaced paper and pen with a newer, faster, more cost-effective alternative.  

With the acquisition of PDFpen, we have found the perfect complement and addition to extend the Nitro Productivity Platform to even more customers and users. The PDFpen team has deep roots in developing intuitive, easy-to-use and highly popular apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone users, and we’re thrilled to be adding their expertise to expand Nitro’s core capabilities across those platforms. And, we’re just as excited to welcome the phenomenal PDFpen team to the Nitro family. Together, we share common values, an intense focus on the customer and a relentless passion to transform how the world works with documents. 

For our valued customers and partners, this means getting even more from the Nitro Productivity Platform, and the ability to easily extend PDF productivity to all users natively on Mac, iPhone and iPad devices everywhere.  

As the world continues to embrace new and more efficient ways of working, Nitro will remain hyper-focused on our vision of 100% digital document workflows and powerful productivity for all. In so many ways, and especially as we welcome PDFpen to the Nitro family, we feel like we’re just getting started! 

Sam    

The post Nitro + PDFpen: Extending PDF Productivity to Mac, iPad and iPhone appeared first on Nitro Blog.

At Nitro, diversity isn’t just an objective we work toward. It’s a mission that calls us to embody one of our founding values: Be Good. June is Pride Month, and we’re celebrating by spotlighting some amazing Nitronauts in the LGBTQIA+ community. 

We sat down with Heather Arnold, Julie Gannon, Marcus Connolly, and Chris Kirby to discuss the importance of Pride, their personal experiences, and the future of Pride at work: 

Heather Arnold (They/Them), Business Systems Analyst

“There is a lot more space for more identities and, more folks will continue to find space for them within that community. But, we need to find more ways for inclusion and representation to allow for more people to exist within that community and feel supported.”

Marcus Connolly (He/Him), Deal Desk Team Lead

“We’ve got to realize that without those people in the older generation that took steps to get out of their comfort zone, to protest, riot, and get everything up and running, we would not be where we are today. We are standing on their shoulders, and they gave us the foundation to put everything that we have now in place.”

Julie Gannon (She/Her), Global Manager of SMB & MM Sales 

“The previous generation went through battles for us. And without the sacrifices and the willingness to stand up for what they believed in, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and this opportunity to speak about it, so thank you. To the generation to come, don’t forget.”

Chris Kirby (He/Him), Workplace Operations Coordinator

“You don’t have to lie when you live your truth, and being in this community and in this company allows that, and that’s what is really nice. You’re just yourself.”

The post Celebrating Pride at Nitro: Being Your Authentic Self appeared first on Nitro Blog.

At Nitro, giving back is a key pillar embedded in our culture. We have some great incentives to encourage all Nitronauts to give back when possible, including $500 in donation matching annually and license donation to Charities and Education Providers. But one of the most valuable perks is offering Volunteering Time Off (VTO), which gives each team member five days off every year to volunteer. These days can be used for any cause a Nitronaut is passionate about ― whether it’s giving blood, cleaning beaches, or feeding the homeless.

Our Nitronauts give back in many ways, but we wanted to spotlight one in particular and highlight the amazing work she’s doing during the pandemic. Caroline Doyle is a Senior HR Business Partner based in our Dublin Office. She joined Nitro just over three years ago and has worked with almost everyone across the business.

In the last year, she has managed to balance working remotely during a global pandemic while also ensuring that our Nitronauts experience support and care, even virtually. That caring and supportive nature can be linked back to her previous career as a nurse. Caroline is a qualified nurse in Ireland and worked in many Dublin-based hospitals.

Ireland, like many countries around the world, is working tirelessly to roll out its COVID-19 Vaccination Program. The Irish government put a request out to all qualified medical staff to be available where possible to administer vaccinations, and Caroline kindly put her name forward. She spent her five VTO days in the Aviva Stadium vaccination center working on the front line.

“The Volunteering Time Off offered at Nitro is invaluable, particularly in times of crisis. As a qualified nurse, the ability to step back in to lend a hand when really needed is amazing.” Caroline Doyle, Senior HR Business Partner

As more vaccines roll out around the globe, we look forward to having all our Nitronauts use their VTO and seeing the amazing impact it can make.

