SoftBank integrates NEC’s biometrics for tailored digital transformation

SoftBank is integrating NEC Corporation’s multimodal biometric authentication, Bio-IDiom, with its extensive range of communication networks and security services. By combining their expertise in the jointly developed platform, the companies aim to broaden their market presence, particularly focusing on smart building physical access control applications.

The partners state that incorporating biometric authentication into digital transformation will bolster security measures and help them in various ways. This partnership will facilitate the development of tailored biometric systems to address the specific requirements of different industries and use cases, they say.

“We are confident that this partnership will create new value by combining NEC’s world-class biometric authentication technology with SoftBank’s diverse solutions, including smart buildings and security. The two companies will develop innovative solutions to further accelerate digital transformation for Japanese companies and local government customers,” says Hayato Sakurai, executive vice president and corporate head of SoftBank Corporation.

Sales of NEC’s biometric authentication by SoftBank will start in the fall, the announcement says.

SoftBank is set to join NEC’s co-creation partner program for digital ID, part of the latter’s BluSteller initiative. This initiative focuses on creating future-oriented solutions through collaboration with various partners.

“NEC is evolving its co-creation programs under its new brand, BluStellar, and we are confident that our collaboration with SoftBank in the biometric authentication field, which is NEC’s focus, will further accelerate these efforts,” says Toshifumi Yoshizaki, executive corporate senior EVP, CDO, and digital platform business unit head of NEC Corporation.

Last year, NEC announced the development of a biometric matching system that leverages homomorphic encryption, ensuring the protection of data during usage. This system is purported to facilitate one-to-many (1:N) searches. NEC has indicated that the system will be incorporated into its Bio-IDiom portfolio.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  BluStellar  |  multimodal biometrics  |  NEC  |  Softbank