Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) is evolving fast. At the 2025 Future Identity Festival, one message stood out: organisations can’t treat security and user experience as separate goals anymore. Modern CIAM has to deliver both – robust protection and journeys that feel simple, human, and trustworthy.
Our new eBook, The Future of CIAM: Where trust meets user experience, explores what this shift really means in practice. Drawing on our work with large-scale identity systems – including NHS Login, GOV.UK One Login, and Virgin Group ID – we break down how teams can design identity journeys that work for everyone.
Download The Future of CIAM: Where trust meets user experience
Inside the eBook, we unpack four trends reshaping CIAM today:
Passwordless authentication: Embracing innovation without compromising inclusivity
Passkeys and biometrics promise faster, safer sign-in – but the real future is hybrid. Organisations need to embrace these innovations while keeping inclusive fallback routes.
Zero Trust for CIAM: Designing continuous, contextual access
Identity is becoming continuous. Instead of verifying a user once, adaptive access management uses real-time signals to step security up or down without disrupting the journey.
Why data transparency and consent are critical to modern identity
Compliance isn’t enough. Users want clarity about why data is collected and how it’s used. Consent needs to be meaningful, simple, and genuinely user-controlled.
Identity as UX: Building seamless, adaptive authentication journeys
When CIAM is well designed, it feels effortless – introducing friction only where it’s needed. From onboarding to high-value transactions, trust is shaped through clarity and proportional security.
These shifts reflect a wider truth: identity is no longer just a backend function; it’s the foundation of trusted digital experiences.
If you want to understand where CIAM is heading, and how to design secure, seamless, user-centred authentication, download the full eBook.
