Commissioned by Auth0
1 Introduction
For more than two decades, business has become increasingly digital. It is in the nature of all digital services that they interface between consumers and businesses. A cornerstone of this relationship is when the consumer eventually becomes an identified individual: i.e. a digital customer.
At this point, businesses are challenged to verify the identity of their customers-to-be, and to implement a registration process without losing the consumer on their way to becoming a (hopefully paying) customer.
The main reason that businesses end up with complex and cumbersome customer journeys across their various apps and services, is the lack of standardized identity management solutions that can be easily utilized by development teams. If developers need to “invent” the registration process when building a digital service, or if they have to work out how to combine a necessary process with a good customer journey, the results will rarely be perfect.
To simplify this process, businesses turn to standardized identity management solutions. Such service layers and systems are commonly referred to as Identity Platforms or Identity API Platforms. API stands for Application Programming Interface, i.e. the technical interface a developer can use to call core services such as those required for authentication of users, registration, or other tasks related to managing identity and the customer journey.
While core services are not limited to identity management, Identity API Platforms are a cornerstone for the efficient and rapid delivery of digital services. Identity API Platforms combine IAM, CIAM, and IDaaS capabilities and make them available via APIs.
The resulting benefits of relying on an Identity API Platform are apparent: they allow for efficient implementation and re-use of identity services across all the various digital platforms and services an organization is creating. Due to their developer-friendliness, they are easy to understand and utilize for digital services.
Because identity is at the center of the relationship between individuals and businesses, doing identity right is critical to success. An Identity API Platform must become part of the IT strategy of an organization, which unifies authentication of customers and other entities. Just using identity as a point solution, in a 1:1 relationship to a digital service is not good enough. The full value will only be achieved when all digital services use the same identity platform.
Auth0 counts amongst the leading providers of Identity API Platforms with offices in Bellevue, WA (U.S.), London, Buenos Aires, Sydney, and Tokyo. Founded by two Microsoft veterans, Auth0 is pioneering API-driven identity services, and can support a range of IAM use cases including CIAM, B2B, and B2E. Auth0 is well-positioned to become the identity platform for digital applications, for any type of organization.
