The KuppingerCole European Identity and Cloud Conference (EIC) 2024 was a landmark event for Descope, coming on the heels of our official expansion into the EMEA market. The conference, renowned for bringing together thought leaders, innovators, and industry experts from the world of identity, provided an ideal platform for Descope to engage in meaningful discussions about the future of customer identity and access management.
CIAM discussion themes
At EIC 2024, our conversations with attendees revolved around three major themes: user experience, security, and unifying identities.
User and developer experience
When it comes to customer identity, providing users with a seamless experience across their journey is paramount. Making customers create, remember, and manage passwords; filling your user journey with “unhappy flows” like password resets and incorrect logins; adding security controls that add undue friction for real users…organizations that make these missteps often find customers responding with their feet.
That said, it’s also important to properly enable developers so that they spend less time building identity systems and more time building the product they were hired to build.
Attendees were interested in how Descope simplifies user journeys for both developers and end users with our drag-and-drop CIAM platform. We discussed how our visual workflows make it easy for organizations to create and customize seamless user experiences. The focus was on the importance of providing intuitive and frictionless onboarding and self-service processes, which are crucial for retaining users and reducing abandonment rates.
Security
Identity security remains a top priority for organizations, and our interactions at the conference highlighted this concern. Credentials continue to be the most common source of data breaches, with each password leak on the dark web leading to waves of credential stuffing attacks. MFA implementation in many organizations still has room for improvement, whether it’s moving to more secure methods or moving away from “always on” MFA that adds friction.
Attendees were interested to learn how Descope helps developers add security controls in the same visual user journey, including conditional steps to check the risk of login attempts and only triggering MFA when the risk is high. Mature organizations with existing risk identification tools like reCAPTCHA and Traceable were eager to learn how our connectors can help prevent identity fraud.
Unifying identities
“Our organization has complex and disparate customer identity systems.”
We lost count of the number of times we heard the above sentence or something similar. As organizations grow, they take on customer identity tech debt – whether it’s adding new apps, connecting off-the-shelf systems like customer support and LMS portals, or bridging connections across SAML and OIDC.
The need for a unified approach to identity management was a key discussion point. We explored how Descope helps organizations consolidate disparate identity systems, providing a single source of truth for user identities. This unification not only simplifies identity management, but also enhances security and user experience while giving organizations a complete picture of their customer journey.
Identity protocols of the future
One of the highlights of EIC 2024 was a session delivered by our co-founder, Meir Wahnon, titled "Modern Protocols Driving the Future of Customer Identity." The session focused on three key protocols that are shaping the future of CIAM: WebAuthn / FIDO2, OpenID Connect, and FedCM.
WebAuthn / FIDO2: Meir discussed the benefits of WebAuthn and FIDO2 in providing strong, passwordless authentication. These protocols enhance security by eliminating the risks associated with passwords, while also improving user experience with login methods like fingerprints and face scans.
OpenID Connect: The session highlighted how OpenID Connect facilitates seamless integration and interoperability between different identity providers and service providers. This protocol powers single sign-on and other forms of federated authentication, providing a consistent and secure experience across various platforms.
FedCM: Finally, Meir introduced FedCM (Federated Credential Management), a protocol that addresses the challenges of managing federated identities in a privacy-preserving manner. FedCM simplifies the process of federating identities across multiple domains, enhancing both security and user convenience without using any third-party cookies.
Identity Startup of the Year
To cap off the conference, we were thrilled to learn that Descope was awarded the Identity Startup of the Year at EIC 2024. This recognition is a testament to our innovative approach and commitment to excellence in the customer identity space.
Paul Fischer, lead analyst at KuppingerCole, had this to say:
"While some use identity-first as a mere marketing buzzword, others truly understand the nuances of identity behavior, the variations among identities, and the resources they seek to access in modern business. Descope recognizes that expectations around onboarding and self-service have evolved dramatically in recent years, and we at KuppingerCole agree. Customers now demand seamless and personalized onboarding experiences. It is this forward-thinking approach that sets Descope apart, making them this year’s EIC Identity Start-Up of the Year."
Conclusion
EIC 2024 was a remarkable event for Descope, filled with insightful discussions, engaging sessions, and industry recognition that motivates us to go faster and farther. Thank you to everyone who visited us at the conference, attended our sessions, and supported us in winning the Identity Startup of the Year award. We look forward to seeing you at future events or on the Internet!
For more information about Descope and our CIAM solutions, book a demo with our team.
