Annual Review 2019

Welcome to the 2019 Annual Review. Since 2011, this collection of yearly achievements has been presented in a printed format. As the Alliance continues to meet demands in a changing market, a broader vision of digital solutions and security based on secure chip and other technology and systems has taken the lead. Our mission – driving adoption of secure solutions – and purpose – securing an increasingly connected digital world – have been strengthened by the activities and achievements of our member organizations. We hope you enjoy reading about the highlights of the year in a format that illustrates the move to a digital society.  Whether you are an Alliance member or friend, or simply a visitor, we welcome the opportunity to deliver information about the best of the organization’s activities on the following pages.

Alliance Councils

The Secure Technology Alliance councils foster collaboration within specific industries and market segments. These member-driven groups have produced notable achievements throughout the year.

Resources

Newsletters, webinars, white papers, presentations and web sites – they are among the numerous resources the Alliance produces for members to better succeed.

Alliance Membership

Membership in the Alliance includes digital security technology adopter and provider organizations focused on the payments, mobile, healthcare, identity, IoT, access, transportation and other emerging markets.

Training and Certification

The Alliance offers various educational and certification programs – some exclusive – for members to enhance their knowledge and skills.

Conferences and Events

The yearly Alliance conferences and events are considered a roadmap for the direction of secure solutions in the digital security industry.

U.S. Payments Forum

The U.S. Payments Forum, an Alliance affiliated organization, is a cross-industry body addressing emerging payments technology implementation.

Sponsored Content

I think the Alliance consistently provides a valuable forum for members to share information and provide opportunities to share best practice cases. With its deep reach into critical market verticals and a core mission to promote safety and security, the Alliance is well positioned to help members understand and respond to the emerging challenges we face in the digital age.

Gerald Kane, Transportation Council ChairSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Collaboration…Thought Leadership…Outreach

Alliance Councils

Each year Secure Technology Alliance members bring their expertise to the industry councils to collaborate to solve industry challenges and provide thought leadership in the payments, identity and access markets.

Driven by critical industry issues, council members collaborated this year to complete 30 projects covering a wide array of identity authentication and payments technologies and new approaches to secure identity and payments ecosystems.  And work hasn’t paused – councils currently have over 20 projects underway for completion in 2020 with a number of activities tackling new markets.

Strong member engagement enables the Alliance councils to create market-leading deliverables that help to move markets forward with implementing secure solutions.  Over 76% of Alliance member organizations participate in at least one council, with many also active in the U.S. Payments Forum.

Making sure that Alliance guidance reaches beyond our members to relying parties in all industries is critical for all of our councils.  This past year has had increased focus on outreach – through public webinars, workshops and events that feature council-developed educational resources and highlight our contributing members.

The Alliance encourages all members to join one or more of the industry councils.  Not only do the councils deliver resources and recommendations that help to grow the industry, they also highlight member expertise and provide opportunities for members to form new partnerships and grow their business.

Members drive the Alliance forward

Alliance Membership

Without members, there would be no Secure Technology Alliance. Members are the engine of the organization. From white papers to webinars, councils to conferences, Alliance members are active, engaged, enthusiastic, and involved.

Membership is made up of digital security technology adopter and provider organizations of all sizes focused on the payments, mobile, healthcare, identity and access, transportation, Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging markets in the U.S. Membership and participation in Alliance activities enable organizations of all sizes, and their respective individual employees, in all industries to be at the forefront of digital security.

Two overarching benefits available only to members are the opportunities to gain the insights required to build successful business strategies to implement secure solutions and commercialize products and services; and networking opportunities to establish valuable business contacts and learn from peers and industry thought leaders.

The Alliance provides opportunities for the industry to come together on key issues of relevance and value and to gain market and cross vertical insights, connections, and synergy. Through Alliance activities, public, private sector, and not-for-profit organizations and individuals regularly partner to make a difference by providing insights and experience in various markets.

The Secure Technology Alliance Center of Excellence (COE) was created to recognize an elite mix of member companies who reach the highest level of active participation in the Alliance each year.  In 2019, 13 member companies received the COE designation, and we are thrilled to welcome three companies to this prestigious list.

The Survey Says….

You’re satisfied, and so are we. Each year the Secure Technology Alliance conducts a member survey to understand member value and satisfaction with our programs and deliverables. In 2019, we introduced a shorter survey that allowed us to understand satisfaction levels and areas in which we can provide more opportunities.

Member List

Take a look at the companies and organizations who are members of the Alliance

COE Awardees

Learn which companies received the COE designation, recognizing member organizations who reached the highest level of participation in the Alliance

Member Survey

See the results of the 2019 Annual Member Survey and learn what your colleagues think

"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work”

Conferences and Events

The conferences and events produced by the Secure Technology Alliance are specifically tailored to cover every vertical market. These meetings also allow our collective industry knowledge and technology expertise to extend beyond the edges of the organization. Our conferences are always infused with fresh new insights from industry leaders. Industry councils also meet in person at these events, allowing for valuable one-on-one interaction and group collaboration.

