A digital identity is an electronic representation of a person, organization, or device, used for verification and authentication in digital environments. It can range from a simple screen name to a complex, government-issued digital ID linked to real-world data, allowing access to online services and enhancing security by reducing fraud. 

Digital identities enable secure and convenient transactions, streamline access to services like e-government and banking, and support the growth of the digital economy.  

Whether B2B or B2C, every organisation has to contend with the numerous digital identities in their database. 

How organisations manage digital identities can be a strategic differentiator with concrete business benefits. 

So, in this article, we look at the power of digital identity for both B2B and B2C organisations. 

Let's dive in.

What is Digital Identity?

Individuals and organisations are increasingly spending more of their lives online communicating, gaming, shopping, doing financial transactions, etc. There’s an account in every instance of life spent online, also called your digital identity. 

A digital identity is a compilation of information about an individual, organisation, or electronic device that exists in digital data. Parties can have different digital identities in various platforms and communities.

A  digital identity consists of different data attributes, such as:

• Username and password
• Date of birth
• Online activities include transactions, browser search, web visits, dating, career search, etc.
• Social security number
• Driver’s licence number
• Street address, residence, etc.
• Social media data and activities (for businesses and individuals)
• Purchasing behaviour and history
• Ad codes in marketing

Usually, a digital identity is linked to a digital identifier (or multiple identifiers), such as an email address, domain name, URL or even biometrics like fingerprints and eye retina.

Examples

• Mobile Driver's Licenses: A digital version of a physical driver's license stored on a smartphone. 
• Government-issued Digital IDs: Systems like Kenya's Maisha Namba link a digital ID to government databases for unique identification and service access. 
• EU Digital Identity (eID) Wallet: A European system allowing citizens to securely store and share digital documents for accessing public and private services. 

Key Aspects of Digital Identity

• Data Collection: It is a collection of data points, attributes, and activities that identify an entity. 
• Verification and Authentication: Its primary role is to verify that a user is who they claim to be, enabling secure access to digital systems and data. 
• Spectrum of Identity: A digital identity can be completely disconnected from a real-world identity (like a username) or be a secure digital representation of official documents. 
• Applications: Digital identities are used for various purposes, including: 
  • E-commerce and E-government: Accessing online commercial and governmental services. 
  • Digital Banking: Facilitating online financial transactions. 
  • Cross-border Services: Enabling the use of digital documents and services across jurisdictions. 

Importance of Identity Management 

Identity management (ID management) is the process of ensuring individuals or other businesses have the appropriate access and privileges to network systems, customer data and information. 

It includes processes like identification, verification and authentication or authorisation to allow person(s) access to applications etc.

Benefits and uses of digital identity

• Enhanced Security: Reduces the risk of identity theft and fraud in digital interactions. 
• Convenience and Efficiency: Streamlines access to services and reduces reliance on physical documents. 
• Digital Economy Growth: Serves as a foundation for a thriving digital economy by enabling more efficient and secure transactions. 
• Access to Services: Grants access to digital government services, health records, and other crucial online platforms. 

Importance of Identity Management in B2B

• Improved data security. Limit user access using B2B identity verification methods to avoid unauthorised access. 
• Role Management. Define identities with user access privileges to the company’s systems. You can also define multiple access levels and roles for clients.
• Information sharing. Id management in B2B allows individuals to access relevant data and search intelligence promptly and collaborate on that information with the right persons across a network.
• Monitor all users’ activities, in a search intelligence approach, with certain identities and allow user self-service experience.
• B2B account management. View client profiles and manage their accounts by performing varied activities such as account or password resetting, blocking or deleting accounts (e.g. of employees that leave the company), user audit logs, etc.

Importance of Identity Management in B2C

• Protect customer data, as desribed by Google E.E.A.T. B2C identity verification methods such as 2FA/MFA and biometrics helps remove inappropriate access privileges.
• Protect customer privacy and comply with regulations. Reduce business liability to data breaches and protect brand reputation by assuring compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR.
• Improved user experience and increased conversion. A frictionless and unified experience increases customer conversion rates as customers find easy and seamless registration in your site.
• Increase customer retention. Seamless sign-up and sign-out increase customer return rates and engagement. This drives an increase in retention rates.
• Eliminate data silos and data graveyards. Prevent identity and data silos using a single identity database for all the customers and their applications. 

