Why Identity is at the Heart of the IoT

Why Identity is at the Heart of the IoT

Why Identity is at the Heart of the IoT Everything is Connected Cisco recently projected that the Internet of Things (IoT) is a $14 trillion revenue opportunity, while Gartner estimates that, by 2020, there will be 25 billion connected things. 1 Clearly, smart, connected products and the technologies that make them tick are drivers of huge new growth opportunities. However, the full potential of connected devices is only achieved when they are tied to individual identities. In fact, Gartner recently issued a press release entitled: Gartner Says Managing Identities and Access Will Be Critical to the Success of the Internet of Things 2. A well-designed customer identity and access management (ciam) solution unlocks the true capabilities of the IoT by powering dynamic relationships between all of the entities in the IoT ecosystem, whether they are people, things, apps or services. And this is not science-fiction - we are already seeing customer use cases that demonstrate the prodigious potential of the IoT. Let s take a look at some sample use cases, and then dive into the capabilities that customer identity management enables for the IoT. Then, we ll look at the technology infrastructure required to support smart, connected products and, finally, see how identity is the key to connecting every entity in the IoT ecosystem. 1 Gartner, Consider All Cost Elements When Planning for an Internet of Things Initiative 01 July 2015, Federica Troni 2 Gartner, Press Release, February, 2015, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2985717 2

The Power of Identity - Part 1: The Case of the Smart Vending Machine By tying smart vending machines to an intelligent ciam solution, Brand X gains deep insights into how its customers interact with their machines and their brand as a whole, powering engaging, personalized user experiences that extend well beyond the sale. When a customer logs in at one of these machines by using an existing identity from a social network or other pre-verified account, by scanning QR codes on the machines themselves, or by registering for a new account on the spot, she experiences something like this: Cristina is a big fan of a particular kind of candy, so a few months ago she liked it on Facebook. When she logs in to Brand X s smart vending machine using her Facebook credentials at her local movieplex and orders a soft drink, the machine suggests that she also try a brand new flavor of this candy that s just been introduced. Hey Cristina! Looks like you love Yummy Gummies so here s an offer you can t refuse. Buy 5 packs of Yummy Gummies before August 31st, we ll send you A FREE MOVIE TICKET good for any regular showing at MCA Theaters! Buy now > The next day, Cristina receives a promotional email from the same candy brand, offering her a free movie ticket if she buys 5 packs in the next 30 days. ciam also enables operational business benefits by connecting machines monitoring systems to profile and behavioral data, as well as attributes like weather and geography, to promote products, optimize supply chains and better match supply to demand. 3

The Power of Identity - Part 2: The Case of the Smart Connected Appliance Brand Y is a manufacturer of connected appliances that customers can interact with using their smartphones or tablets, optimizing maintenance, time savings, and energy and water conservation, while increasing peace of mind. When married with a well-designed ciam solution, this technology also opens up opportunities for new revenue streams through marketing, as well as operational cost savings. Here s a typical experience for a connected home customer: Don owns a connected washing machine that he can monitor and control from his smartphone. The machine tracks Don s detergent levels based on factors including number of loads and average volume of detergent per load. Since Don s customer profile stores information like his preferred brand of detergent, Brand Y is able to build long-term loyalty by sending text messages to remind him not only when to buy his preferred detergent, but which retailer has the lowest price. The next time Don visits a retailer to purchase an accessory for his appliance, a sales associate welcomes him with a discount toward his preferred detergent as a loyalty reward, and also reminds him of new features available with an upcoming firmware update. 4

How ciam Enables Better User Experiences in Smart, Connected Products Performance Great IoT customer experiences are based on earned trust. In a world of lightning fast search engines, live chats and social broadcasting, customers naturally expect real-time responses from connected devices. They also demand consistently reliable, frictionless performance. To deliver on this expectation, businesses must ensure that their customer identity management solution is highly available and capable of scaling to handle peak loads that can easily swell to millions of users in very short periods of time. Reduced Friction Authentication is a key layer in any IoT technology stack, but you can be certain that as more new products come online, fewer of them will have traditional user interfaces. The user/password model is fast becoming outmoded in favor of new methods such as machineto-machine (M2M) authentication protocols and biometrics. To maximize value, this enhanced authentication experience should be backed by equally frictionless authorization across multiple properties enabled by a unified identity profile for smoother, customized cross-channel experiences. Personalization Connected products tied to individual identities add value for customers by delivering highly personal experiences that are driven by an ongoing, consenting relationship between user, product and brand. In addition to enabling a better experience, this relationship both allows organizations to monitor their products for maintenance and optimal performance and to understand how customers are using them. Ideally, this two-way relationship becomes both the measure and the driver of customer lifetime value, optimizing UI design, product development, marketing initiatives and more. 5

