NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) is leading a "call to action" and responding with
blockchain and biometric technologies to support ID2020, a global
public-private partnership dedicated to solving the challenges of
identity faced by more than 1.1 billion people around the world.
Approximately one-sixth of the world's population cannot participate in
cultural, political, economic and social life because they lack the most
basic information: documented proof of their existence. Establishing
identity is critical to accessing a wide range of activities, including
education, healthcare, voting, banking, mobile communications, housing,
and family and childcare benefits. The goal of ID2020
is to make digital identity a reality through a technology-forward
approach that will leverage secure and well-established systems.
Accenture, in ACN partnership with Microsoft and Avanade, has developed an
identity prototype based on blockchain technology - a type of database
system that enables multiple parties to share access to the same data
with an extremely high level of confidence and security.
The prototype, which builds on Accenture's capabilities in blockchain
and its experience developing and deploying large-scale biometric
systems, runs on Microsoft Azure, the company's cloud platform that
offers global scale, flexibility and security. The prototype is designed
to empower individuals with direct consent over who has access to their
personal information, and when to release and share data. It is a
sophisticated decentralized, or "distributed," database architecture,
maintained by multiple, trusted parties on the blockchain, eliminating
the need for a central authority. The prototype does not store any
personally identifiable information, instead tapping into existing
"off-chain" systems when the individual user grants access. Accenture
and Microsoft - founding alliance partners of ID2020 who have pledged
financial and technology resources - demonstrated the prototype today at
the ID2020 Summit at the U.N.
"People without a documented identity suffer by being excluded from
modern society," said David Treat, a managing director in Accenture's
global blockchain business. "Our prototype is personal, private and
portable, empowering individuals to access and share appropriate
information when convenient and without the worry of using or losing
paper documentation."
How it works
The Accenture prototype is designed to interoperate with existing
identity systems so that personally identifiable information always
resides "off chain." It aligns to principles of the Decentralized
Identity Foundation, of which Microsoft is a founding member, and uses
the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance's private, or "permissioned,"
blockchain protocol.
To solve problems faced by people who lack official identities face,
Accenture will leverage its Unique Identity Service Platform to deploy a
breakthrough biometrics system that can manage fingerprints, iris and
other data. For example, the technology can provide undocumented
refugees with ACN a steadfast personal identity record, ensuring that they
can receive assistance where and when they need it. The Accenture
Platform is the heart of the Biometric Identity Management System
currently used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
which has enrolled more than 1.3 million refugees in 29 countries across
Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The system is expected to support more
than 7 million refugees from 75 countries by 2020.
"We believe that identity is one of the most important needs in
international development and an area where Microsoft and the private
sector are uniquely positioned to contribute," said Yorke Rhodes, global
business strategist at Microsoft. "We are thrilled to work with
Accenture and bring Microsoft Azure's global scale, flexibility and
security to support ID2020 and make progress on this critical societal
need."
The prototype project was led by the multi-disciplinary team at The
Dock, Accenture's new research and incubation hub in Ireland. A team of
designers, software engineers and experts in blockchain worked to bring
the idea to life.
"This is a great example of design and technology coming together to
address the challenges facing so many vulnerable individuals in our
society today," said Lorna Ross, group director, Accenture's Fjord
Design Studio at The Dock. "We hope that this work will galvanize
efforts globally towards a solution that guarantees the right to an
identity for the invisible everywhere."
The ID2020 consortium brings together governments, NGOs, technologists
and experts from the public and private sectors to ensure that the best
technological innovations are implemented in ways that are scalable,
secure and sustainable. Accenture had an integral role in a similar
program, serving as a founding company and the consulting partner for
the Partnership for Refugees, providing pro bono strategic consulting,
project management and digital services. The Partnership helped more
than 50 corporations better understand refugees' needs to develop
effective responses across three impact areas: education, employment and
enablement.
"One of our goals at Accenture is to improve how the world works and
lives by digital technologies to solve some of our most pressing
challenges," said Marty Rodgers, who leads Accenture's work with the
Partnership for Refugees and is the global lead for Accenture's NGO
practice. "ID2020 is another example of Accenture and our partners
working together to support some of the world's most vulnerable people."
