BT/ Apple files patent work for ‘body print’ recognition, digital Watch crown

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Paradigm

25 min readJan 30, 2023

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Biometrics biweekly vol. 56, 16th January — 30th January

TL;DR

Apple files patent work for ‘body print’ recognition, digital Watch crown
Sentry builds Infineon secure elements into a biometric cold-storage wallet
Trust Stamp, Simunix partner to provide biometric, age verification tech to UK
Thales aces mDL, digital identity interoperability test to ISO standard in Australia
GBT’s face and ‘body’ biometrics patent granted, imaging invention published
SITA enters deal to improve management of passengers’ biometric data
Open Metaverse Foundation established to build standards and open-source software
Dataset provider signs deal for Middle East photos for biometrics training
Yoti, Onfido sign up selfie biometric clients for dating, business management and fintech
iDenfy opens partner program for digital ID verification products
Ping Identity adds device identification to the digital identity orchestration platform
Iris ID’s iCAM 7S biometric reader SIA OSDP compliance confirmed
Isorg pitches OPD biometrics for higher-resolution smartphones with Precise collaboration
Svipe partners up to launch consumer digital ID app Knowingme ID
Biometric payment cards launched by G+D, demoed by STMicroelectronics
Middle East bank launches PopID and Visa biometric payment service
Facial recognition gates by JR West to launch at Osaka train station in March
NADRA creates alternative to biometrics for elderly people with faded fingerprints
India introduces face, iris biometrics system to reduce bank fraud
French MPs prefer specific law on facial recognition for the 2024 Olympics
Philippines conducts biometric registration of vulnerable people, total hits 29M milestone
Sierra Leone hikes fees for obtaining biometric ID documents
Vietnam considers chip-based ID cards for children under six, no biometrics are required
Veridos and Innovatrics partner to open DNA biometrics to civilian use
Biometric registrations open for vehicles and guns in Pakistan
A deal between Philippines and Singapore could herald more digital ID interoperability
Australia awards Fujitsu $26M contract for ID matching, considers face biometrics database
A team of researchers based in South Korea has developed a multi-factor method of biometric recognition and liveness detection with sensors under quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) displays
Japanese researchers say they have created a way to perform computations with encrypted data faster, more cheaply, and more securely than legacy methods of preserving data privacy and security
A new method for authenticating blind and low-vision (BLV) users via haptic vibrations has been tested by researchers at the University of Waterloo and the Rochester Institute of Technology
EU IAI launches call for speakers at 2023 biometrics events
Biometric industry events. And more!

Biometrics Market

The Biometric system market size is projected to grow from USD 36.6 billion in 2020 to USD 68.6 billion by 2025; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period. Increasing use of biometrics in consumer electronic devices for authentication and identification purposes, the growing need for surveillance and security with the heightened threat of terrorist attacks, and the surging adoption of biometric technology in automotive applications are the major factors propelling the growth of the biometric system market.

Biometric Research & Development

Latest Research:

Researchers develop fingerprint biometrics and liveness for under QLED smartphone displays

A team of researchers based in South Korea has developed a multi-factor method of biometric recognition and liveness detection with sensors under quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) displays.

Published by the scientific journal Nature, ‘Biometric authentication security enhancement under quantum dot light‑emitting diode display via fingerprint imaging and temperature sensing’ describes the use of fingerprint biometrics in combination with measurements of skin temperature change.

The researchers, from the Korea Polytechnics University and the Sookmyung Women’s University, captured scattered, transmitted and reflected light from the top of the QLED, which they say delivered 25 percent higher luminescence than OLEDs, which generate noise peaks.

A QLED mimicking the wiring structure of commercial smartphones showed a 2 percent temperature response to human fingers, but only 0.1 percent for paper-based spoof attempts.

(a) Resistance variance and temperature response of rGO with respect to temperature sweep from 15 to 60 °C. (b) Temperature response of rGO for temperature variation of 1 °C and long-term stability.

Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy, which use optical fingerprint sensors, could protect themselves from presentation attacks with this kind of technology, according to the paper.

A green QLED light source also performed fingerprint image detection more effectively than a green OLED light source. This is because the narrower full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) of QLEDs is less affected by reflections from the skin of the finger being sensed.

