Customer Identity Trends 2023 – Shiv Ramji, Okta

This is techstrong tv. Uh, the pleasure of being joined by Shiv Ramji. Shiv is Chief Product Officer, customer Identity with Okta.

Welcome. Good to be talking with you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mitch. Um, thanks for having me. So, yeah, uh, my name is Shiv and I focus on our customer identity, uh, products.

And, uh, maybe just set a little bit of a, uh, a little bit of a context of what we, what we do at Okta and, and why customer identity matters. Um, so, you know, our vision, uh, at Okta is to, is to really free everyone to safely access, um, any technology. And so, uh, what that means in the context of sort of identity is that, you know, typically most of us go to work and we are, uh, logging in and accessing all the different applications.

There's a good chance you are, um, logging in through some service like ours. And so that that product really helps secure, uh, provide a seamless and secure access for employees. So that category of use cases generally falls in what we call workforce identity.

So making sure you as an employee and companies can provide safe access. And then the other use case that we, major use case that we are solving for is, uh, providing a seamless and secure access for customers. So this is really, uh, where you're providing a c a seamless or safe access for your consumers.

An example of this would be when you're going into Wall Street Journal, there's a login box, or if you're using Headspace, if you're working on, you know, Peloton, when you see that login box, that's a service that we provide. And so, so these are the two major use cases that, uh, Okta is, is focused on. And in the context of sort of, um, customer identity, you know, I wanted to sort of share some new research and findings that we have just, uh, published.

Um, and, you know, the reason why we even did this study was that it's fairly common for brands or companies who often, um, think about, well, what's the best way to provide a seamless and secure experience for their customers? Because you have sort of these different factors, uh, that are competing. So on the one hand, it's privacy because you wanna make sure, uh, your adhering to privacy standards, there is security, meaning login has to be secure.

And then there is a big thing for online apps and websites, which is convenience. You know, you wanna seamless access. Imagine if there was an experience where maybe the registration process was complex or maybe the sign in process is, is, is really difficult.

So it's really important for brands, uh, who are trying to sort of, um, get consumers attention, consumers dollars, consumers time spent on their products and services. You really wanna make sure that you're providing the seamless experience. Mm-hmm.

So I'm really excited. We commissioned the study, which looked at about 20,000, uh, consumers across 14 countries, and asked them about sort of what is important to them when it comes to, uh, identity. And in the context of like, log in, you know, what is important is privacy important, it's security and it's convenience.

And the challenge that most companies have is that there are often, often, um, left with this difficult decision of like, you know, like you can't have convenience without sacrificing privacy or security, for example, or mm-hmm. You can't have convenience without sacrificing security or privacy. And I think, uh, what we want, uh, we, you know, we started this, this sort of study with the idea of understanding, well, what is important to consumers?

And so, so this is a really, uh, insightful study. I'm really excited to share some of the, some of the, uh, top line, you know, insights, uh, that we have. And, and the big takeaway here is that if you do this well, meaning, uh, if you use, uh, uh, if you set up your consumer journeys and you use products like ours, but there are others too, to essentially provide the seamless experience, you can in fact deliver this delightful, convenient experience while maintaining privacy and also ensuring that the experience is secure.

So you don't have to make any trade offs, but of course, there are things you have to do to set up to make sure that the consumer experience, uh, is one that is delightful and the one that will make sure that they, they come back. So, um, so some of the learnings that maybe I'll, I'll kick off with here is that it's pretty clear that competition for attention and dollars is really, really fierce. I mean, the average online customer has more than 20 active accounts for applications and websites.

Now, of course, if you look at younger cohorts, uh, this, this gets even larger. Like they're more, they are creating more accounts and, and more active across different applications, websites. Now, there are some issues with, uh, with, uh, with the typical, uh, username and password, uh, uh, that most websites deploy.

So, you know, there is this notion of like, you know, this, this probably resonates with all of us here, even with the audience. There are so many times where you may have created an account at a website cuz you are buying something or you are interested in a coupon or a code, but then you forgot about that account, you became inactive. Now you come back six, seven months later, you want access the product, what happens?

