Accenture, Microsoft Create Blockchain Solution to Support ID2020
June 19 2017 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
Companies team on digital identity program
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.
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ID 2020 Logo (Graphic: Business Wire)
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 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 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 at www.accenture.com.
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