From Federation Sprawl to Unified Identity: How to Make Verified Identity Reusable Across Systems

Identity fragmentation isn’t usually the result of bad architecture. It’s the natural byproduct of growth. New apps get added. Business units operate independently. Acquisitions bring in new identity stacks. And over time, even well-designed IAM environments start to sprawl.

In our recent masterclass, Richard Esplin (Head of Product) and Agne Caunt (Product Owner) walked through what this looks like in the real world and, more importantly, how organizations can evolve toward a unified identity architecture without ripping out the systems they already rely on. The session explored the limits of traditional federation, the shift toward reusable digital ID credentials, and a practical, phased path teams can use to reduce duplication, improve flexibility, and move closer to a zero trust model.

(00:00) — Welcome and webinar overview

(00:57) — Why identity architectures keep fragmenting

(01:28) — The real-world IAM problem 

(02:52) — Example: a scaled consumer business with identity silos

(04:27) — Typical federation-based IAM architecture

(06:01) — Why federation breaks down in practice

(08:52) — What IAM architects are reporting in the field

(13:09) — The mindset shift: from system integration to identity ecosystems

(17:07) — The generic reusable credential architecture

(18:22) — Wallet integration overview

(18:44) — Flow 1: Onboarding and credential issuance

(20:53) — Flow 2: User-initiated verification from an app

(22:01) — Flow 3: User-initiated verification from a relying party

(23:05) — Flow 4: Call center / relying-party initiated flow

(24:21) — How to evolve a fragmented architecture (phased approach)

(25:41) — Phase 1: Start with one painful use case

(26:02) — Phase 2: Use the IdP as a credential verifier bridge

(28:00) — Phase 3: Direct verifier integrations

(28:36) — Phase 4: Reducing reliance on the IdP

(30:12) — Practical implementation tips

(34:03) — Trade-offs and considerations

(36:06) — Key advantages of the credential model

(37:46) — Q&A begins

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