An Analysis of User-Centric Identity Technology Trends, Openid's First Act
Peter Motykowski · ePublications at Regis University (Regis University) · 2011
Identity technologies within Internet applications have evolved at an aggressive pace over the past decade. As a result, a variety of user-centric identity management technologies are available on the Internet today. The user-centric identity technology realm has become a fragmented ecosystem of standards, techniques, and technical approaches to identity management. A symptom of this fragmentation is the sluggish adoption of user-centric identity technologies by Internet users. A study titled, An Analysis of User-Centric Identity Technology Trends, OpenID"™s First Act, aims to reveal identity technology adoption patterns of users that engage in the use of Internet applications secured by an authentication credential. The study specifically focuses on Internet applications currently offering, or having at some point in time offered OpenID 1.x/2.0 (denoted OpenID hereafter), also known as OpenID"™s First Act. An extensive history of OpenID, from its inception as an emerging technology, to its declining rate of adoption as a standard for Internet single-sign-on, will be presented. A goal of this critical analysis is to reveal the shortcomings of OpenID that led to the discontinuation of the technology by prominent Internet applications. In support of this critical analysis, a survey is conducted which gauges the awareness of OpenID among casual Internet users. The results from this survey will be compared with observed trends among Internet applications to determine the contributing factors to OpenID"™s decline on the Internet and the subsequent efforts to reinvent the technology.