Connectis

Connectis, established in 2008, carved a niche in the Netherlands as a key provider of online identification and authentication solutions. The company played a foundational role in the development of eHerkenning, a standardized login system for government services, in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, becoming one of the first certified suppliers in 2010. This positioned Connectis as a central figure in the country's digital identity infrastructure, processing a significant volume of eHerkenning transactions through its platform.

The firm's business model revolves around providing a secure and streamlined way for users to access online services from both public and private sector organizations. Its primary offering, the Connectis Identity Broker, acts as a hub that connects service providers to a variety of digital identity methods, including DigiD, iDIN, and eHerkenning, through a single integration. This broker service eliminates the need for client organizations to build and manage individual connections to each identity provider, simplifying access for their users. Clients primarily include organizations in the public sector, healthcare, insurance, and financial services. Revenue is generated from connection and subscription fees paid by these service providers.

In 2017, SIDN, the organization responsible for the .nl country-code top-level domain, acquired a majority stake in Connectis to stimulate the Dutch digital identity market. A significant milestone occurred in April 2020 when Norwegian digital identity specialist Signicat acquired Connectis from SIDN and the 2050 Foundation, a foundation established by founder Martijn Kaag. This acquisition was a strategic move by Signicat to expand its European footprint and create a more robust digital identity platform. Following the acquisition, the Connectis eHerkenning services were rebranded as We-ID, which continues to operate as part of Signicat. The combined entity serves over 350 organizations, identifying more than 14 million users.

Keywords: digital identity, online authentication, eHerkenning, identity broker, single sign-on, access management, DigiD, iDIN, public sector IT, secure login, online identification, authentication solutions, Dutch digital infrastructure, CIAM, identity verification, financial services IT, healthcare IT, government IT, We-ID, Signicat