B2B Industries that Should Consider Identity Management

Where is identity management used?

The B2B industries that should consider Identity Management include:

• Banking and Financial Services, including digital payment platforms
• Insurance. To secure all types of identities (consumers, businesses, workforce, and things)
• Healthcare to protect individual data and information
• Telecommunication
• Government and public systems
• Transport
• SaaS (software as a service)
• Marketers and advertisers

Other than the industries mentioned above, the B2C industries that should consider identity management are:

• e-Commerce stores
• Marketing (and digital marketing) companies
• Social media platforms and communities
• SaaS for B2C 
• Video and music streaming industry like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, DSTV, etc.
• Gaming industry. All games are B2C, with B2B now targeting consumers
• Real estate has tenant, mortgage and address data, which, if stolen, can lead to security risks for companies and individuals
• Internet browsers such as Google, Edge, Firefox, and Safari have user profiles, search intent, and browser history

Considerations When Looking for an Identity Management Solution

Selecting an identity management solution isn’t easy. In choosing an ID management solution, you must pay attention to fit with your organisation, its completeness and people issues. 

There are differences in B2B ID solutions vs B2C ID solutions. But there’s also overlap.

The following is a combination of the considerations when looking for a B2B Identity management solution and the considerations when looking for a B2C Identity management solution:

• Compatibility, Identity and Authentication. Ask if the solution supports multiple networks and directories such as LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, and UNIX/Linux, with full synchronisation. 
• Enterprise needs. The businesses’ needs for customer ID management and protection should guide the ID management solution.
• Customer Experience. Enterprises need to meet personalised customer experience (CX) while maintaining data security, privacy, and convenience.
• Fit to Heterogeneous support. The ideal ID management solution should operate smoothly with both in their Web Services app and older legacy systems.
• Process flow. Find out user information you need to verify and whether the solution can help provide and manage them without further investments. 
• Provisioning. Does the solution offer the capability to add, modify, and delete users using a single interface instead of finding multiple tools?
• Access Management. Does the solution integrate with the Identity component’s access to automatically update a change in user identity? For instance, does changing jobs revoke users' access?
•  Administration. An ideal solution should allow users to update their profile settings and information after logging in, such as resetting passwords.
• Scalability. Can the solution scale to larger user counts without sacrificing its performance ability? 
• Audit and reporting. An ideal solution should provide the capability to report on all user identity stores from a central repository or a meta-directory. It should also record all access and identity events for audit purposes.

Key Questions to Ask an Identity Management Service Provider

When evaluating an identity management service provider, you need to ask specific key questions. B2B and B2C have different goals, so they ask different questions. 

Questions to ask a B2B Identity management service provider

• Do you offer an on-premise solution, a cloud-based solution or both (Hybrid)
• Does this solution support a point solution or a full platform?
• Does the solution support various authentication methods?
• What other applications will we need to integrate or support the ID management solution?
• What self-service capabilities can the solution provide to my B2B community?
• Is the solution scalable? Will it be possible to use a federated access approach?
• Can the solution delegate administration to individuals or other businesses?
• How available is the support for the solution?
• Does the solution provide or measure compliance with regulatory authorities? 
• What are the costs of implementing a B2B Identity management solution? How much is this solution? 

Questions to ask a B2C Identity management service provider

In addition to the above questions, here are the key questions to ask a B2C Identity management service provider:

• Does the solution provide or improve web-based single-sign in capability?
• How does the solution manage access for mobile devices?
• What mobile operating systems does the solution support?
• Does the solution provide any pre-authentication risk checks?
• How will the solution impact users' (customer) experience? Is it easy to use?
• How available is the service across the globe? Most B2Cs operate across the globe?
• How much is this solution? What are the costs of implementing a B2C Identity management solution?

Conclusion 

As digital transformation becomes a priority for modern companies and with the COVID-19 pandemic making it urgent, Identity Management needs are increasing. 

Before settling on an ID management solution, you need to take proper review and understand what the solution offers. 

Reach out to BoosSiteSEO for a great approach to digital identity and digital identity strategy.