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September - 2016 issue

Biometrics – A Household Name in the Reckoning

By Vignesh Anantharaj

Governments and enterprises alike are today turning towards the power of mobility to hasten the processes of Human Identification. Mobile biometrics is the new talk of the town wherein the identification on a mobile device provides the HR managers with ease of access to the whereabouts of his team. The functionalities are still in its nascent stages in India wherein a few organizations are experimenting on a mobile device either through biometric sensors or through the deployment of biometric hardware that is light and portable with attached wifi connective capabilities. This trend has been pushed into the spotlight while organizations rode the enterprise mobility wave but failed to realize that HR and attendance also forms a critical aspect of making sure the workforce is in good shape on field. Currently, many European and North American armies deploy such advanced biometric systems to track their field operations. It is only a matter of time before it becomes a necessity in today’s enterprise circle.

Additionally there is a growing need to focus on the safety and security parameters of physical and as well as logical assets of an organization. This can be attributed to the growing importance of the cloud when it comes to the storage of confidential documents. As data threats grow and hackers become more sophisticated and smart with their tactics, securing assets has been one of the top three, if not the topmost concern for present CIOs. The BFSI sector is an area that now depends heavily on this phenomenon. As mentioned above, due to the advent of mobile banking, we can expect a lot of mobile payments that will have compulsory biometric authentication technologies in the near future. We are on the edge of a mobile payment adoption and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that real cash will slowly diminish, at least when it comes to high volume transactions. Biometrics is also bound to cause a dent in the healthcare fraternity. From correct identification of patients to bringing down healthcare frauds, biometrics is bound to be a game changer in the healthcare fraternity.

In conclusion, as the world of IT moves into everyday lives, the demand for upgradation in the field of identity management increases. The basic necessity stems from the need for better identification of individuals and processes. This edition of CIOReview will highlight everything trending currently to take your company one step ahead.