Mm-hmm. There's a good chance you've forgotten your password, right? And so all of these inac accounts create two, uh, sets of problems for consumers.

One, if you're an inactive account, you, you might have to go through a password reset flow. Well, if the password reset flow is not tuned, well you're gonna have drop off or con or consumers are gonna be frustrated. Some cases they will even create more support tickets for your, for your teams.

Um, the other issue tends to be, uh, in inactive accounts essentially exposes in those consumers and also companies to essentially identity risk. You may have used the password that was, you know, that was now available in, in, in the dark web. And so, so it creates, uh, quite a bit of risk for, um, for consumers and businesses alike.

And, you know, so, so the thing that that, that I think is important is that, you know, the, so the other thing that we looked at was also control. Like how, like how much does privacy matter? Like how much does having control of your data matter?

Um, and some very interesting learnings we saw that the majority of online consumers actually care about control of data, data. Now this varies because highly regulated industries such as financial services, I mean, we all care about our banks and, um, financial products. We're using healthcare because it's sensitive data and also, um, the public sector.

But, but, but mainly for, um, for government services, again, because it's highly sensitive data, consumers want more control. Uh, over all the information, the control of information also varies by geography. So most of our respondents in North America and Europe said, excuse me, they wanted, they wanted control, um, across most categories, uh, and consumers in Asia are willing to give up some control for certain categories.

So for example, if it's hospitality, you're booking an airline, like they're willing to give, uh, uh, up some, uh, control over their information in return for convenience for services or experiences. And so I thought, you know, the control piece is super, uh, interesting in that, you know, I think a couple years ago, and we have not done the same study, but we've done other, I've seen other research and studies in the past where maybe this awareness of consumers about their data and controller, it was probably low. What's interesting in this, uh, uh, uh, survey is that it's actually pretty high.

And if I remember correctly, I think it's about 75% of respondents across North America and Europe cited control of data is really, really important. So there is more awareness now, uh, about what happens if your data with your data, you know, uh, when, when companies are, are collecting that. Let Me, lemme ask you a question about that too.

Uh, shiv, I, I wonder if it's reputational and this, I don't have any data to back this up, but, you know, you might like, I'm just gonna pick one. You might like Facebook or you might not like Facebook based on what you've heard of how they, what they do or how they treat your data versus I need these five kinds of controls or whatever number, you know, specific things I'm looking for. Maybe can I delete my information if I get it in here?

It seems like a lot of it is based on that public perception. Do I, am I going on the right track, do you think? Yeah, so, so, so, uh, I think public perception is definitely, uh, uh, an issue in the sense that, you know, as there is more awareness, I think consumers are, uh, aware that hey, they are, you know, that, that brands are collecting your data and they're doing something with it.

Now, consumers are okay with that data collection in exchange for a better experience. So, you know, all brands are trying to do personalization. They may wanna give you maybe targeted offers, for example, they may wanna make sure your onboarding experience is is good and it's delightful.

So I think if it's data in exchange for something that you're getting back, I think is fine. Um, but oftentimes what happens is there's a lot of websites you go first, the sign, the signup form has so many fields, right? It's like, well, why do you need all this information?

Mm-hmm. I have this like, funny or error marketing have this funny quote and, and it really resonated with me, which is like, you know, brands have to think about their first experience with the consumer visit, just like you would do in your personal relationships. Like when you go on a first date, you're not gonna give away all of the information on it the first time, right?

You're, you, you're getting to know somebody. And so in the context of getting to know somebody, if it's enough, they collect just enough information for a better experience. I think that consumers are are okay and open with, but a lot of the times when you're collecting so much information upfront, and if, if it's not clear what the consumer is getting back, that's when it gets sort of the uh, uh, sort of the, the reputation part sort of gets, uh, like you, you are, you are, um, you are more alert to what could happen with the data.

And so, and a reputation in the sense, again, depends on what property you are and what you know, uh, what your perception is in the market. But that's exactly what we were seeing is that I think consumers now are just wary of, you know, what, what happens to all of this, uh, information and is it even protected? Uh, we've seen lots of, we've seen lots of data breaches, right?

