UnboundID Thinks Customer Data Is a Two-Way Street

UnboundID, an identity data management platform, is looking to tackle the hot-button issue of "how much is too much" when it comes to sharing customer data, with the launch this week of its Privacy Suite solution.

When working with service providers such as telecommunications and financial services companies, UnboundID repeatedly ran into the same request—companies want to be able to provide personalized interactions with customers, but to do so requires a careful balance of minding data governance rules and regulations while adding value to each customer interaction.

"If a service provider is going to use your data for another purpose…such as marketing or to sell you new services or to sell you third-party services, shouldn't you be able to be involved in the process of that?" comments Andy Land, vice president of marketing for UnboundID. "I think as a consumer, I should have much greater control and choice over that data, and that's what we wanted to enable with Privacy Suite."

Customer data and privacy are no strangers to federal intervention. Google, for example, recently agreed to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty to the FTC for alleged misrepresentation of its cookie-tracking policies and reported delivery of targeted ads to Apple Safari browser users. With states such as California eyeing stricter consumer data privacy and transparency laws, such as the proposed Right to Know bill, Land says consumers are becoming much more "cognizant" of the way their data is or isn't being used.

Using Privacy Suite, a consumer has access to a self-service interface called My Privacy Preferences. Here, a customer can see all of the data points a company has about her and either approve or revoke usage. Within the application, a customer can see a breakdown of any third-party marketing partners that have access to the data, and filter it accordingly. The customer can also determine what the data is being used for, such as delivering a bill or for a promotional offer.

As a result, "when an application requests a piece of data about [the customer] to fulfill a transaction or offer a promotion, the data is looked at to see, did you give your real consent and are we violating any policies or regulations?" Land says. "The data is interrogated in real time to see if it can be used or not."

On the flip side, companies have access to a Privacy Portal where they can ensure they are meeting compliance standards both internally and externally, as well as tap into data to trigger cross-sell and up-sell opportunities in real time when customers provide permission.

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