Customer Identity Health Check

Optimize Your Customer Identity Strategy

Gain a deep understanding of how to connect business objectives to your customer experience and security.
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The issue
Directors of engineering face increasing pressure to deliver secure, scalable, and customer-centric digital experiences. Developing a robust CIAM strategy requires industry expertise and can be time and resource intensive.
Next Reason's Customer Identity Health Check provides a focused and actionable plan to enhance your organization's customer identity capabilities.

Using our assessment framework, we develop a roadmap to guide your initiatives.
Key Components
Assessment
  • A focused evaluation of your CIAM capabilities within a 30-day timeframe.
  • Identification of key CIAM strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
  • Benchmarked comparison against industry standards.
Report
  • A prioritized outline of initial CIAM objectives.
  • Identification of quick wins for immediate impact.
  • Recommendations for technology, processes, and organizational changes.

Benefits

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Target Audience

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Companies wanting to see real value from their customer engagements.
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Companies seeking to increase and protect customer data.
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Organizations with limited CIAM expertise and resources.
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Businesses looking to right-size CIAM investments.

Deliverables

01

Report

Executive summary of CIAM assessment findings.

02

Roadmap

Prioritized CIAM roadmap with recommended actions.

03

Recommendations

Initial recommendations for technology and process improvements.

CIAM Maturity Self-Assessment
A strong CIAM strategy is crucial for boosting customer loyalty, business growth, and data security. By evaluating your CIAM platform against the 5 key areas, you can assess its maturity and ensure it aligns with your goals.

Instructions: Please rate each question on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.

1. Connected App Management: Establish clear process for onboarding new apps, including a review of their data access requirements and security implications. Assign ownership and responsibility for each app to a specific team or individual. Document the purpose of each app and the type of customer data it has access to. Have a process in place for decommissioning apps that are no longer needed or that pose a security risk. (1-5)
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2. Customization vs Flexibility: Your service provides a wide range of configuration options to allow organizations to customize the platform to their specific needs without requiring custom development. Templates based on integration type are used to reduce the the need for extensive custom coding. Open APIs enable applications and service provide flexibility and extensibility. (1-5)
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3. Ease of Integration: A suite of pre-built connectors simplify the integration process. SDKs and libraries provide developers with tools and code snippets to streamline integration and reduce development time. Extensive documentation, videos, and support help organizations understand and troubleshoot integration challenges. (1-5)
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4. Comprehensive Security: Apps are either mandated or encouraged to enable MFA to add an extra layer of security. Zero trust (always verify) framework is used to grant access - including detection for new devices, impossible travel, bots, and new network. Data is encrypted both at rest and in transit to protect it from unauthorized access.Platform is regularly updated with security patches to address vulnerabilities and keep it up-to-date. (1-5)
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5. Evolving Compliance Best Practice: The platform undergoes regular compliance audits to ensure they adhere to relevant regulations and standards. Consumers are prompted to accept the latest legal acceptances based on the app and/or country. The platform is updated to reflect changes in data privacy and security regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. Resources and guidance are provided to help organizations understand and comply with relevant regulations.  (1-5)
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Results
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Early Stage CIAM Strategy
Failing to invest sufficiently in a CIAM platform can have severe consequences for a business. Inadequate security measures can lead to data breaches, resulting in financial loss, reputational damage, and legal liabilities. A poorly designed CIAM platform may also create a frustrating user experience, hindering customer acquisition and retention. Additionally, neglecting to stay up-to-date with evolving compliance regulations can expose businesses to fines and penalties. Ultimately, a lack of investment in CIAM can jeopardize the long-term viability and success of an organization.

Reach out to Next Reason to gain a comprehensive understanding of your current landscape. Also be sure to download the example report below so you can see the value we provided for a global energy company.
Growth Stage CIAM Strategy
Even with an existing CIAM platform, failing to optimize it can lead to suboptimal performance and missed opportunities. A poorly optimized CIAM platform may experience slow load times, authentication failures, or other technical issues that can frustrate users and damage the customer experience. Additionally, an inefficient CIAM platform may consume excessive resources, leading to increased costs and potential scalability limitations. By optimizing their CIAM platform, companies can improve user satisfaction, enhance security, and unlock the full potential of their digital initiatives.

