As we've reported, Bill Gates has understood that Identity is important since at least early last year. Lately, he's even let us know he now understands that "Identity is Center", at least in his way. Now, in a speech to CEOs, Bill Gates has finally learned how to smoothly work the basic drivers of digital identity into his speaking.
"Historically, the IT department knew that its equipment was all in the glass house and understood how to deal with that. Today, it's cell phones that people are carrying around and downloading information to. It's portable devices, it's spreadsheets that people have on different desktops, and in a sense, the scope of their responsibility and how much they should invest in making those people more effective is something that a lot of companies have had a hard time seeing exactly what that level should look like."
This sums up what is happening pretty well in three sentences (even if one of them is a run-on sentence) and this is *very* much better than most people can do.
As computing becomes distributed, networked, and used from everywhere at any time the only way to have it be secure, manageable, and organized coherently so it works as desired is to orient it around the identity of the user and the identity of the owner of the data and applications. Management of the infrastructure is also reorienting around the identity of the devices and software apps that comprise it.
This is already beginning to release a lot of power, but it is only the tip of what will happen as the change propogates more widely. However, while the past year has seen much progress in realizing this, many still suffer the full thrall of the "what happened?" syndrome. I 100% agree with Mr. Gates when he says:
"This is where I think in some ways people are really underestimating what can be done. It's kind of natural if you overestimate what an industry can deliver ... that you cycle back to where you underestimate those things."
One-by-one people are beginning to get over being stunned by the "end of the world as we know it", and are starting to see the implications and absolutely huge nature of the paradigm change that is coming at them. As you look to the future of computing, however, you will fail to fully appreciate it unless you realize that Identity is Center.
Posted by pbecker at May 22, 2003 12:06 PM