You may have signed up for a product three, four years ago and then you show up in a data breach. Like, it's like, what? I don't even remember that I'd send him for that.

Right? So there's been a lot of events like that that I think also erodes the the customer trust. You know what's interesting too?

You mentioned the, the customer experience, and in many ways you are the one of the first, if not the first, uh, touchpoints of a customer entering whatever it is I'm logging on. You know, what, why, what do I say? You have the login page, right?

Or what's the first thing I click on from the main page if it's a website, I'm assuming is this login, right? So you're the second thing they see. And, and I'm curious about how you think about that as Okta, and also I think also people forget just as important as the reset experience you were mentioning.

Yeah. That email isn't there in milliseconds. Yeah.

If I'm waiting, I'm moving on, right? I mean, that is the attitude of customers today. Yeah.

Um, I'm, so how do you think about that as, you know, building a product and help helping your customers make sure they, uh, they deliver that experience that they can do through you? Yeah. You know, one thing that I, I share, uh, you, you talked about login is the first thing you may see, and so that's really powerful, but it's, it's the place where we can make or break an impression.

And what I mean by that is if the experience is seamless and boom, and, and you log in and you get this amazing experience, you don't even think about it. The login box is an afterthought, but when it's not done right, you are gonna be frustrated. Mm-hmm.

When it's not done right, you are gonna maybe not purchase, maybe not engage with, with, with their media or their content. And so the drop off can be pretty significant. And we see this even in the survey that, you know, from a conversions, uh, perspective, uh, 60% of of our respondents said like, yeah, if the experience isn't great, like you've lost me, I'm moving on.

Right? So it is a place to make or break an impression, and then when it works well, it's hidden, it's invisible. You don't even think about it when it doesn't cause a lot of frustration.

This is also true of the reset flow that you had just mentioned. Um, you know, if you go reset your password and you are right, if you, if the email or text message or whatever doesn't show up in the next few seconds, you, you are already moving on or you'll go to some other competitor, right? To potentially, um, uh, uh, pro, uh, do a transaction or, or consume content in how we help our customers on this particular, um, part is that we give them sort of flexible user or customer journeys.

So you can configure, um, different ways of how you wanna provide a login experience. And increasingly we are encouraging our customers to start using sort of frictionless experiences such as passwordless. So for example, we all have biometrics now on our devices.

Imagine if you signed up for a product, you don't have to, uh, use your, your password, you can use biometrics pretty soon. Uh, all of the platforms, uh, apple, Microsoft, Google included, will be supporting, uh, PAs keys, uh, which is, uh, from the FI alliance. And so again, pasky can alleviate the need for having passwords and can also give you this amazing multi-device experience.

So you can, you can switch between, between apps and and experiences. And so, so what we, what we are giving is the most flexibility for them. So they can configure these whilst making sure that, you know, their security teams or their CSO is comfortable because we are making sure that we have, we are also making sure that the experience is secure for them.

Mm-hmm. Very good. Awesome.

Um, I'm, I'm curious sort of the counter question about the survey is, you know, the big takeaways. I'm also interested in, was there anything that was surprising to you or didn't quite expect to come out the way that it did? That was, you know, that's oftentimes where we get the biggest learnings too, is like, yeah, that's interesting.

I did not expect that to be the response, or I did. And it's great that it's confirmed it, but I wasn't, I wasn't expecting it. Any any insights on things you were surprised about?

The thing that really surprised me, um, you know, there were two, I I think this, I talked a little bit about control, so I won't go back to that, but the idea of like, just the awareness about control being this high was, was surprising. And I think this is, this has evolved over the years. The other thing that surprised me was, um, you know, you often assume by the way, even we're all sort of used to like, I have a username and a password, and most of the time it's your email or maybe maybe your phone.

And you would think that, oh, you know, everybody knows that that's what you have to do. And so fine, uh, maybe people are are comfortable doing that. And uh, what was interesting was that they're not, there's a lot of frustration with usernames and password and you know, we kind of know it, you know, we know that that's an issue, but in general, everybody's doing it.

