Hi, it's Lauren Russin from Ping.
I'm here with Christian.
Christian, do you want to introduce yourself?
Yeah, absolutely.
So I'm Christian Al Singh.
I run digital identity for Accenture across Europe.
Yeah, and I run our Product Management group here at Ping Identity.
Christian and I are here to, you know, I think invite you into our conversation we've been Having fun for a little while, and it's real around how I think we've seen.
The way organizations are looking at consumer data, and it’s really evolved.
I mean, it's now to the point where I think consumers really have no recourse for Protecting the privacy of their data, and it seems, it seems almost kind of an abysmal state.
Yeah, absolutely, I think we're getting to a point where Big Data is almost like the Consumer has become a means to an end.
The consumer has become Become a part of Something bigger, uh, which is effectively supporting big corporations, Making money, supporting advertisers, you know, direct their advertisement, But the consumer has been lost a little bit in this.
Yeah.
I think, you know, consumers expect something.
I mean, they really are kind of at their wits' end, and I remember reading a report or, It was really a survey that The Guardian did, and they said 83% of the consumers really Expected organizations to protect privacy, actually control their data.
And I thought that was kind of an interesting statistic.
Hm.
No, absolutely.
I think, um, I was on a panel For cybersecurity at, at a point in time a while ago.
And I talked about how consumers wanted to have control of their data, and actually somebody Questioned it and said, look, consumers got nothing, they've got no recalls.
Um, what I'm seeing though, what I think is happening at the moment is that we're actually Seeing, we’re seeing that Big Tech and corporations and advertisers and digital Advertisers that they might be getting a bit greedy and, And frankly, the legitimacy of what they're doing is starting to, to, to fall a bit and regulators are starting to see this governments, State governments, and so forth.
So we're seeing a lot of regulation at the moment, which is an attempt to try and counter the, the balance of power there between Corporations and the individuals.
Yeah, no, that makes sense.
I mean, it's almost like, You know, the regulations are signaling to the organizations to say, Hey, you've got to do something about this, and you know, You think about it.
I mean, if organizations continue as is, Don't comply with regulations, you know, really what they're going to lose their consumer trust.
And I think that translates into losing business.
I mean consumers aren’t going to use them, they’ll go to somebody else who actually has their personal data in mind.
Mm.
Yeah, and I think, look, it really opens, like, it starts to open a, An opportunity, right?
And it used to be that it was just, You know, I owe my shareholders a share to make more money.
But, but I think a lot of proactive and progressive organizations have started moving Beyond that and looking, well, what's the impact we have on society, What's the impact we have on our customers, on, you know, On the exposed individuals in society and so forth.
And I do think that there're a number of progressive organizations who are starting to Say, well, actually we need to be a bit on our customers' side on this.
Um, so, so that's definitely something that's happening, it's not everywhere, But it is happening.
You can tell I read a lot of reports and a lot of articles because it's certainly looking for Data to help make some of these decisions, and you know, I remember a report that Forrester did recently and they were talking about some of the top Trends that they were seeing, and enterprises are aware of this issue.
And Forrester said it's roughly 66%.
Many of their consumers now demand some change.
They're demanding that they actually provide some kind of control or, Or at least support some of the regulations for protecting their data.
So I think it is important, uh, but is there things that organizations can do, Do you think?
There's definitely an opportunity for Organizations to start thinking about that customer relationship at every level, Much more holistically.
You know, however much I like lawyers, you can’t just have your compliance people and your Lawyers, um, defining what it looks like from a security and privacy point of view.
You should actually listen to your customers, You should be talking to your customers, Do focus group, read the reports that you mentioned.
Um, so, so absolutely move away from this letter of the law approach and actually try and Figure out what makes a difference to the customers and the, and the psychological experience they have of their interaction with you, With your brand, your website, your channels, and so forth.
Yeah, it’s such a good point.
Well, I think customers or consumers really are Expecting more from these organizations and.
Ping, we put it in simple terms, and if organizations can delight as well as protect Their consumer data, they win.
And so you consider if they were just Protecting, that would satisfy many customers and consumers to say, "My data that I hold." Important, that I think is valuable as being protected.
But we're starting to see some of them say, well, I'm happy if you use my data to create a Delightful experience.
I love that moment where they, It feels like they know me, but more so they know what to protect about me and use that in a Positive way.
So I think that is a good key.
Are you seeing some of the same things, in your experience?
Yeah, I was involved in some, some research for a specific client in the, In the financial services sector, and it was really interesting because, What we were told was they didn't actually mind security; they didn't mind the friction, But they wanted the friction when, when they felt it was very important.
So paying like the first deposit for a, for a house feels very important.
You actually want a lot of checks.
But, you know, moving between channels when you're interacting with your bank, Moving from.