(a) Micro-sized aperture photomask structure with green light from a commercial OLED smartphone. (b) Actual target shape with a 270 µm square pattern. © 60 µm × 200 µm micro-sized aperture and actual pattern with optical microscope. (d) Eight 10 µm × 10 µm micro-sized apertures and actual pattern with optical microscope. (e) Captured image with 60 µm × 200 µm micro-sized aperture, scale bar: 200 µm and digital cross-sectional line luminance value of the captured image. (f) Captured image with a total of eight 10 µm × 10 µm apertures, scale bar: 200 µm and digital cross-sectional line luminance values.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is also suggested as a lower-cost temperature sensor material than the precious metals that are often used in such sensors.

Biometric authentication security enhancement under quantum dot light-emitting diode display via…

We improved biometric authentication security using dual recognition based on fingerprint image detection and…

www.nature.com

Pair of scientists think they have topped homomorphic encryption

Japanese researchers say they have created a way to perform computations with encrypted data faster, more cheaply and more securely than legacy methods of preserving data privacy and security.

The backdrop of this is the assumption that society 5 running on the Internet of things is on its way and will be the most data-intensive and security-dependent iteration of online life.

A pair of scientists from Tokyo University of Science, say they have a computation method that is better than homomorphic encryption. All of the computations are done on a single server, reportedly without a significant computational cost. Their paper was published late last year in IEEE Access.

The setup, which is supposed to allow for decentralized computation of encrypted data while still working the problem on just one server, is an involved process.

There is a trusted third party, a computing server, four players providing secret inputs to the server and one player restoring the computation output.

The neutral third party creates random numbers, referred to as shares, which are fed to the server and the other players in proscribed combinations. The numbers encrypt the data.

Players perform a computation with the random numbers and generate secret inputs that are sent to the server.

The server uses the shares and secret inputs with new values computed by the third party to perform a series of computations. The result of those computations is sent to a final player who reconstructs the computation result.

“In our proposed method, we realize the advantage of homomorphic encryption without the significant computational cost incurred by homomorphic encryption,” says Professor Keiichi Iwamura, “devising a way to securely handle data.” Iwamura led the study.

TTP-Aided Secure Computation Using (k, n) Threshold Secret Sharing With a Single Computing Server

Secure computation can be divided into those using homomorphic encryption and secret sharing. The advantage of the…

ieeexplore.ieee.org

Haptic authentication for blind, low-vision users tested by US, Canadian academics

A new method for authenticating blind and low-vision (BLV) users via haptic vibrations has been tested by researchers at the University of Waterloo and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Called OneButtonPIN, the new method is described in a study published in the Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction journal and aims to make authentication more user-friendly and secure for BLV individuals.

“More traditional forms of entry are vulnerable due to many BLV people’s use of screen reader technology,” says Stacey Watson, a lecturer in computer science and one of the researchers on the study.
“PIN users are vulnerable both to eavesdropping and shoulder surfing attacks, which is where someone nearby can observe a user’s device without their knowledge.”

According to a blog post on the university’s site, the solution enables users to insert PIN codes into various devices via a single large button and a series of haptic vibrations. The user counts pauses in the vibrations, and releases it when it reaches the desired number, and then repeats the process to input the code.

The researchers say they created OneButtonPIN to allay BLV individuals’ frustration with traditional authentication methods, including fingerprint and face biometrics.

The method was reportedly tested with nine BLV participants, who installed OneButtonPIN apps on their phones. The test results showed that OneButtonPIN allowed users to input codes with an average of 83.6 percent accuracy, an increase from 78.1 percent accuracy using traditional methods.

Commenting on the findings, Watson adds that the new method also proved more secure than traditional methods. When ten sighted participants observed people using both conventional PIN entry methods and OneButtonPIN, all of them could successfully guess users’ PINs using traditional methods, but none of them could guess code input using OneButtonPIN.

“While OneButtonPIN was designed for BLV people, many users will appreciate the added security,” Watson concludes. “When we make things more accessible, we make things more usable for the average user as well.”

