HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, has identified the top trends in the identity technology industry for2018. The company points towards increased cloud and mobile access adoption, morefocus on securing the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics as some of the top trends that will take center stage in developing more intelligent, connected experiences this year.
“Trusted identities will emerge this year as the fundamental building blocks for organizations to create environments that connect people, places and things,” said Samuel Asarnoj, Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy & Business Development with HID Global. “The user experience will be redefined by mobile, IoT and cloud technologies and deliver new capabilitiesfor the future.”
HID Global seesfive significant trends in 2018 that will influence how organizations leverage the power of trusted identities.
Organizations embracing the benefits of the cloud
- Increased awareness of thecloud’sease of deployment, flexibility, connectivity optionsand productivity benefitswill escalate adoption. Access control cloud platforms with APIs and SDKs will fuel new software solutions that expand choices for organizations to get the most out of their investments. Cloud-based card issuance will drive adoptiondue to its simplicity, security and cost structure, while governments increasingly investigate how printed IDs can be complemented by cloud-issued mobile citizen IDs.
- Cloud authentication and credential management will further integrate mobile devices, tokens, cards and machine-to-machine endpoints. And digital certificates in the IoT will draw upon the trusted cloud services to deliver and manage certificates across thousands of devices.
More connected devices and environments drive focus on securing the IoT
- Digital certificates will become a core component for adding trust in the IoT by issuing unique digital IDs to printers and encoders, mobile phones, tablets, video cameras and building automation systems, plus abroader range of things like connected cars and medical devices.
- Apple iOS 11 “read” support of NFC will fuel adoption of IoT-based applications such as brand protection, customer loyalty programs and other use cases that will further drive the need to enhance security in the IoT.
Mobile access reaches tipping point for mass market adoption
- 2017 was the year mobileaccess went mainstream and adoption will accelerate even further in 2018. Maturity in mobile solutions and integration into other systems, coupled withmobile’s ability to enhance user convenience, improve operational efficiency and provide higher security will driveaccelerated growth for mobile access and mainstream adoption.
- Card emulation, the NFC mode most coveted for mobile access control, remains reserved exclusiveto Apple Pay; this leaves Bluetooth as the communication standard for cross-platform mobile access support. Still, organizations will invest inreaders and other infrastructurethat supports NFC and BLE to prepare for future possibilities.
Convergence of physical and digital security
- The concept of Physical Identity & Access Management (PIAM) will drive convergence of physical and digital security to a single credential, putting identity at the center of all use cases. Government, finance, energyand other regulated marketswill emerge as the forerunners using these solutions for secure access to buildings, email, websites and VPN.
- New converged identity models that use cloud authentication and mobile devices are also emerging, such as the abilityto verify a person’s presence at a location, mobile IDs that validate physical citizen IDs, and smart cards that authenticate users to enterprise resources.
Data analytics will drive risk-based intelligence for predictive models and new capabilities
- Devices, access control systems, IoT applications and other solutions connected to the cloud will provide robust datafor advanced analytics. Insights from these analytics can be used to optimize workflow solutions and provide more seamless access for end users.
- Predictive analytics and biometrics will play a crucial role in people-centric security and addressemployee demands for workplaces to deliver premium, more individualized services. Analytics will alsohelp reduce downtime in the enterprise, spur factory automation andimprove compliance via condition monitoring that is based on real-time location and sensing solutions.
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