Interested in joining our team? Check out all our current openings!

The post Making a Difference: Why We Give Nitronauts Volunteering Time Off appeared first on Nitro Blog.

At Nitro, diversity isn’t just an objective we work toward. It’s a mission that calls us to embody one of our founding values: Be Good. May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, and we’re celebrating by spotlighting some amazing Nitronauts in the AAPI community. 

I sat down with Julie Gannon, Tiffany Farolan, and Eric Salas to discuss what this month means to them and how they’re celebrating: 

Eric Salas, VP of Business Operations & Strategy 

“It’s important we do anything we can do to help broaden people’s perspectives on the whole Asian experience, and that goes for us as well, as there are so many Asian cultures that are represented under umbrella of the AAPI term, and we all have very different experiences, heritages, and backgrounds. [I have] a newfound appreciation around the breadth of that Asian experience.”  

Julie Gannon, Global Manager of SMB & MM Sales 

“For me, the last month has been about holding my shoulders tall, being proud of my heritage, and being more open to talking about it… because people aren’t going to learn unless we’re willing to share.”

Tiffany Farolan, Senior Business Partner 

“This is the year of change, by looking inwards and understanding your roots [we] can help educate people, and ultimately become a better society... Being a member of the AAPI group has been amazing, it’s really connected me with my Filipino roots, and made me think about how I want to be represented as an Asian woman in leadership.” 

The post Honoring Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Nitro appeared first on Nitro Blog.

Shifting to a new enterprise software solution isn’t something most companies enjoy. This is especially true for the IT departments responsible for deploying the software, training employees how to use it, and ensuring its long-term functionality and scalability. But as companies embrace the future of work, it’s more important than ever for organizations to find enterprise software solutions that meet an array of needs — from remote collaboration and eSigning to online payroll and enterprise resource planning. 

Of course, researching enterprise software solutions is a big pain point for IT so it’s critical to know exactly what you’re looking for. As you evaluate who is going to play the role of your digital transformation partner, keep these considerations and questions in mind:

1. Functionality based on digital demand

What do you need your enterprise software solution to do for your organization? Can it function without the need for extensive customization? You should carefully evaluate how the new solution will integrate with existing business processes, and be willing to shift them if doing so will help you gain efficiencies in collaboration, automation, and overall workflow.

2. Ease of use and deployment

An often overlooked but critical component of choosing the right enterprise software solution is its ease of use and deployment. If stakeholders find the transition to new software difficult, they’ll resist prompt adoption. Make sure your new digital transformation partner has a solid change management plan in place that addresses potential stakeholder resistance, needs within the enterprise, and advantages that will stimulate user buy-in. 

Don’t forget to also consider how you might roll out the new solution in a virtual environment. Do you have more employees working remotely than in the office? It’s important to know whether your digital transformation partner can address the access, training, and support needs of the remote office.

3. Scalability

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the world can change at the drop of a hat. Businesses all over the world had to scramble to meet new remote work conditions. Will your enterprise software solution have the longevity and scalability to meet the requirements of unanticipated transitions? Your digital transformation partner shouldn’t just help with short-term issues, they should also have the ability to grow and expand right along with your company. 

4. Total cost of ownership

Total cost of ownership (TCO) is another critical factor to take into account. TCO can represent a major differentiator when evaluating software solutions. While the cost of licensing and implementation is important, you should also look at what long-term gains the software offers. Will it help you save on administrative costs or office expenses like paper and delivery charges? Or maybe it can help minimize repetitive tasks that drain your HR department?

Consider these four factors when you start your search for a new enterprise software solution. They will narrow down your options and help you determine the best fit for your organization’s current and future growth needs. It’s also important to find a digital transformation partner who has the experience and capability to provide your team with training and long-term support. 

The post 4 Things to Consider When Searching for Enterprise Software appeared first on Nitro Blog.

This month at Nitro, we are focusing on mental health and well–being. The last 12 months have proven our health is our wealth and that includes our mental well–being. So often, we base our health solely on physical things, like do I eat right? Or do I do enough exercise? But your mental health is just as important! 