OneButtonPIN increases security for blind and low-vision tech users | Waterloo News

Working closely with blind and low-vision (BLV) users, researchers at the University of Waterloo and the Rochester…

uwaterloo.ca

Main News:

Apple files patent work for ‘body print’ recognition, digital Watch crown

The U.S. Patent Office published a biometric home security patent application filed by Apple (20230013117) last week. The document expands on two related applications that stretch back to May 2021 describing the use of face-associated body characteristics to biometrically recognize a person.

Apple sees algorithms in its HomePod security system that can cumulatively build a biometric identity file, or body print, for a person over time by linking video or images of a person, according to reporting by Patently Apple.

A face may be recorded and verified during a first visit. At the same visit, the person’s clothing or a different segment of their body is attached to the facial image. Eventually, the algorithms would be able to identify a person by viewing a few discrete sections of them.

According to the application, Apple identification software would rely on a deep learning model to train itself.

Another patent application, 20230013283, describes a number of possible new functions for the crown of a Watch.

Also reported by Patently Apple, the company sees the possibility of turning a Watch crown into a biometric sensor capable of scanning fingerprints or gathering electrocardiograph information.

Apple notes that while the idea may be focuses on its Watch now, applications could include AirPods Max, MacBooks and mixed-reality head displays.

Details about Apple mixed-reality headsets revealed

Speaking of Apple’s mixed-reality headset, a report by Bloomberg has revealed some new details about it.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who specializes in Apple, the device will probably be called Reality Pro and will feature eye- and hand-tracking capabilities via multiple cameras alongside support for advanced FaceTime-based videoconferencing and meeting rooms.

The cameras will also enable use without controllers, relying instead on hand gestures as commands.

The headset should also work as a display for a connected Mac and replicate several functions of iPhones and iPads.

Apple’s Reality Pro will have two displays developed with Sony and will feature digital crowns. It will run on a modified M2 chip (the latest in Mac devices), as well as a dedicated processor for graphics and mixed-reality functions.

Production is expected to begin in February in China, and Apple is considering a United States-only launch.

The new details come days after Apple renewed its technological efforts toward metaverse applications.

Sentry builds Infineon secure elements into biometric cold-storage wallet

The latest generation secure elements from Infineon have been selected for integration into the biometric cold-storage wallet for crypto developed by Sentry Enterprises.

The Sentinel biometric cold storage wallet is being developed with Infineon’s SLC37x to compliment the SentryCard biometric platform. Sentinel has already been unveiled and will be released to the market soon, according to the announcement.

Sentry says its biometric identity platform is intended to compete across the security, payment, and crypto sectors, as well as other market segments. The platform addresses security vulnerabilities and positions Sentry for Web 3.0 and self-sovereign identity applications. It includes biometric hardware, the card operating system, integrated mobile applications and supporting back-end systems.

“Our expertise in biometric solutions has proven to be the essential foundation for building a leading global identity ecosystem. Collaborating with Infineon to integrate the SCL37x Secure Element into the SentryCard and Sentinel biometric platforms provide the perfect balance between performance, power and uncompromising security,” says Mark Bennett, CEO at Sentry Enterprises.

Infineon’s security controllers are certified to the CC EAL 6+ security level.

“There is no question that privacy-centric, biometric solutions will play a critical role in the security, identity, and emerging crypto markets,” says Arnaud Moser, senior director of Americas, Smart Cards and IoT Security, Infineon. “We believe that Sentry is the first commercially scalable player in this arena, and we are very pleased that they have selected Infineon’s SLC38 Secure Element to strengthen their platform.”

Trust Stamp, Simunix partner to provide biometric, age verification tech to UK

Artificial intelligence-based identity and trust service provider Trust Stamp is partnering with Simunix, a provider of identity data on UK residents and businesses to public and private sectors, to bring age verification products to the UK.

Trust Stamp’s biometric technologies are being added to Simunix’s Age Verification and T2A — an API for data on residential and business addresses — to empower the latter’s customers with biometric and optical character recognition products to verify a customer’s identity.

Simunix provides data on UK businesses and individuals. It claims more than 200 organizations as clients. In the private sector, they span finance, logistics and legal services, as Tata Steel, HSBC and parcel firm DPD. Public sector organizations include police forces and local authorities.

“With so much stolen identity data readily available to criminals, establishing users’ identity is increasingly challenging,” comments Andrew Gowasack, president and co-founder of Trust Stamp.
“Simunix is a well-respected provider of data and people solutions, and we are excited to partner with them to bring this unique biometric authentication capability to their customers.”

