The Future of Identity Management

By The Trellis Team

In today's digital age, managing and protecting personal information has become increasingly complex and risky.

For the Identity Owner, every subscription form completed or account opened requires yet another copy of the sensitive personal information. These copies are stored in numerous unknown locations with no simple way to check that the proper security measures are in place. The stakes are higher than ever, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported receiving 5.7 million fraud and identity theft reports in 2024 with an estimated theft rate of one every 22 seconds.

The Identity Consumer, on the other hand, is faced with a no-win scenario. Consumers of identity (Fund Managers, Brokers, etc.) must be the “bad-guys”, collecting and reviewing this personal information as required by law or face serious penalties. The Identity Consumer must bear the burden of doing this work as a “cost of doing business.” These costs do not stop at a simple fee to validate a license or passport. When factoring in cyber insurance, the cost of protecting data, the nuisance-factor for the client, and the possible PR nightmare of a data breach—the total cost to an Identity Consumer is far greater in the aggregate. The total losses from cybercrime were estimated at $10.2 billion in 2024, nearly double the amount from the previous year.

Making matters worse, the governing regulations are growing and changing. In some cases, on a State-by-State basis. If you have a client in California, for example, you are expected to comply with a very strict identity regieme (the ‘CCPA’). Other States may follow suit—but nevertheless—it would seem that change is the only thing that will remain constant.

Change is expensive. Changing the way data is collected and stored means changing code and/or internal processes which opens a service provider up to even more expense and potential systems failures.

Introducing the “Right to be Forgotten”

Let us now compound the dilemma facing the Identity Consumer by adding the latest concept introduced in some Countries (and California): the “Right to be Forgotten”. Simply put, as the Identity Owner, you should be able to have your data deleted from a service provider when it is no longer required.

Think of how complex this becomes. First, you need to add/modify online tools to allow for someone to apply to be “forgotten”. Then you need the internal process, including auditing and control, to receive those requests and ensure they are managed properly. But what if you used 3rd parties—and now that data is stored both on your system and another that you do not control? How will you ensure that your client’s request is met? More importantly, how will you convince the Regulator that you have done so?

Now consider, after all that, that the rules change again. And again.

The Future of Identity Management

The next iteration of Identity will require one major paradigm shift—and it will not be easy. Today, every Identity Consumer feels that they “own” their clients, and the associated identity data. For some, it’s millions of identities which (they believe) have some inherent value. Giving that up will not be easy, but it will be required.

The constantly changing rules and regulations around identity have one thing in common—identity data may no longer be owned or controlled by anyone other than the Identity Owner. The sooner a company understands and accepts that fact, the sooner they can adopt changes that benefit all parties in the identity ecosystem: Owners, Consumers, and Regulators.

An Identity Solution for 2025 and Beyond

Identity Management LLC, a division of Trellis Software, has been working on this problem for several years. During that time, they have developed methods of identity collection and storage and sharing which will transform Identity Management in 2025 and beyond.

For Identity Owners, the onboarding is non-repetitive and simple, with a verifiable level of protection and complete control over the “Right to be Forgotten”.

For Identity Consumers, the identity cost-center can be transformed into a profit center, with reduced risk of exposure and the associated insurance burden.

Lastly, as this innovative approach is the only fully Owner-centric solution, it virtually guarantees regulatory compliance—even for those regulations that haven’t yet been issued.

Join Us

Tired of the expense and regulatory burden of identity management? Looking for a more client-friendly way to onboard and evaluate new customers?

Learn more about our solutions.

Email us at idagent@trellisplatform.com.

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