Self-sovereign identity (SSID) – where you
control access to your personal data - has become one of the tech
buzzphrases of recent years, and particularly since COVID.
Discussing the topic at The Phocuswright Conference, Shane
O'Flaherty, global director, travel and hospitality at Microsoft, allayed fears
over the use of that data.
“We're firm believers that you should be
the custodian of your own data; not all tech companies believe that. If I own my own data, essentially you become
kind of your own API, it can then permission people into your worlds and exchange
information with them,” he said.
Joining O'Flaherty on the panel, Vikas Bhola, CEO of NeoKe, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2023, shared a video of
a pilot project using SSID credentials managed by his company along with IATA and Narita and Hong Kong airports.
“We worked together to build a seamless
connected journey where two passengers traveled from Hong Kong to Tokyo without
any physical document check using biometrics and this was done using verifiable
credentials and wallets,” he said. “We were able to actually prove that these standards
operate pretty well.”
Meanwhile, Scotland-based identity solution provider Condatis is taking SSID credentials and using
them to personalize the hotel experience. Gillian Jones, Condatis’ identity and access management lead, said the company is providing real-time personal data
that can be sent to travel operators to make offers.
“Here is my profile, here's
my preferences and I would like you to make me the offers that are most suited
to me at this moment in time,” Jones said.
Much of the discussion focused on the need
for collaboration and standardization and the potential for combining AI with
SSID to enable the benefits of SSID to flow throughout the industry. Watch the full discussion moderated by Phocuswright's senior manager of research and innovation, Mike Coletta.
Executive Panel: A New Identity - SSI Comes of Age