Introduction
2023 is almost here, and just like every industry, customer IAM leaders have also prepared well to welcome the year by early planning and execution of their priorities.
Whether we talk about innovative ideas to navigate overall business success or the incorporation of cutting-edge technologies to safeguard sensitive customer and employee details, every C-suite executive in the IAM landscape is geared to stay ahead of the curve.
As we approach the next decade, it is worth looking at what technology will bring to the table and how it can impact the realm of intelligent authentication. CIAM solutions are gaining traction as businesses struggle to secure applications, networks, and data against cybercriminals and other external threats.
Let’s quickly look at the top 3 significant priorities of CIAM leaders pertaining to security, user experience, and innovation for scaling overall business growth.
1. Zero Tolerance on Security
The information security landscape is changing — and fast. Most companies working on their data protection architecture for the last decades face new challenges.
And security breaches are a never-ending concern for businesses, no matter their size or sector. There have been cyber attacks that have left companies crippled and millions of dollars in losses. As a result, security concerns have become top of mind for companies and pushed to the forefront.
2022 was a year full of significant breaches and stories on how CIAM companies expose themselves to higher risks due to poor cyber-security strategies. Those who have chosen a priority to work with standards, technologies, and procedures that comprise advanced security factors are still safe. Still, they should be prepared: the attackers are not sleeping anymore.
And the same goes for customer information security and privacy. CIAM leaders are more concerned about customers’ data security and aren’t taking any risks that may lead to a data breach compromising customer identities and sensitive data.
2. The Next Level of Customer Experience
While CIAM leaders were initially concerned about the inability to influence consumer spending, they have focused on impacting the customer experience. The customer is in control, so CIAM leaders are working harder to discover new ways to enrich the consumer experience. As a result, many CIAM organizations worry less about the bottom line and more about brand building and customer experience.
New-age companies are looking to create solutions that deliver a delightful customer experience. User experience (UX) is a critical component in this equation, as the design and delivery of the user experience are highly dependent on content and process management.
The need for CIAM to lead the company in providing such an experience has never been more pertinent than today when customer expectations have reached an all-time high.
3. Retaining Customers and New Customer Acquisition
When growing your business, juggling new customer acquisition and retaining the current ones can be difficult.
New customers are critical to revenue growth, but so is reducing churn from your existing customers. And often, keeping your current customers happy and engaged comes at the cost of time that could have been spent on new customer acquisition.
As a CIAM leader, your business will look different in 10 years than it does today. You have to have a clear vision of where you're headed — even though you may not know exactly how you'll get there. And this is where the focus of new-age CIAM leaders would be in 2023.
Despite being known as a stable and unchanging organization due to its prominence, CIAM has several unaddressed challenges triggered by the changing environment. The traditional internal workings of the organization have resulted in generating problems that CIAM leaders are trying to address and will continue to do so in 2023.
In a Nutshell
The next-gen CIAM leaders need to emphasize a broader spectrum of customer expectations and business goals.
Aside from increasing efforts to secure identity, it is anticipated that customer experience will be the most critical focus for companies that want to thrive in the next ten years.
While leaders will be able to continue streamlining the security and fraud prevention techniques; however, if they cannot apply the same level of efficiency and innovation to deliver a positive user experience, they risk alienating consumers and ultimately losing their loyalty.
