Year in Review: The Industry Speaks, Part 2 – Education and Transformation in Biometrics

The FindBiometrics Year in Review is a massive industry event, collecting the opinions of biometrics industry experts from a wide range of backgrounds. Each year our industry survey checks the industry pulse on the popularity of biometric modalities, the excitement around specific vertical markets, and attitudes toward critical industry issues like privacy, regulation and public perception.

Our 2019 survey collected responses from over 230 industry experts, and our analysis of the results thus far has been enlightening as we set the stage for a new decade of biometrics. To balance out the larger industry discussion, it’s time to take a look at how 2019 was for many of the companies and organizations that participated in the Year in Review.

FindBiometrics reached out to survey respondents, asking for a snapshot of their year, their opinions on industry opportunities, and what we can expect so see from them in 2020. In part two of our multi-part series, we are profiling answers from IBIA, Daon, and Leidos.

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What was IBIA’s biggest accomplishment in 2019?

In 2019 the International Biometrics + Identity Association (IBIA) substantially expanded its advocacy and networking activities with:  the Congress; important stakeholder agencies including TSA, CBP, GAO, DHS and the PCLOB; state and local authorities; the media; and the public at-large through its white papers and commentaries. IBIA has enhanced its position and reputation among these stakeholders as a “go-to” organization for factual, authoritative and credible information and best practices for biometric technology usage.

What is the greatest opportunity facing the biometrics industry?

The greatest opportunity and challenge for IBIA is educating the users, non-users and policy- and law- makers at all levels about the benefits of the technology. Just as critical is the need to address the misconceptions and concerns about this cutting-edge technology.  In 2020 IBIA intends to ramp up its education programs with more podcasts, webinars and publications with factual, authoritative and credible information presented by IBIA and resource speakers.

What does IBIA have in store for 2020?

In addition to delivery of education programs, IBIA will continue to expand its advocacy efforts with stakeholders and will expand its outreach to industries in the commercial sector. Many commercial industries are just now beginning to understand the entire value of biometrics to their businesses. It is not just a technology for security, safeguarding identity and data; it is technology that offers a full range of application value, efficiency, and better quality of service for users. 

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What was Daon’s biggest accomplishment in 2019?

2019 was a transformative year for Daon in terms of accelerating user adoption of our client deployments. In total, we saw a 400 percent increase in the number of user enrollments – in one client’s case, hitting an unworldly 8 million enrollments in only 60 days. IdentityX now powers several of the largest and most successful FIDO deployments in the world. In addition, we announced in 2019 the most significant enhancement to the platform in years – a next-generation Digital Onboarding capability with powerful and inventive new biometric features (like facial watchlists).

What is the greatest opportunity facing the biometrics industry?

We think the greatest opportunity lies in the contact center, which has typically been the most siloed and neglected customer channel, reliant on a painfully slow and unsecure customer experience based on passwords and KBA. As such, it has become a favorite target for fraudsters and bad actors. Over the past year, we’ve seen great demand for (and had great success) bringing contact centers into the seamless identity journey composition – enabling organizations to bring the delight, cost-efficiency and security of online experiences to the contact center. 

What does Daon have in store for 2020?

In 2020, our goal is to deliver seamless continuity across all channels, factors, encounters, and stages of the cradle-to-grave customer lifecycle. This vision, which we call “Trust for Life” hinges on understanding the multiple ways that customers interact with an organization. By creating a single, consistent view of the customer, and then learning and fine-tuning the processes through which they access services, organizations can personalize their customers’ journeys while simultaneously reducing fraud incidents, meeting compliance standards, cutting operating costs and boosting their net promoter scores. Furthermore, as customer expectations continue to evolve, we’re excited to drive public adoption of ever newer and more ingenious biometric factors, channels, and engagement experiences.

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What was Leidos’ biggest accomplishment in 2019?

In October 2019, Leidos was appointed by the UK Home Office to transition, operate and transform critical elements of the UK’s national biometrics systems in support of law enforcement, immigration services and border security. Work will be performed as part of the Home Office Biometrics Programme’s Strategic Central and Bureau Platforms project, which cements the Home Office strategy to digitally transform their biometrics systems through increased performance, capability, security, and resilience to create a world leading biometrics capability across government.

What is the greatest opportunity facing the biometrics industry?

Uses of biometrics could become even more pervasive if the industry is successful in conveying the true security, convenience, and indeed privacy-enhancing potential of the technology.  This can be done if the industry invests more in educating users, policy- and law-makers about the benefits while advocating for best practices, appropriate privacy rules at a national level, and thoughtful legislation that considers future consequences.  

What does Leidos have in store for 2020?

Leidos continues to support a range of biometric, behavioral, and digital identity initiatives across broad customer applications in border security, law enforcement, defense, intelligence, healthcare, and civil government.  In the development of these technologies, Leidos will continue to make the world safer, healthier, and more efficient through insightful combinations of information technology, engineering, and science.

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Stay tuned to FindBiometrics as we continue to highlight the participants of our 17th Annual Year in Review.

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February 10, 2020 – The FindBiometrics Editorial Team