Following today’s publication of the Public Accounts Committee report into the Verify digital identity system,

David Bicknell, Principal Analyst in the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on Verify’s future:

“We are now reaching the endgame for the Verify story in the public sector. Things will change after March 2020 when government funding stops. GDS’s future plans for Verify in the private sector may well emerge later this month.

“But however the government sees the market for verifying peoples’ identities developing, there should be no question of Whitehall washing its hands of Verify and lobbing it over the fence into the private sector. Like a child, Verify will still need support and nurturing. The Open Identity Exchange should be expected to play a key role. Meanwhile, GDS must be explicit – and honest – about what it wants from the private sector. Ubiquity and interoperability will be watchwords.”