The identity technology industry will help to create more intelligent, connected experiences this year through cloud and mobile access, IoT security and data analytics as organisations use trusted identities as part of their arsenal.

That's according to HID Global, which sees five significant ways identity technology will progress.

HID's senior VP of corporate strategy and business development, Samuel Arsanoj, says the user experience will be redefined by new capabilities, mobile, IoT and cloud.

“Trusted identities will emerge as the fundamental building blocks for organisations to create environments that connect people, places and things,” Arsanoj continues.

The company provides identity solutions for more than two billion ‘things' and operates offices that support more than 100 countries. Here's what they think trusted identities will bring.

Organisations will embrace the benefits of the cloud

1. Increased awareness of the cloud's ease of deployment, flexibility, connectivity options and productivity benefits will escalate adoption. Access control cloud platforms with APIs and SDKs will fuel new software solutions that expand choices for organisations to get the most out of their investments.

Cloud-based card issuance will drive adoption due to its simplicity, security and cost structure, while governments increasingly investigate how printed IDs can be complemented by cloud issued mobile citizen IDs.

2. Cloud authentication and credential management will further integrate mobile devices, tokens, cards and machine-to-machine endpoints. Digital certificates in the IoT will draw upon these trusted cloud services to deliver and manage certificates across thousands of devices.

More connected devices and environments drive focus on securing the IoT  

1. 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 a broader range of things like connected cars and medical devices.

2. 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

1. 2017 was the year mobile access went mainstream and adoption will accelerate even further. Maturity in mobile solutions and integration into other systems, coupled with mobile's ability to enhance user convenience, improve operational efficiency and provide higher security will drive accelerated growth for mobile access and mainstream adoption.

2. Card emulation, the NFC mode most coveted for mobile access control, remains reserved exclusive to Apple Pay; this leaves Bluetooth as the communication standard for cross-platform mobile access support. Still, organisations will invest in readers and other infrastructure that supports NFC and BLE to prepare for future possibilities.

Convergence of physical and digital security

1. The concept of Physical Identity - Access Management (PIAM) will drive convergence of physical and digital security to a single credential, putting identity at the centre of all use cases. Government, finance, energy, other regulated markets will emerge as the forerunners using these solutions for secure access to buildings, email, websites and VPN.

2. New converged identity models that use cloud authentication and mobile devices are also emerging, such as the ability to 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

1. Devices, access control systems, IoT applications, and other solutions connected to the cloud will provide robust data for advanced analytics. Insights from these analytics can be used to optimise workflow solutions and provide more seamless access for end users.

2. Predictive analytics and biometrics will play a crucial role in people-centric security and address employee demands for workplaces to deliver premium, more individualised services. Analytics will also help reduce downtime in the enterprise, spur on factory automation and improve compliance via condition monitoring that is based on real-time location and sensing solutions.