Written by Interview with Allan Harle, Inspectron and member of the Silicon Trust
Inspectron works in the world of secure document integrity and verification, could you explain how you fit into this eco-system?
Any secure document will have specific personalized information on it; this could be a name, date of birth or account numbers. This data can be visible or embedded in an RFID chip, or both – either way, it is very important that this information is correct, readable and has all the correct security features.
Inspectron provide solutions to verify, match and validate that the data on secure documents is correct. The company started in 1976 as an Optical Character Recognition company, so our background has always been in Data Capture and verification. 20 years ago, we migrated this technology to the Transactional Print / Mail market to check the production of credit card statements.
If you had to sum up your company in three words, what would they be?
Secure, reliable and affordable.
You come across as an innovative technology company – but where do your ideas and inspiration come from?
We are always testing and developing new technology and our inspiration comes from listening to our customers and partners to see how we can align our solutions to meet their challenges.
In your experience, what have been some of the most crucial developments and / or achievements in the production of secure documents over the years?
One of the most crucial drivers we have seen is the need to identify that a person is who they say they are, whether this is for border crossing or to combat identity theft.
Looking to the future, there is a growing need for more secure documents in both public and private applications such as Payment, Access and National ID, do you see a future for multi-application documents?
Yes, we do see a future for multi-application documents. We have seen this in the USA already, where some States are combining Driver Licenses with border crossing applications. Advantages with this are that end users will carry fewer documents. What is hindering progress here is establishing a set of suitable and agreeable standards, across a variety of application areas.
How would a multi-application solution affect the document production process, and has the introduction of biometrics impacted on this too?
Creating a multi-application document adds a layer of complexity in terms of data management and privacy as the main concern for end users is about who holds what data about them, for example, users might not necessarily want payment information being mixed with a National ID. With the introduction of biometrics, more data is created, which means that a more controlled production process is required and the need for greater verification is increased.
And finally, what’s next for Inspectron? What are your plans for 2009/10?
We will continue to expand our partnerships and look to develop further in new application areas including Healthcare and Insurance ID.