One thing that's led to a slow uptake in the adoption of Information Card technology is the cost and complexity - or at least a perceived complexity - of Microsoft's CardSpace software. Oh, and the fact that it's not really available yet. Well, that's no longer the stumbling block as new kid on the block Parity has just released CardPress, the world's first service for issuing Information Cards. Not only is there now a service available to issue managed cards it's also free!

Parity CEO Paul Trevithick is really excited about the launch. I’ve known Paul for a few years, from the Internet Identity Workshop and the Higgins Project, and he doesn’t excite easily. And in talking about Information Cards, Paul doesn’t mince words – he calls the technology “the biggest Web innovation since the browser.” I’m not sure I would go that far, but Information Cards do promise to be the enabler for the user-focused identity layer of the Internet.

CardPress is a hosted service – nothing for you to install. Typically, you can be up and running (and issuing and accepting Information Cards) in two days or less. So what can be done with the Information Cards you issue? You can enable:

* Customer-centric identity management.
* One-click login to the customer's site.
* Phishing protection for all customers.
* Single sign-on (SSO) or “click-in” across multiple sites.
* Eliminate current costs for login and password management (forgotten passwords).

Accepting Information Cards allows for:
* One-click account creation.
* Acceptance of third-party-verified identity claims such as age or residency.
* Reduced shopping cart abandonment by eliminating forgotten passwords.
* Increased customer loyalty through a faster, more secure Web experience.

Information Cards will be ubiquitous in a few short years. Here’s an opportunity to get in early, with little investment.

The important points about the new service are:
* It is a free service.
* Enables any Web site to issue and accept Information Cards in a couple of days.
* Always on, 24/7 software-as-a-service (SaaS).
* Web sites access CardPress via a secure Web-services API.

You need to check this out. Go here for all the details. (Compare Identity Management products)

Dave Kearns is a consultant and editor of IdM, the Journal of Identity Management.