The Future of Digital Identity Hinges on the Power of Mobile

One of the greatest challenges for any business offering digital services is ensuring that they can offer their customers a convenient means of identification and authentication.

Yet as number services grow, so too does the probability that consumers will be required to remember an increasing amount of login information. In turn this increases the likelihood forgotten login details and user frustration.

This is being expressed by the high number of users leaving websites when asked to register and abandoning their shopping carts at the moment they are required to log in. It is clear that the fragmented password model cannot accommodate the proliferation of digital services.

Usernames and passwords are designed around the personal computer but mobile is far better suited to facilitate the next standard in identity. In part, this is due to the technological edge mobile has over traditional devices which allows it to support a diversity of intuitive solutions. This, combined with mobile’s ease of use and portability has nurtured a sense of companionship between people and their devices.

Research by Gallup suggests that the mobile phone is becoming increasingly central to people’s lives. Among those surveyed, 72 per cent of people check their phone at least once an hour, with 52 per cent checking their phone more than once an hour.

Additional research by the American pollster found that 46 per cent of U.S smartphone owners can’t imagine life without their phone. One likely reason that people consider their smartphones as integral to their lives is that they believe they are making a positive impact. Overall, 70 per cent of smartphone users say their device has made their life better, including 24 per cent who believe it has made their life a lot better.

While high profile data breaches have made people consider privacy, security and personal data more seriously, mobile usage and people’s trust in mobile remains strong. This bond and the perception that mobile is integral to everyday life, is increasing with the availability of new apps, digital services and IoT solutions.

This is supported by the rising number of cellular connections. According to GSMA Intelligence, there are currently 7.3 billion cellular connections (excluding M2M), which will rise to 8.3 billion by the end of 2020. 47 per cent of these cellular connections are for smartphones, and over the same period, the proportion of smartphone connections will rise to 67 per cent. Increased smartphone adoption is occurring alongside mobile surpassing PCs and laptops for internet usage, a key finding in Mary Meeker’s well known Internet Trends report.

Digital services are increasingly designed primarily for the smartphone – a scalable digital identity solution must also be designed accordingly. The success and expansion of digital services will depend on a streamlined, responsive and convenient identity solution based on device which people trust. The sooner service providers adopt a universal solution that can fully utilise the power of mobile, the sooner we can expect a new generation of digital services.