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network -
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With approximately 401,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the
world works and lives. Visit us atwww.accenture.com.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170619005193/en/Accenture-Microsoft-Create-Blockchain-Solution-Support-ID2020
blockchain and biometric technologies to support ID2020, a global
public-private partnership dedicated to solving the challenges of
identity faced by more than 1.1 billion people around the world.
Approximately one-sixth of the world's population cannot participate in
cultural, political, economic and social life because they lack the most
basic information: documented proof of their existence. Establishing
identity is critical to accessing a wide range of activities, including
education, healthcare, voting, banking, mobile communications, housing,
and family and childcare benefits. The goal of ID2020
is to make digital identity a reality through a technology-forward
approach that will leverage secure and well-established systems.
Accenture, in ACN partnership with Microsoft and Avanade, has developed an
identity prototype based on blockchain technology - a type of database
system that enables multiple parties to share access to the same data
with an extremely high level of confidence and security.
The prototype, which builds on Accenture's capabilities in blockchain
and its experience developing and deploying large-scale biometric
systems, runs on Microsoft Azure, the company's cloud platform that
offers global scale, flexibility and security. The prototype is designed
to empower individuals with direct consent over who has access to their
personal information, and when to release and share data. It is a
sophisticated decentralized, or "distributed," database architecture,
maintained by multiple, trusted parties on the blockchain, eliminating
the need for a central authority. The prototype does not store any
personally identifiable information, instead tapping into existing
"off-chain" systems when the individual user grants access. Accenture
and Microsoft - founding alliance partners of ID2020 who have pledged
financial and technology resources - demonstrated the prototype today at
the ID2020 Summit at the U.N.
"People without a documented identity suffer by being excluded from
modern society," said David Treat, a managing director in Accenture's
global blockchain business. "Our prototype is personal, private and
portable, empowering individuals to access and share appropriate
information when convenient and without the worry of using or losing
paper documentation."
How it works
The Accenture prototype is designed to interoperate with existing
identity systems so that personally identifiable information always
resides "off chain." It aligns to principles of the Decentralized
Identity Foundation, of which Microsoft is a founding member, and uses
the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance's private, or "permissioned,"
blockchain protocol.
To solve problems faced by people who lack official identities face,
Accenture will leverage its Unique Identity Service Platform to deploy a
breakthrough biometrics system that can manage fingerprints, iris and
other data. For example, the technology can provide undocumented
refugees with ACN a steadfast personal identity record, ensuring that they
can receive assistance where and when they need it. The Accenture
Platform is the heart of the Biometric Identity Management System
currently used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
which has enrolled more than 1.3 million refugees in 29 countries across
Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The system is expected to support more
than 7 million refugees from 75 countries by 2020.
"We believe that identity is one of the most important needs in
international development and an area where Microsoft and the private
sector are uniquely positioned to contribute," said Yorke Rhodes, global
business strategist at Microsoft. "We are thrilled to work with
Accenture and bring Microsoft Azure's global scale, flexibility and
security to support ID2020 and make progress on this critical societal
need."
The prototype project was led by the multi-disciplinary team at The
Dock, Accenture's new research and incubation hub in Ireland. A team of
designers, software engineers and experts in blockchain worked to bring
the idea to life.
"This is a great example of design and technology coming together to
address the challenges facing so many vulnerable individuals in our
society today," said Lorna Ross, group director, Accenture's Fjord
Design Studio at The Dock. "We hope that this work will galvanize
efforts globally towards a solution that guarantees the right to an
identity for the invisible everywhere."
The ID2020 consortium brings together governments, NGOs, technologists
and experts from the public and private sectors to ensure that the best
technological innovations are implemented in ways that are scalable,
secure and sustainable. Accenture had an integral role in a similar
program, serving as a founding company and the consulting partner for
the Partnership for Refugees, providing pro bono strategic consulting,
project management and digital services. The Partnership helped more
than 50 corporations better understand refugees' needs to develop
effective responses across three impact areas: education, employment and
enablement.
"One of our goals at Accenture is to improve how the world works and
lives by digital technologies to solve some of our most pressing
challenges," said Marty Rodgers, who leads Accenture's work with the
Partnership for Refugees and is the global lead for Accenture's NGO
practice. "ID2020 is another example of Accenture and our partners
working together to support some of the world's most vulnerable people."
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network -
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With approximately 401,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the
world works and lives. Visit us atwww.accenture.com.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170619005193/en/Accenture-Microsoft-Create-Blockchain-Solution-Support-ID2020