Head of Business Development for Simunix, Colin Frith, comments:

“We are pleased to partner with Trust Stamp for our age and identity verification products. The addition of their OCR and biometric technology to our existing data solution will result in a more robust verification service offering for our customers.”

Trust Stamp continues to develop its government-focused solutions in multiple countries. In the U.S., for example, its irreversibly transformed identity token (IT2) for securing users’ biometric data.

In October 2022 the firm was added as a Software-as-a-Service provider to the UK’s cloud procurement portal, G-Cloud 13, allowing public sector agencies to buy its products such as Privtech Certified tools for biometric identity proofing and matching and biometric MFA without further tender.

Thales aces mDL, digital identity interoperability test to ISO standard in Australia

Thales is claiming success in an interoperability test for mobile driver’s licenses and digital identities based on the ISO standard.

The company’s entry was made by its ANZ Digital Identity Team, along with its global Digital ID Wallet Product Team and local partners, and the Queensland Department of Transport & Main Roads. The latter hosted the event.

Thales and its partners participated in the 2022 ISO Interoperability Test Event for Mobile Driving Licence Applications in Brisbane with their jointly-developed Queensland Digital Licence Application (DLA).

The event was held in December and evaluated the conformance of mDL and digital identity solutions to ISO/IEC 18013–5:2021. Thales was recently certified to the standard in the first third-party evaluation of its kind at the end of last year.

Transport & Main Roads was pleased with the results, Thales says, giving a boost to their existing relationship.

“Thales, alongside our Brisbane based SME partners, Code Heroes and Aliva, are proud to be partnering with Transport and Main Roads to help deliver Australia’s first globally interoperable Digital Licence to Queenslanders,” says Thea Dedden, director of Digital Identity, Thales ANZ.

More than 150 people participated in the event, including twice as many regulators as previously attended.

“We were able to successfully test the Queensland digital licence against vendors from across the globe,” comments TMR Deputy Director-General Customer Services, Safety and Regulation Geoffrey Magoffin. “There were over 150 attendees over the six days of the summit, with most travelling from overseas. This demonstrates the enormous global commitment to ensuring mDL interoperability, which Queensland and Thales are a part of.”

The Queensland DLA was recently upgraded, and is slated for an extended pilot in Townsville soon, and a state-wide release later this year.

GBT’s face and ‘body’ biometrics patent granted, imaging invention published

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has approved a patent by GBT Technologies referring to a machine learning-driven image identification and recognition technology with biometric capabilities.

Granted as of December 13, 2022, the invention (patent №11,527,104) describes systems and methods that can learn and classify human facial and bodily features, even when partially covered.

The machine learning algorithms do so by modeling the image’s data, detecting biometric features, and mapping them into a database to create a three-dimensional object.

According to GBT, the ensuing image can be further processed for desired analytics. The company says the technology could be used to identify hidden, harmful objects or persons of interest live or within stationary videos and images.

“We believe image recognition has become an increasingly important topic when it comes to security and law enforcement applications,” comments GBT’s CTO Danny Rittman.
“Our advanced surveillance technologies can be used to protect the public’s safety, particularly in crowded places like airports, conventions and shopping centers.”

It could also automatically censor specific faces of body parts within live videos and even be used for facial identification for locking/unlocking electronic devices.

“As security systems have been significantly evolving in the past decades, particularly for mobile devices and computers, we believe this type of technology could potentially offer a powerful protection layer against privacy and data theft,” Rittman says.

Further, the system can also identify an object’s variations and various bodily changes, including weight gain.

“We are pleased to have this patent granted as of December 13, 2022, and plan to continue our R&D efforts in this domain as we strongly believe that such technology can be a major contributor to our world in life-changing fields, among them are security, health and safety,” Rittman adds.

GBT also recently announced that days later, on December 22, 2022, it received a notice of publication (№2022/0405966) regarding a separate patent, dubbed “Apollo”, to broaden the scope of its radio-based, real-time motion detection and imaging technology.

“The continuation application aims to further broaden and expand the patent’s IP scope. The patent includes machine learning algorithms that enable the analysis of RF data using neural networks, identifying living and stationary entities, and constructing their computerized imaging,” Rittman adds.