The COVID–19 pandemic has forced many of us to look inward and assess how we are feeling. We are now living with varying degrees of uncertainty, and this has brought about new discussions surrounding self-care and mental health. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a rise in apps such as Headspace and Calm as well as an uptick in meditation, yoga, and everything else in the self-care arena. We have so much amazing content available at our fingertips, all we need to do is find what works best for us!  

Employee experience and well–being are pivotal to all our decisions at Nitro—we want Nitronauts to feel supported in every aspect of their lives. We understand that when it comes to mental health one size does not fit all. To help us navigate the sea of self-care and well-being content, we have recently launched our new Wellbeing+ Program.  

Wellbeing+ ensures that healthcare benefits encompass more than just lowering the cost of medical treatment. It encompasses the body and mind holistically, and for 2021 includes some exciting new apps to help us achieve our well–being goals. We have engaged with several amazing partners on our journey including Modern Health, Peptalk, and Aaptiv. These partner platforms provide diverse ways to look after your mental health and overall well–being, ensuring there is something for everyone.  

At Nitro, we stand over our Be Good value in everything that we do but no more so than in how we constantly review our offerings for our Nitronauts. Our people team is constantly looking for ways to promote and enhance the well-being of our teams and making sure that they are supported to be the best version of themselves – Katie Banks, Senior Director, Global People. 

We acknowledge that Mental Health Month is an opportunity to raise awareness in our workplace and community. This year, Nitro Gives (one of our internal resource groups) has selected some amazing charities to support. These organizations work tirelessly to provide essential Mental Health services and ensure that education and understanding of mental illness remains a priority: 

• Pieta | Preventing Suicide and Self Harm, Ireland 
• National Alliance on Mental Illness, USA 
• Mind, UK  
• Beyond Blue, Australia  
• Mental Health Foundation Alberta, Canada  

This month, we’ll also hear from some amazing speakers including a live session with Psychotherapist & Burn Out Expert Siobhan Murray, and a podcast from U.S. Navy Seal & Resilience Coach, Ben Ives. Additionally, we’ll launch our Workplace Well-being Championships in partnership with Peptalk!  

Be Good is one of Nitro’s core values, and we aim to learn and educate each other on how best we can support one another. We have a culture of openness and no B.S. that extends beyond our roles as colleagues, we are a family here to support and listen!  

The post Mental Health Awareness: How We’re Supporting Our Team appeared first on Nitro Blog.

The term “digital transformation” has been around for a while now but has become more prevalent since the start of the pandemic. When businesses all over the world had to abruptly shift to remote work, the need for digital transformation accelerated rapidly. In fact, a recent report by Accenture found that enterprises are compressing a decade’s worth of digital transformation into just one to two years. The issue is many companies don’t know where to begin or what tools will help them achieve this quickly. 

When it comes to digital transformation, success often depends on having clearly defined goals with productivity tools designed to match them. 

Workplace challenges without document productivity tools 

Your company might already have some document productivity tools in place, but it likely doesn’t have a single solution that meets a variety of needs—and employees may not use the same software or tools.

This means your workplace isn’t as efficient as it could be. Perhaps some of your team members have mastered use of online document sharing while others are still engaging in an arduous process of printing, signing, and scanning. 

Bottom line is: Adding more consistency, standardization, and automation to your workflows will help increase overall  productivity and employee satisfaction.

Advantages of document productivity solutions

Adopting a document productivity solution can offer an array of benefits from organizational agility to substantial cost reductions and greater employee efficiency.

Improve your employee and customer experience

The biggest benefit of adopting an enterprise-wide document productivity solution is, of course, increased employee efficiencies and more streamlined customer processes. Making productivity tools available to everyone in your organization will not only reduce wasted time and resources but give your business faster scalability.

Reduce errors

An all-in-one document productivity tool also minimizes opportunities for errors. It allows you to store all enterprise documents in one place, establish templates for easy document creation, and offer eSigning capabilities to internal team members as well as customers and vendors. The less time your team has to spend looking for documents, printing and scanning, and performing tasks that can easily be automated, the fewer opportunities there are for errors of omission.

Standardize processes

Implementing a document productivity solution that standardizes basic office processes can have a huge impact on employee efficiency and productivity. According to our recent Future of Work report, 35% of workers said an increased focus on documenting and standardizing processes would improve their organization. When everyone is using the same tools and following the same processes, your workflows will become more streamlined and efficient.   