So you're like, okay, that's something I have to do, uh, to, to sort of live in this online world. But to see that clearly called out is an area of frustration. Uh, that was their least, uh, uh, favorite part of the login was like, remember username, uh, and password.

And so it further sort of, uh, amplifies this notion of like, you really need to think about a seamless experience. And I think the adoption of biometrics, um, and, and, and pasky hopefully over time should go up as a result of brands making sure that they're delivering that type of, that type of interesting. Yeah, it is.

I mean, even with password managers, this still can be frustrating. I, I know, right? Like even when you use password managers, it's like, it's the whole experience isn't is, and I know browsers are trying, right?

All, all, all of the browsers are trying to help with this problem. Uh, they try to at least help you create a password, remember a password, you know, with autofill. Um, but even that, like again, how many users are taking advantage of password managers?

It's probably not, uh, as big as, uh, as we think it's, You know, sometimes we can learn things from other domains and disciplines and, and I like to believe a few computer games once in a while. And it, one of the things I, I'll, I think about it when it happens is I, as I play games on Steam where you can buy games and through librarian games and things, they really do well. It's not used right in password, but it's the licensing of it and the management of it is, it knows you've bought, uh, these games through their product, even though it may be a separate way of managing a license if you bought it independently.

But they have whatever their framework, um, together so that when you buy it under their kind of moniker and their management of their, of their product, it's, it's really well done. It's a seamless experience and they're even saving game data in the cloud, which I noticed the other day. And, and it makes me think about, you know, you mentioned of PAs keys and ways that we can, it's almost like, boy, if I know if maybe the customer doesn't know I'm logging in through Okta on this website, but, but it is, sure, it's nice when companies use Okta because I have a better seamless experience when that is the case.

I mean, it seems like that's one of the potential outcomes we'd like to strive for. Yes. I think that is definitely, uh, an outcome that we, that we want.

And, and well, it's, it's a couple of things, right? It's like one, you can give the seamless experience, I think you mentioned like, hey, in, you know, when I'm even a different device or, uh, uh, you know, you know, the products are aware of what I, what my library is, so I I can easily switch devices and, and consume these amazing games. And so we like that type of, that concept, that construct to like, to really proliferate everything we're doing online on our mobile phones.

Because I mean, you know, that, that's what causes a lot of frustration and drop off, um, with, with consumers. So if you can deliver something that seamlessly hands a consumer off across experiences or devices, I mean, that's like a really, really, uh, big deal. Um, and I think it just, it also goes like there's one hidden thing that we don't, brands don't think about is that all of this adds up to not, you know, this, this experience, the transparency helps, helps brands build loyalty, right?

Because if you have this seamless experience like the one you just mentioned, like it's memorable, you're excited, there no pain associated with that. And so as brands embrace that, like it's gonna help build loyalty, like, just, just the way you were describing, it's like you, it was just great. Like the product was aware and I didn't have any issues with that.

That's the kind of experience we want to translate to, hopefully to all of the experiences we all have with, uh, with brands and, and apps and, and, uh, websites so forth. Well, sh I wish I had more time. I'd love to dig more into the report.

We'll include a link to the report, uh, that folks can get, uh, to get download and, and find out more some of the findings. I appreciate you sort of creaming off the top with some of the best things coming out. I'm sure there's a lot of other great, uh, nuggets in there as well.

So, um, folks can go to the Okta website and download it. We'll also have a, a link in the, in the description for this video too, correct? Yes.

Yep. You can download the, it's, it's called the Customer Identity Trends 2023 report, which will be available uh, on the website today. I think a lot of customer experience, people are pretty interested in what you might have to say.

I hope they are. I'm sure they're all right. Si Ramji, welcome.

Uh, thank you so much for being on and hope you'll come back too and we can maybe can dive some more into these topics. It's always fun talking about customer experience and security, um, because we want it secure, but we want it frictionless, right? Yep, yep.

Absolutely. Happy possible. Happy you come back, uh, and, uh, thank you for your time and thank you to the audience for listening.

You bet. Download that report. Check out Okta.

Thanks again.