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Decentralized reusable identity is rapidly shifting from an abstract vision to an urgent business imperative.
In a recent live event, we hosted identity experts James Monaghan and Jamie Smith, co-founders of MISSION, who shared practical strategies to help organizations adopt this technology.
Drawing from their extensive experience in shaping successful digital identity initiatives, they explored why businesses need to act now, how to navigate complex ecosystems, and key implementation considerations around technology, user experience, and ecosystem participation.
Below, we’ve distilled their valuable insights into a structured, actionable summary, providing clarity on exactly how your organization can start building a decentralized reusable identity strategy today.
Understanding Decentralized Reusable Identity
- Definition:
- Decentralized reusable ID enables secure, private identity sharing controlled by individuals.
- Empowers users by allowing them to reuse their verified data across multiple organizations.
- How it Works:
- Issuers (organizations) provide users verified data packaged as Verifiable Credentials.
- Users (Holders) store credentials in Digital ID Wallets.
- Verifiers (Relying Parties) receive and validate credentials from holders.
- Trust is directly between Issuer → Holder → Verifier (new trust model).
Why Decentralized Reusable Identity Matters Now
- Emergence of AI:
- Personal AI agents increase demand for trusted reusable IDs.
- Digital identity necessary for AI-based personal agents to authenticate identity.
- Big Tech Adoption:
- Apple, Google, Samsung launching digital wallets.
- Adoption driven by big tech will reshape consumer expectations.
- Regulatory Pressure:
- EU: eIDAS 2 rollout (300M EU citizens with digital wallets).
- US: Growth of mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs).
- Consumer Frustration:
- Concerns over privacy, data breaches, tracking, repetitive onboarding processes.
- Up to 40% abandonment rate due to onboarding friction.
Identifying the Opportunity
- Key questions to ask:
- Is there a clear user or business problem to solve?
- Could this become an opportunity for empowerment rather than compliance?
- Examples provided:
- Consumer example: Banking KYC reused for onboarding at insurance company (reduces friction).
- Enterprise example: UK healthcare workers repeatedly re-verified causing massive inefficiency (100,000 clinical days wasted/year).
Key Benefits of Decentralized Reusable Identity:
- Portability:
- Enables users to reuse their identity across services.
- User Control (Privacy):
- Users control what they share and with whom.
- Composability:
- Combine data attributes from multiple sources into a single transaction.
- Security & Authenticity:
- Cryptographically signed credentials.
- Increased trust and authenticity across ecosystems.
Ecosystem Mapping & Strategy Development
- Step-by-step ecosystem approach:
- Identify the actors:
- Issuers (e.g., banks, government agencies)
- Holders (individual users)
- Verifiers (businesses needing credentials)
- Conveners (trusted entities connecting all parties, critical role)
- Data Flow Mapping:
- Start from the endpoint of value (verifier) and trace back to issuers.
- Understand which data points are essential at each step.
- Establishing Trust:
- Role of Conveners (trusted entities facilitating ecosystem interactions).
- Importance of shared governance or consortium models.
- Identify the actors:
- Example scenarios detailed:
- Consumer ID reuse in financial services.
- Enterprise healthcare credential portability (UK healthcare worker example).
Implementation Considerations & Decisions
- Three main areas to consider:
- Technology & Standards:
- Standards are important, but complexity is often managed by tech vendors.
- Avoid getting bogged down by technical standards early on.
- User Experience:
- Wallet form factor is important but not urgent initially.
- Future wallet landscape uncertain: dedicated apps vs. embedded experiences.
- Interoperability with existing ecosystems (like EUDI and mDL) is critical.
- Networks & Ecosystems:
- Consider joining existing identity networks or creating a new identity ecosystem.
- Key early decisions are ecosystem participation and role clarity (issuer, verifier, convener).
- Technology & Standards:
Implementation Decisions (When to Focus on What)
- Early (POC stage):
- Identify KPIs clearly (business case focus).
- Clarify key ecosystem roles and user experience.
- Later stage (closer to production):
- Select wallet form factor and precise UX flows.
- Choose ecosystems and standards compatibility carefully.
- Detailed technical choices like DID methods should be postponed until necessary.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid:
- Technology-Centric Thinking:
- Don't start from tech ("tech-first") without clear user value or business outcome.
- Always start from user/business outcomes backward into the tech.
- Overemphasis on Wallets:
- Wallets are tools, not the core strategy.
- Avoid getting stuck debating wallet specifics early.
- Standards complexity:
- Don't get paralyzed by the complexity of standards.
- Use vendors that handle interoperability and standards abstraction.
Practical Advice for Implementation
- Get started now:
- Decentralized identity is not future-gazing; it's imminent.
- Competitors and regulations will compel action sooner than expected.
- Choosing the right partners:
- Demand live demos and proven reference use cases.
- Vendors must demonstrate interoperability with major identity standards (e.g., eIDAS, mDLs).
- Clarify vendor commercial alignment and long-term cost structures early.
- Partnering with Consultancies (like MISSION):
- Engage for audits or education sessions to clarify understanding and internal alignment.
- Work collaboratively to build strategies customized for your organization's maturity.
Impact of AI on Decentralized Identity
- AI undermines traditional identity methods (e.g., deepfakes threatening biometric authenticity).
- Decentralized ID helps mitigate these threats by securely proving identity even in AI-driven contexts.
- Personal AI agents (at the user device) reinforce the need for decentralized, trustworthy digital identities.
Cross-Market Entry Considerations (e.g., India)
- Existing centralized systems (e.g., Aadhaar) are complementary, not blockers.
- Decentralized identity offers complementary enhancements to existing identity infrastructure.
- Opportunities exist around portable data beyond basic government-issued credentials.
Understanding Your Role Clearly
- Organizations will likely be both verifiable credential issuers and verifiers (two-way data exchanges).
- Understand and articulate clearly your organization's role and position in the ecosystem:
- Participant (issuer, verifier, or both).
- Ecosystem convener (leadership role).
Audience Q&A Key Insights
- Decentralized vs. Wallet Strategy:
- Wallets are simply tools, not the main strategy.
- Real value is ecosystem-wide data and trust enablement.
- Multiple Networks & Ecosystems:
- Trust interoperability across networks is vital.
- Networks may specialize by geography or verticals (e.g., employment, education, financial services).
Closing Remarks & Next Steps
- Engage early, as decentralized identity will become mainstream quickly.
- Choose partners that provide demonstrated, interoperable solutions.
- Focus first on solving user and business problems, not on technology complexity.
- Act early to avoid competitive disadvantage.
- Companies should move quickly on developing a decentralized reusable identity strategy.
- Engage knowledgeable partners (MISSION, Dock) to accelerate understanding, strategy definition, and execution.