Reach out to Next Reason to gain a comprehensive understanding of your current landscape. Also be sure to download the example report below so you can see the value we provided for a global energy company.
Mature Stage CIAM Strategy
Even for companies with mature CIAM platforms, ongoing investment and optimization are essential to maintain a competitive edge. As technology evolves and threat landscapes change, it's crucial to regularly assess and update your CIAM platform. This includes investing in new features, improving performance, and ensuring compliance with emerging regulations. By continuously optimizing your CIAM platform, you can enhance the customer experience, strengthen security, and drive business growth.

Reach out to Next Reason to gain a comprehensive understanding of your current landscape. Also be sure to download the example report below so you can see the value we provided for a global energy company.
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Note: These questions provide a high-level assessment of your CIAM capabilities. A more in-depth evaluation may require additional questions tailored to your specific industry and business requirements.

- CASE STUDY -

Global Energy Company

Evaluates Customer Identity Strategy to Propel Future Growth

A global leader in the energy sector, with a diverse portfolio that includes oil and gas exploration, production, and marketing, as well as a growing focus on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Operating in over 70 countries and serving millions of customers worldwide.

Next Reason's CIAM Assessment and Roadmap focused on key data and compliance areas:

  • Data quality supporting revenue generation: The data architecture needed to improve the quality of the data and be available and accessible to the business partners to use in the analysis of potential new revenue streams. 
  • Customer experience: The data practices needed to be secure and compliant with global regulations such as GDPR, while supporting its transition to a more sustainable energy future. 
01

Data Inventory and Mapping

Data Sources Identified: Customer data was sourced from multiple systems, including CRM platforms (Salesforce), ERP (SAP), loyalty programs, online customer portals, and IoT devices in energy installations.
Third-Party Integrations: Identified several critical third-party integrations, including partnerships with fuel retail networks, electric vehicle charging providers, and smart home energy management solutions.

02

Technical Landscape Evaluation

Data Collection & Ingestion: Customer data was collected through channels, including fuel card transactions, loyalty programs, mobile apps, and online platforms. However, there were discrepancies in data capture methods across different regions and business units.
Data Storage & Management: Data was stored across a mix of on-premises and cloud-based systems, with varying degrees of integration and scalability.Data
Processing & Integration:
Data processing involved a combination of legacy systems and modern data platforms, with ETL processes that varied significantly across business units.
Data Security & Compliance: Basic security protocols were in place, including encryption and access controls, but there were concerns about the consistency of these measures across regions.

03

Revenue Alignment Analysis

Customer Data Utilization for Revenue: Customer data was used for basic segmentation and targeted marketing efforts, particularly in its loyalty programs. However, there was limited use of advanced analytics to drive personalized offers or predict customer behavior.
Data-Driven Revenue Opportunities: There was significant potential in using customer data to enhance renewable energy offerings, such as personalized solar power solutions, electric vehicle (EV) charging services, and energy management tools for smart homes.
Alignment with Business Goals: Customer data strategies were somewhat aligned with its broader business goals, particularly around customer loyalty and marketing. However, there was room for improvement in aligning data initiatives with sustainability and growth objectives.

04

Security & Compliance Risk Assessment

Risk Identification: Potential risks included data breaches due to inconsistent security practices across regions, non-compliance with GDPR and other regulations, and exposure to risks through third-party partnerships.
Gap Analysis: Inconsistencies in data security practices across regions, outdated compliance procedures, and lack of centralized oversight of third-party data access.
Risk Mitigation Strategies: Enhance data security measures by implementing advanced encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits. Tighten controls over third-party data access and develop a crisis response plan for potential data breaches.

05

Recommendations & Roadmap

Key Findings: The assessment identified fragmented data systems, underutilized customer data, security vulnerabilities, and compliance risks. However, significant opportunities were identified to leverage customer data for revenue growth and support sustainability goals.
Visualizations:
Provided detailed data flow diagrams, risk heatmaps, and potential revenue impact charts.
Technical Recommendations:
Standardize data collection and processing methods, migrate to a global cloud-based data warehouse, and implement automated ETL processes.
Revenue Recommendations:
Develop advanced customer segmentation models, predictive analytics, and personalized marketing strategies to drive revenue growth from both traditional and renewable energy customers.
Security and Compliance Recommendations:
Enhance data security protocols, standardize compliance practices across regions, and implement centralized monitoring and auditing tools.

Download the Full Report

Download the full report from the case study above.

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