Building the Stack To successfully navigate the world of connected devices, companies must build a new infrastructure to support all of the capabilities these products offer: a multi-layered system known as a technology stack. Customer Identity & Access Management Product Product Software Product Hardware Connectivity Network Communications Product Cloud Smart Product Applications Rules/Analytics Engine Application Platform Product Data Database Third Party API s Internal Business Systems Spanning this entire structure is a customer identity management layer that enables secure API transactions and a repository for customer data, frictionless registration, single sign-on, and simple, flexible integration with third-party apps and services that drive the business top-line. Securing the Stack * adapted from HBR.org Regarding the IoT, Internet Father Dr. Vint Cerf was recently cited as saying: The nightmare headline for me is, 100,000 Refrigerators Attack Bank of America. The biggest challenge will be helping consumers properly configure their systems so only authorized parties have access to that information or control over the devices providing it. -WashingtonExec.com As the universe of smart, connected products balloons in scale and complexity, it is imperative that the customer identity management layer in any IoT technology stack uses appropriate API-based authentication and authorization standards, and is verifiably capable of protecting PII and other first-party customer data at rest, in use, and in motion. Best-of-breed cloud-based ciam solution providers build these security practices into their platforms. 6

For one, cloud technology offers superior performance for connecting multiple APIs in a multi-tenant environment. Extreme operational flexibility is another compelling factor, as is built-in software integration that allows even very large organizations to be more agile and flexible. Finally, with a cloud-based ciam solution, customer and internal data assets remain discrete, so a breach at any point is less likely to significantly impact operations. Entities with Identities Success for IoT entrants depends on defining some new concepts in data management. New to identity management is a recent extension known as the Identity of Things (IDoT). The IDoT is based on the principle that all entities in the IoT ecosystem including people, apps, services and connected things have identities comprised of identifiers and their attributes, and that those identities define relationships between every entity. People Things 155 Apps & Services Relationships Interactions Managing data that flows between people, smart products, and applications and services requires a strategy that unifies every entity in the system, whether actor or asset, so each entity can contribute as either a data generator or data consumer to fulfill business moments. A core requirement for these new, unified systems is an identity management solution that can integrate every entity with unified customer identities and leverage disparate data types at internet scale. 7

Managing identities and access is critical to the success of the Internet of Things (IoT), but in its current form identity and access management (IAM) cannot provide the scale or manage the complexity that the IoT brings to the enterprise, according to Gartner, Inc. 3 This stark reality has given rise to a new breed of identity management solutions, such as Gigya s ciam, with cloud-based architectures that are well-equipped to not only handle the volume, variety and velocity of data that the IoT generates daily, but also convert this data into top-line value. Key Takeaways The IoT will affect every business unit, from IT, to product design and management, to marketing. A well-defined customer identity management strategy is critical to IoT success. Legacy IAM solutions in their current form are not well-suited for handling customer data. A best-of-breed ciam solution is the best choice for IoT infrastructure strategies. 3 Gartner, Press Release, February, 2015, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2985717 8

About Gigya Gigya s Customer Identity Management Platform helps companies build better customer relationships by turning unknown site visitors into known, loyal and engaged customers. With Gigya s technology, businesses increase registrations and identify customers across devices, consolidate data into rich customer profiles, and provide better service, products and experiences by integrating data into marketing and service applications. Gigya s platform was designed from the ground up for social identities, mobile devices, consumer privacy and modern marketing. Gigya provides developers with the APIs they need to easily build and maintain secure and scalable registration, authentication, profile management, data analytics and third-party integrations. More than 700 of the world s leading businesses such as Fox, Forbes, and Verizon rely on Gigya to build identity-driven relationships and to provide scalable, secure Customer Identity Management. For more details about Gigya, visit www.gigya.com or call us at 650.353.7230. The Leader in Customer Identity Management 2015 Gigya, Inc. 2513 Charleston Road #200, Mountain View, CA 94043 T : (650) 353.7230 www.gigya.com Gigya, the Gigya logo, and Customer Identity Management Platform are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Gigya Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Gigya does not own any end user data or maintain any other rights to this data, other than utilizing it to make Gigya s services available to our clients and their end users. Gigya acts as an agent or back-end vendor of its client s website or mobile application, to which the end user of our client granted permissions (if applicable). Gigya facilitates the collection, transfer and storage of end user data solely on behalf of its clients and at its clients direction. For more information, please see Gigya s Privacy Policy, available at http://www.gigya.com/privacy-policy/. Rev: Gigya_WP_Identity_and_IoT_092015