A new survey by HID, identity and physical security solutions provider, reveals that digital IDs and mobile authentication will propel many more mobile access deployments.

HID’s inaugural State of the Security Industry Report surveyed 2,700 partners, end users, and security and IT personnel across a range of titles and organization sizes representing over 11 industries.

Fintech services and digitalization in government require consumers to provide any form of identification. E-commerce platforms and financial services institutions also need to verify accounts either for account upgrades or security purposes.

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HID Global survey finds increase in demand for mobile-ready access solutions

According to HID, the key drivers of this trend is the rise in the popularity of digital wallets (or e-wallets) with major players Amazon, Apple, and Google.

“Expanded capabilities allow smartphone users, for example, to add keys, IDs, and digital documents directly in the wallet app,” HID said in a media advisory. “These include, but are not limited to, drivers’ licenses in eight states, verifiable COVID-19 vaccination information, employee badges, student IDs and hotel room keys.”

Aside from this trend, the company also found pressing themes reshaping the security industry and these include sustainability, mobile IDs, and a changing workforce.

Biometrics

The survey also saw that commercial real estate companies (40%) are outpacing other verticals as large commercial real estate firms are leveraging mobile access as part of their larger tenant experience apps.

Biometric technologies represent a major break from more conventional means of access control. Using biometrics as an additional authenticating factor, such as biometric scans to verify an individual’s physical identity, can help organizations eliminate unauthorized access and fraud. 

“The importance of this trend is exemplified in the survey data, which shows that 59% of respondents are currently using, planning to implement, or at least testing biometric technologies in the near future,” HID said.

IDaas

The majority (81%) of survey respondents said they are offering a hybrid work model. As an example, 67% of respondents state that multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication are most important to adapting to hybrid and remote work, while 48% point to the importance of mobile and digital IDs.

The survey also revealed almost half of the organizations aren’t quite ready to implement a comprehensive identity “as-a-service” (IDaas) strategy.

End users are increasingly demanding that suppliers provide footprint transparency in terms of their operations, product sourcing and research and development practices, with 87% of respondents stating that sustainability ranks as “important to extremely important.” Mirroring this trend, 76% said they have seen the importance of sustainability increasing for their customers.

To support this growing demand, security teams are leveraging the cloud and the Internet of Things, even more, to optimize processes and reduce resources. Additionally, new products and solutions are being strategically developed to address sensible energy usage, waste reduction and resource optimization.