The technology can reportedly wirelessly measure human vitals like a heartbeat, breathing rhythm, blood oxygen, and blood pressure.

“The system is planned to be produced in the form of an electronic device, with a similar size and shape of a typical home Wi-Fi router, that could be placed in a room to monitor an entire house area.”

GBT’s December 2022 patents were filed days apart from NextgenID, Apple, and Google, which all made steps forward in the development of biometric patents.

SITA enters deal to improve management of passengers’ biometric data

SITA has signed a partnership deal with travel ID verification and data sharing company Zamna, which will enhance the former’s ability to handle and manage passenger biometrics and other data securely.

According to an announcement, the agreement, which was signed in Jordan on 24 January on the sidelines of a meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO), means SITA will integrate its solutions with Zamna’s decentralized blockchain technology.

This will modernize how passenger data like passport, visa, and health information is verified and handled, thus bringing security, convenience and efficiency advantages for travelers, airlines, airports and governments worldwide, according to the announcement.

The integrated solution, to be first deployed by AACO’s more than 30 airlines, is intended to reduce the number of times passengers have to present their documents at airport touchpoints and significantly reduce processing time for passenger checks.

The solution also allows for the data verification processes to be done safely and securely throughout the passenger journey, thus eliminating duplicate processes, increasing trust, and improving the passenger experience, the partners say.

“The partnership with Zamna Technologies powers the next step in the journey to SITA’s vision of enabling a truly connected and digital travel experience along with all the benefits it will deliver: efficiency, improved passenger experience, and increased security,” says SITA CEO David Lavorel.

Also commenting on the partnership, Zamna CEO Irra Ariella Khi says:

“SITA has already made great strides into making seamless travel possible with their innovative digital travel solutions […] Together, we will leverage Zamna’s digitization of travel documents and processes through Identity Rails to make travel significantly more efficient and deliver secure travel identity for all — through airports and across borders.”

Last month, SITA partnered with Romanian firm TechTalent Software to build a research center to develop new biometric passenger processing solutions.

Open Metaverse Foundation established to build standards and open-source software

Nonprofit Linux Foundation has created a new organization to provide a space for different industries to collaborate on developing open-source software and standards for an inclusive, global, vendor-neutral and scalable Metaverse.

The Open Metaverse Foundation (OMF) already counts several members, including ChainHub Foundation, Cloud Native Computing Foundation, GenXP, Hyperledger Foundation, LF Edge, LF Networking, OpenSDV, Open Voice Network and Veriken.

“We’re still in the early days of the vision for an open Metaverse, and we recognize that many open source communities and foundations are working on vital pieces of this iterative puzzle,” comments Royal O’Brien, executive director of the OMF.
“While the challenges may seem daunting, I’m energized by the opportunities to collaborate with a broad, global community to bring these pieces together as we transform this vision into reality.”

From an organizational standpoint, the OMF comprises Foundational Interest Groups (FIGs), each focusing on a different key topic. These are users, transactions, digital assets, simulations and virtual worlds, artificial intelligence (AI), networking, security and privacy, and legal and policy.

“The Open Metaverse Foundation is all about bringing a diversity of industry experts and open source communities together to transform the concept of the Metaverse from promise to reality while ensuring it delivers an amazing, immersive experience for all users,” explains Jon Stine, executive director of the Open Voice Network.
“This is about optimal choice, a rich development ecosystem, safety and ease of use. That’s why the Open Voice Network — a Linux Foundation community developing open standards and ethical use guidelines for the inevitable interface for the metaverse, conversational AI — is delighted to link arms with the Open Metaverse Foundation.”

WEF highlights metaverse inclusivity challenges

Also in metaverse news, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has recently published a series of guidelines to make the metaverse more inclusive and equitable.

Writing in a blog post last week, Lisa Heneghan from KPMG International says that while the metaverse holds the potential to be a revolutionary, inclusive technology, to achieve this goal, it needs to be widely affordable and accessible.

“The broad acceptance and sustained success of the metaverse lie not so much in the required investments in technology and infrastructure but in our ability to develop the space in an inclusive way,” Heneghan writes.

The list includes creating meaningful and inclusive experiences “at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds” and providing low-cost connectivity to ensure metaverse-related technologies aren’t cost-prohibitive.

