Augmented Identity Firm IDEMIA Launches Microsoft Partnership

IDEMIA has entered a global collaboration with Microsoft, the augmented identity provider announced in a news release.

The company says the partnership is “aimed at delivering next-generation eSIM and connectivity solutions for consumer and M2M/IoT devices.”

The collaboration will meld IDEMIA’s connectivity solutions and industry expertise with Microsoft’s cloud platform to improve eSIM (embedded SIM) support services around the world.

IDEMIA works with more than 500 mobile network operators (MNOs) worldwide to support connectivity through SIM cards, eSIM services for consumer and M2M devices (including smart meters and automobiles, as well as mobile authentication use cases.

This companies say the partnership will allow them to broaden their support for mobile operators by providing solutions with high levels of service availability, geo-redundancy capacities, along with state-of the-art security technologies that boost resilience against DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks.

“Access to secure Connectivity services has never been as critical as it is today,” said Tony Shakib, general manager of Azure IoT at Microsoft.

“Our collaboration with IDEMIA will enable us to equip Mobile Operators with the secure, scalable infrastructure they need to future-proof their business, while offering consumers reliable and innovative services that improve the way they connect.”

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In addition to its connectivity work, IDEMIA also provides security for financial services.

PYMNTS spoke last year with Matthew Cole, executive vice president of IDEMIA’s Digital Business Unit, who said the move away from physical cards to digital alternatives is part a larger evolution.

It’s already happening with various types of credentials such as transit cards and campus access badges, and will eventually happen everywhere, Cole said.

“We’re gradually seeing that digitization of all of the credentials you find in your wallet,” he told PYMNTS. “And that will continue until you see all of the various credentials that are physically in your pocket today, inside a digital wallet. So, you won’t need to carry a physical wallet or even your car keys any longer.”