A call center to an app shouldn't be full of Friction because it's a relatively low, low or perceived relatively low-risk action, Right?
So, so organizations can engage in that space.
And I think, I think there's a big opportunity there.
Yeah, no, it, it is.
I, I think being in the identity and access Management business is exciting right now because we see, You know, identity is that cornerstone.
It's really that foundational element that, you know, allows companies to make those choices.
I mean, you set policy and leverage, knowing more about that user and knowing information About that user, too either, as you said, increase the friction.
For those high-value transactions and then reduce the friction when it's not as high value Or it's a lower-risk transaction and, um, it's interesting, you know, It's that if I know you better and I am able to understand what the consumer wants, I can personalize that experience and Identity Management really helps to do that.
I think.
So, Christian, you know, when we look at Identity and access management as that foundation, I mean, How does it apply?
Like, how can we use it, I think, To improve that customer experience, essentially delight and protect them.
And, uh, make sure that organizations are really, you know, Better protecting that consumer data.
That's a, that's a good question.
So from my point of view.
You know, I think too many organizations look at at items and access management as a single sign-on problem.
It's not, it's a, it's a whole customer Experience and a whole customer journey that you need to understand.
And there's definitely, there's definitely a return on investment when you're actually Starting to invest in the user experience.
Um, you start to invest in the, I would say the feedback that a customer gets around security Actions, whether it's step-up authentication, you know, Um, extra authorization for high-profile, uh, transactions and so forth.
Um, but there's also a real tangible benefit that can be achieved in terms of actually Reducing your risk, reducing your, your exposure both to fines, Uh, with GDPR, and similar regulations, but certainly also in the reduction of, of risk of actually being hacked, having scandals, you know, Um, the reputational risk that your organization is, is subject to, um, post a breach, right?
These are very significant challenges that all organizations should take seriously.
Yeah, no, I think it's great.
I mean, it’s really, they're accountable now.
Um, for their consumer data, and I think, you know, we see quite often, You know, in the industry there's almost a social awareness.
It's, you know, Personal Data now isn't just to collect for your own use.
You actually have to.
You know, be accountable, I think, for what, um, you know, That consumer data is used for and really, you know, help protect, You know, their consumers.
I think it's, you know, If they don't, they're going to lose business.
I don't know what you think about that, that notion of accountability.
You know, do you think organizations and really those leaders of those organizations are now Accountable for that data?
Well, I think it's really interesting because accountability and legitimacy, I think they are very, very close to each other.
Legitimacy is sort of the macro, macro view of what an organization should do.
Um, accountability is in every interaction, Are we actually helping our customer?
Uh, our, you know, whether it's a citizen, a customer, whatever it might be, Consumer, are we actually aiding them, but also are we, Are we doing the right thing by them, and that's where accountability comes in.
And I think, you know, for me this is really all about.
Becoming the steward of your customers' data, right, stewardship of customer data is Absolutely where we want to go, um, and like I said, some organizations aren't ready, but the progressive organizations, the, the leaders in, In customer, um, in various customer businesses should absolutely be focusing on this.
Yeah, I love that concept.
I mean, what if Leaders did become the stewards Of that data, you know, how important would that be?
And I think really how much business could it drive for them.
So great concept.
So Krishie, as we talked about identity and access management being really that Foundational element and how it's able to really protect and delight consumers, I mean, it does have an impact on organizations and it really, I think, um, leads into how organizations, you know, Leverage identity and access management to make this user experience better.
What do you think?
Yeah, so I think absolutely there's um, You know, we, we talked about a holistic approach to customers.
Um, from my point of view, think about the customer journey end to end, Think about all the different channels, all the different products they engage with and so Forth, and there's definitely a return on investment.
Um, and there will be a bottom line around that user experience that you can actually achieve.
Identity and Access Management also gives you something very important around risk Reduction, you know, avoidance of, of, uh, significant breaches and the liabilities, But more importantly, around the impact that that getting this wrong can have on your brand.
And your reputation.
We're trying to build long-term relationships with our customers.
Uh, we're trying to build trust with our customers; we're trying to have them connect with our brand, and if our security goes, goes, well, breaks, Um, if that happens, then we've got an issue.
And that's, that's really where the opportunity is, actually becoming the steward of your Customer data, of the security and relevance of the data that you are serving and managing For your customers.
Oh yeah, I considered organizational Leaders now are the stewards of their cus consumer data.
No longer is it just the collectors or harvesters of uh consumer data, But really they're the stewards of it.
That's a great concept.
Well, Christian, this has been a great conversation, you know, I really appreciate it.
I, I think I appreciate all the times you and I Get a chance to talk, um, so until next time, I'll say goodbye.
Brilliant to see you and hopefully we get to see each other face-to-face at some point, Um, in the not too distant future.
Yeah, I hope so too.