Improve organizational agility

Organizational agility is a critical success factor in our new digital age. As the COVID-19 pandemic quickly demonstrated, enterprises that could quickly adjust processes to accommodate the changing marketplace survived and even thrived during the disruption. 

The right document productivity platform enables your team to work from anywhere at any time, whether in the office or out of it. Plus, they’ll be able to easily collaborate, adjust document templates digitally, and review, edit, and share contracts, agreements, and other critical data quickly and securely. The more seamless and agile your processes are, the more likely your organization can succeed in changing circumstances.

Why Nitro?

We’ve been providing our customers with document productivity solutions for over 15 years so we know a thing or two about what our customers need. Not only are the benefits of our product best-in-class, but we’ve also crafted a team that has thought holistically about the product we offer your business. 

Ongoing training and support

Our Customer Success team provides your enterprise with ongoing training, support, and resources. They are completely  hands-on during the adoption and implementation stages but are also available for future needs as your organization evolves. With support from our team, we will ensure you receive real-time solutions, change management guidance, and resources for a smooth transition to Nitro.

Access robust analytics and reporting tools

Want to know how much paper (and employee time) you’re saving by digitizing workflows? Looking to identify bottlenecks or opportunities to reduce printing across your organization? With Nitro Analytics, you can answer these questions and gain insight into employees’ document workflows and productivity. Nitro Analytics operates on demand, too, and can give you immediate insight into which departments may be resisting new workflow process adoption and which ones are making strides in productivity. 

Affordability

While there are multiple document productivity tools available, the Nitro Productivity Suite provides PDF editing and eSigning capabilities across the entire enterprise workforce at a lower per-seat cost than other options. Our lower price point and attractive licensing model offer enterprises significant cost savings and expanded deployments. Nitro combines the best assets of document solutions — PDF productivity, eSigning, and analytics — into a single platform to which everyone in an organization can have access to. 

The post Why Document Productivity Tools Are a Must for the Digital Workplace appeared first on Nitro Blog.

At Nitro, we are committed to supporting our local and global communities. There are a few different ways we have incorporated this giving thread into our company: by allowing our employees time off to volunteer at places near and dear to them and matching donations. Each month we highlight a cause that Nitronauts are passionate about, and this month we’re excited to celebrate Earth Month.  

In celebration of Earth Month, Nitro is supporting and donating to Oceanic Global, a key environmental organization that encourages us to care deeply for the ocean and provides solutions to protect it. Their manifesto states: “Oceanic Global honors humanity’s essential relationship to our ocean. We empower behavior that protects our ocean’s health and, in turn, our own. We raise awareness for the devasting effects of human consumption on our aquatic ecosystems, and work with leading scientists, conservationists, artists, and industry experts to drive positive change.”  

Oceanic Global partners with both ambassadors and other non-profits to educate and provide positive changes to the state of the world’s oceans. We have also engaged with Peptalk on our journey. Peptalk is a partner platform that provides diverse ways to support Earth Month including stories, live events, and academy sessions for Nitronauts to participate in. 

Sustainability is at Nitro’s core. Our platform reduces the use and waste of paper by allowing customers to edit, collaborate, and sign documents without printing. We are a paperless company, and it is part of our mission to enable all businesses to also become paperless. 

“Over the last year alone, we have witnessed climate change across the globe, from the devastation of the Australian & California wildfires to destructive storms across the Americas and Europe. Businesses have a key role to play in protecting the Earth, not only by accounting for climate impacts in key decisions but by understanding their impact on the environment and setting goals to counter this. At Nitro, sustainability is a key part of both our products and strategy. As a Nitronaut and lover of the outdoors, I’m proud of Nitro’s dedication to promoting environmental responsibility, and the fact that the Nitro platform is making a positive impact on the world.” – Hannah Keen, Global Director of Business Operations & Strategy 

This month, we’re encouraging Nitronauts (and you!) to be aware of how to take care of the planet. Even if you do not have the means to make a financial donation, there are still many ways to make an impact. 

