The latest research from public sector IT analyst Kable says that over the coming decade, government departments are likely to set up a range of "medium sized" identity projects.
Similar schemes to the £72m DWP customer information system and the £200m Every Child Matters child protection identity system are likely to be initiated, says the report titled Identity markets in the UK public sector.
Also, by 2008 governments across Europe will have rolled out key components of major ID card projects. The UK ID card initiative is by far the most expensive at £5.8bn according to official estimates, compared to France, which costs its scheme at £700m, and Spain (£300m).
Over the next few years, some key schemes will focus on facilitating citizens' interaction and access to government information, the report says. These systems include e-job seekers portals, e-learning portals and a telephone number for life.
Kable foresees that the virtual phone number could become part of a personal identification code on an identity card or passport. The number would be stored on public sector records for organisations to use when contacting citizens. Additional digits could be encrypted and used for digital signatures and access to personal data online.
Other initiatives will target niche markets such as smart cards for students, teachers and transport staff.
The UK and other countries are facing a "new electronic era" in identity technologies, where a "multitude of services will be created".
"We are already seeing some interesting developments in the use of identification systems in countries such as Finland with the mobile phone certificate, Belgium with Portable Document Format (PDF) authentication allowing citizens to sign contracts electronically, Estonia with an authentication certificate containing a unique email address allocated to the holder," the report says.
Due to the limitations of IT used in many ID schemes, suppliers will be called upon to develop alternatives to fingerprint and iris scanning technology.
"Biometric technologies can be intrusive and are not user friendly. This leads to an opportunity for the supplier community to develop and promote the use of other biometrics technologies such as the palm reader or the ear reader."
The report predicts there will be "numerous hurdles" which "may lead to the withdrawal or modification of requirements".
However, overall "the difficulties will eventually be overcome, projects and concepts will flourish and new business will be generated for IT vendors," the report concludes.
Click here for further details of the report.