Heneghan also underlines the value of accessibility, which should stem from organizations working with disability experts and advocates to include accessibility as core assets of designing metaverse applications and services.

Inclusivity should also be at the center of metaverse applications, with developers looking at implementing foundational elements of inclusion, diversity and equity in avatar design, for instance.

Finally, Heneghan writes that privacy and protecting personal information are currently one of the most pressing concerns connected with metaverse applications.

“Secure, connected wallets and blockchain-verified avatars will help verify and protect users’ identities and digital assets,” she writes.
“But much like today’s cybersecurity challenges, there are similar opportunities for threats and bad actors to penetrate virtual worlds and take advantage of vulnerabilities in these emerging spaces. It will be imperative to use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to power these worlds and detect threats.”

Dataset provider signs deal for Middle East photos for biometrics training

A stock photography service in the Middle East has signed a content deal, selling access to images or regional faces for use training biometric algorithms.

The Middle Frame sells photographs of Arabian people and culture, and now will provide images to vAIsual, which itself sells “legally clean” AI training datasets. The companies claim that the deal makes thousands of facial images available through DataSetShop.com.

Michael Osterrieder, CEO of vAIsual, says this is the first content deal of its kind. Increasing diversity and genetic representation for text-to-image generation boosts the quality of results for engineers and researchers working with datasets.

Although he (and others) might be getting ahead of things, Osterrieder says some feel this will be the year of AI ethics legislation, and diverse and fair image datasets are fundamental to useful, large-scale facial recognition and other projects.

Yoti, Onfido sign up selfie biometric clients for dating, business management and fintech

Yoti has been chosen by Muslim dating and marriage app Muzz to provide identity verification with selfie biometrics.

Muzz CEO and Founder Shahzad Younas says Yoti’s ID verification and its MyFace biometrics give its members confidence that the people they meet are who they claim to be.

MyFace completes a liveness check with a single selfie for a fast and smooth account verification.

The app provides identity verification for free, and then boosts verified accounts on its platform.

“Muzz pride themselves on creating the safest dating platform for the Muslim community, so we are proud they have chosen our technology to enhance their existing safety measures,” says Yoti CEO Robin Tombs. “Our technology has seamlessly integrated into the Muzz app, showing how dating platforms can verify users, without compromising their online dating experience. Verified profiles will make it easier and safer for honest people looking for love, and create safer, positive matches.”

The partnership with Yoti also enables Muzz to focus on other safety measures, according to the announcement.

Onfido has been certified for high confidence profile H1A under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework to serve use cases in which the most robust digital identity verification is needed.

The company has also been selected by The Access Group and Amiqus in a pair of deals to supply its automated identity verification with selfie biometrics.

The Access Group provides business management software, and Amiqus provides fintech services. Onfido will supply each with its Real Identity Platform to support their candidate screening processes, Right to Work and DBS checks.

“With Onfido Studio, Access Group is creating a superior user journey, modifying the way candidates can prove their identity digitally,” says Colin Whipp, recruitment sales director at The Access Group. “We went to full production in just four weeks, providing over 3,000 identity verification checks for Right to Work screenings in the two weeks that followed, with the agility of Studio to scale our operation.”

iDenfy opens partner program for digital ID verification products

Identity verification technology provider iDenfy‘s new partnership program shares its biometric API, tools, training and support with others in the industry.

With iDenfy’s API, partners can integrate the company’s identity verification including biometric AML and KYC checks. Program participants will also have access to training, marketing materials and product support.

The company said the program can be customized for companies of different sizes and in various industries.

Executives are pitching the program to outfits including blockchain infrastructure firms, NFT launchpads, e-gaming networks, e-signature service companies and white-label platforms.

Service companies including consultants and business advisors can join the partnership program and generate fees by referring clients to iDenfy.

iDenfy CEO Domantas Ciulde says, “We’re excited to expand our operations, at the same time, add value to existing customers by upgrading our anti-fraud tooling kit.”

Partner programs like iDenfy’s are comparatively low-cost market outreach for ambitious companies because a program participant does its own selling. The programs also share product support costs with participants. And, just as important, the programs reduce incidents of lousy implementation and integration performed on end-user systems by third-party vendors.