Here are five free and simple environmentally friendly things you can do for the rest of the month: 

1. Pick up trash on the street, at your favorite park, hiking trail, or beach. 

2. Make sure you, your friends & family are R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, recycling. 

3. If you can walk instead of drive to a destination – go for it. 

4. Use a reusable water bottle and/or coffee cup if you have them. 

5. Use a paperless productivity platform like Nitro. (Try it for free!) 

Part of Nitro’s core values is to Be Good. It’s important that we are not only good to each other but also good to the planet. 

The post How Nitro Is Celebrating Earth Month This Year appeared first on Nitro Blog.

Whether you’re frustrated with your current PDF and eSignature solution or looking to adopt 100% digital workflows for the first time, you can plan your digital journey with the new GigaOm report. It examines how the rapid growth of digital workflows delivers on key business initiatives such as cost savings, ROI, and accelerating digital transformation.  

The report evaluates and details the results of real-world tests of three market-leading solutions in the PDF and eSignature space—Adobe®, Nitro, and DocuSign®. Interested in knowing how well each solution stacks up? Download the full report today. 

Below is an overview of the top findings: 

The push towards digital transformation 

Report author and Information Security Analyst, Thom Langford, notes that the pandemic has changed how business gets done in all sectors. Companies that have shifted their internal processes and customer experiences to digital platforms have seen measurable improvements in attaining their business goals, compared to those that are not as agile.  

There are many ways to begin your digital transformation, but enabling end-to-end digital workflows is a good first step — especially when you consider that only 39% of workers feel their document workflows are somewhat up-to-date at best.  

Benefits and challenges of adopting digital document workflows 

Cost savings and improved employee efficiency are clear benefits of making PDF and eSigning tools available more broadly within your organization. According to our research, 55% of workers said better document productivity technology would save them time, and 51% said it would make their jobs easier. Additionally, the significant reduction of operational printing costs will boost your bottom line and sustainability efforts. 

On the other side, there are some challenges with digitization. These are two-fold, adopt and deploy the new software first, and then ensure everyone in the enterprise is trained and capable of using it effectively. Part of the task includes educating teams already accustomed to existing workflows. See how dedicated change management support can help in the full GigaOm report.  

Converting from paper-based processes to streamlined digital workflows is not just a two–dimensional “lift and shift” technology problem. The solution interface must be intuitive, the workflow natural and apparent, and the application superior to the legacy processes it will replace. Find out how to cope with technical debt, organizational and work culture changes, and leverage powerful workplace insights in this free recorded webinar.  

Delivering end-to-end solutions with the industry leaders 

Not all companies are the same, neither are their solutions. The right solution can propel your digital transformation with cost savings and unexplored efficiencies. Use the GigaOm report as a resource for key considerations as you evaluate different technologies. Here’s a breakdown of the three industry-leading PDF productivity and eSignature solutions outlined in the report:  

• DocuSign 
• Adobe Acrobat DC 
• The Nitro Productivity Suite  

Caption: Figure 1: High-Level Capabilities 

The Venn diagram in Figure 1 offers a high-level perspective of the capabilities offered by DocuSign, Acrobat DC, and the Nitro Productivity Suite. By understanding where each product’s capabilities intersect, organizations can better determine how these solutions can meet their needs.  

Democratizing PDF and eSigning tools across entire teams is critical to success. If the chosen solution is only available to a few team members, it will make the rest of the transformation challenging. As IT departments and project managers know, rolling out new software is rarely straightforward. Crucial factors to consider when enabling digital document workflows are environmental impact, customer success, and whether the solution supports change management with specific programs like a pilot.  

It’s also important to know the level of insights available before investing in a digital document solution. With intelligent insights, organizations can set and track benchmarks for feature adoption, monitor deployments and versioning to encourage standardization, and view printer usage to identify where digital workflow training could be most impactful. This knowledge provides organizations visibility into the savings generated by reduced printing and proves ROI.  

Take the next step—start with the right solution

Digital document transformation can be overwhelming, but the right solution can make all the difference. Download the report for a full evaluation of the market-leading solutions and start embracing a digital-first future today.  

To learn more about how Nitro can help your organization make a difference in mission critical areas, contact us.  

The post Digitizing Document Workflows Is a Top Enterprise Priority, Experts Say appeared first on Nitro Blog.