Biometrics as a Service vs. Software as a Service, everything you need to know.

In today’s world, the technology landscape is rapidly transforming leading to better and more improved services and biometrics is no exception to this. What most of us would come to think of as an entirely new term – the Biometrics as a Service is a cutting-edge technology at its infancy having the potential to change the way authentications are performed is right around the corner.

What is Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS)?

The advancements in Biometrics and the extensive usage of its applications in almost every sector coupled with the flexibility of Cloud Computing paved the way for the genesis of an innovative technology called as Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS).

A typical BaaS platform comprising of:

  • Biometric Template Database: Fingerprints, Face Templates, Palm Templates, etc.
  • Storage Modules
  • Network System
  • Identity Processing Modules

is fully capable of executing various biometric matching operations on the Cloud, thus mitigating complex biometric hardware or software infrastructure requirements and offers these prerequisites as a service on-demand to the end-users.

Difference between Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS):

In essence, Biometrics as a Service or BaaS leveraging Cloud Computing, consists of ubiquitous Identity Authentication functions made available to be easily accessed anytime or anywhere in the world over the internet without needing to acquire sophisticated biometric systems.

On the same wavelength, Software as a Service or SaaS model hosts various software applications on the Cloud and makes available to the consumers over the internet on demand and subscription basis.   

Why go for Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS)?

  1. Rapid Deployment:

One of the major advantages of BaaS model over the conventional biometric systems is its ease of deployment. A BaaS system can become functional in the blink of an eye without any tedious and time-consuming installation procedures or sophisticated system integration requirements.

With this revolutionary technology any organization can apply biometric capabilities to streamline their identity management processes ranging from onboarding employees to verifying the identity of their staff members or customers much faster than adopting to conventional biometric systems.    

  1. Accessibility:

A BaaS platform is made available on demand basis meaning that it can be accessed anytime or anywhere in the world over the internet connected devices such as a laptop or a smart phone to perform biometric matching or registration.

Cost Effectiveness:

The BaaS system does not require any in-house IT infrastructure or complex biometric devices to perform sophisticated biometric operations other than a biometric scanning device to capture the biometric traits of an individual.    

Therefore, adopting to BaaS is extremely cost effective.  In addition, as the whole system is service based, in other words subscription model, it is highly customizable and scaling down or scaling up the resources as per project requirement is another major advantage.

Security & Applicability:

Data in BaaS system is more secure as compared to a physical biometric device that might be susceptible to mugging intended for data theft or data transmitted over public networks in case of traditional biometric systems.  

Scope of Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS):

The emergence of Cloud-Based Biometric Solution marks the era of next-generation biometric applications reshaping business approaches in Smart Identity Management in a number of domains as a viable, flexible, and more convenient alternative not only to the regular biometric authentication approaches but also to the paper-based enrolment or entries for both government and private organizations. Thus, automating a multitude of operations in propelling businesses towards digital eco-system.

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