For most of us it’s hard to imagine a life without digital – without a smart phone, a laptop, or endless access to online services. We get a bit grumpy when something can’t be done online (and this coming from a person who goes bush for days without any mobile reception!)

In many ways our digital lives are tightly entangled with our physical lives, even down to very simple actions: Going to the shop? I’ll check online first to see if they’re open. However, there are things about our digital lives that hold us back from what could be and hold us back from better connecting our physical and digital realities. One of those things is the state of identity – proving that we are who we say we are, and knowing that others are who they say they are.

The future we want is only possible when I can choose an identity provider – one that I trust, I want to interact with, and where I retain control. More importantly, the identity provider is going to do all the hard work for me. They are a trusted provider with Government, meaning they can both verify my identity with Government, but can also take requests from other entities and confirm data based on what Government knows about me. They also help join up services between government agencies and other organisations, including between non-government organisations. They enable me to give permission for information-sharing, and choose what I want to share. I must be able to trust them with my data, and trust them to only store what they need to retain. I need to know that my identity provider and the data they hold is safe and secure from threats – both current and emerging.

This trusted identity provider is already integrated with my favourite companies in insurance, banking, and commerce, so I can use the platform to access products and services, while keeping complete control over how much identity information is shared and held. 

So far, you’re probably thinking of this persona I’ve described as a consumer or citizen, but I’m also a business; I’m a supplier to your business and you want to know that the digital me is the same as the physical me. You also want to know that the identity the physical me has claimed is in fact that entity. I might say that I’ve been supplying plumbing parts for 20 years, but I’m only pretending to be Paul the Plumber and really I’m trying to make a quick buck.

The future state is where no matter who I’m interacting with – an organisation I’m doing business with, my kid’s school, a government department, or one of the host of organisations I buy from – that I can do that while protecting my identity and knowing those organisations are protected by using my verified identity. And all of these interactions need to be seamless and easy, because let’s face it, it’s not utopia unless it’s easy.

In the best version of utopia, my insurance company charges me less because their fraud has gone down drastically, I get preferential treatment when booking accommodation because I’ve never trashed a place, and potential employees are 100% certain of what I’m saying about myself. We’ve got slices of this already, but with digital identity we can do so much more easily and with more confidence.

Building the future we desire starts by rebuilding the trusted relationships we once had in small villages, rebuilding those into a globally connected digital world. We all have a part to play in building that future.