Alliance events consistently offer an atmosphere of professionalism and congeniality. That freedom allows an open exchange of ideas and thoughts from colleagues on the latest information on new technologies. Broad audiences, eager to learn, share new industry initiatives, applications and technology advances. Many attendees enjoy dual roles, presenting or moderating panels in the morning, to being audience members in the afternoon, absorbing the lively exchange of ideas.

“Knowledge sharing is essential for a company to achieve success”

Resources

One of the priorities of the Alliance is to serve as a resource to members and industry stakeholders who implement secure solutions. From daily member communications to white papers to online resources, we delivered a well-rounded mixture of printed materials, educational content, presentations, webinars and social media outreach to help members make sound decisions for their business needs.

Websites

The Alliance produces five robust websites filled with information and resources for every industry

Knowledge Center

This online library provides resources related to the implementation of secure technologies in the payments, identity and access markets

Member Communications

Members enjoy consistent communication from the Alliance through daily news summaries, and monthly and quarterly newsletters

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”

Training and Certification

In addition to providing numerous educational resources, the Secure Technology Alliance offers training and certification programs that provide professional development and demonstrate a recipient’s advanced level of knowledge in smart cards, secure technologies and applications. In fact, the Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP) certifications are recognized as the smart card industry’s only standardized certification.

The Leadership, Education, and Advancement Program (LEAP) is an online, members-only organization for industry professionals.

CSCIP

The Secure Technology Alliance offers three separate internationally recognized credentials through the Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP) program. CSCIP/Goverment is further tailored to include government-specific topics such as the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card and identity management initiatives, and CSCIP/Payments offers in-depth content on EMV, NFC payments and transit payments.

CSEIP

The Certified System Engineer ICAM PACS Training and Certification Program (CSEIP) provides advanced training for systems engineers on how to set-up and test E-PACS to align with government-wide specifications. This GSA-approved program includes both core classroom and hands-on training.

TSCIP

The Transportation Security Certified Identification Professional (TSCIP) is a certification recognizing identification professionals who have knowledge and experience in advanced Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card implementation for access security. The program was launched in late 2019, with training and exams to follow in 2020.

“Traditionally, technologies associated with PKI and Automated Access Control Systems (AACS) are worlds apart, so it can be difficult to find engineers and technicians who understand both concepts.  The CSEIP course does a wonderful job of bridging that gap.  It was instrumental to our group, providing us with the knowledge needed to carefully evaluate AACS vendors and network architectures to meet our HSPD-12 goals.”

Matthew Martino
Business Integra

"The CSEIP training allowed my classmates and I to go from Zero to Hero in 3 days!
I highly recommend the course for anyone that will be involved in meeting the demanding Federal standards for E-PACS."

John Bodolay
Acme Technical Group

“The depth of information and the learning atmosphere provided was some of the best training I have received in my career. I am already looking forward to the refresher course.”

Bruce Riddle
Environmental Protection Agency

“One of the things I hear the most from our customers is that they aren’t clear on what they need to be compliant. Being able to break that down and convey that information is critical to helping them get there. This was a great course.”

Jim Hansen
Chenega Integrated Security Solutions, LLC

Engagement…Best Practices…Education

U.S. Payments Forum

This past year has seen significant progress in the U.S. implementation of EMV and adoption of contactless and mobile payments.  Contact EMV chip technology is now well-established in the U.S. – 63% of in-store payment terminals are chip-enabled, and 68% of total transactions today are chip-on-chip – and 78 of the top 100 merchants now accept contactless payments.

The U.S. Payments Forum played a key role in this progress, publishing technical guidance and best practices for implementation, recommending solutions to solve key industry challenges, and hosting educational sessions to communicate with both members and the U.S. industry.  Key initiatives included EMV migration for the petroleum industry, contactless open payments in transit and new approaches for testing and certification.

The Forum’s in-person member meetings – this year in Phoenix, Atlanta and St. Louis – provided opportunities for education, cross-industry discussion and collaboration on projects critical to the U.S. payments industry. With over 200 members attending each meeting, sessions had lively, interactive discussion and debate on the hottest payment topics.

While the Forum continues its work on best practices for EMV, contactless and mobile payments implementation, its working committees, project teams and educational activities are now tackling new technologies to combat e-commerce fraud, improve identity authentication, and implement faster payments.  Forum members share their knowledge and experience to help the industry as a whole move forward with technologies that protect the security of, and enhance opportunities for payment transactions within the U.S.

“THE U.S. PAYMENTS FORUM’S ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS ARE GOOD FOR THE INDUSTRY, AND HELP ALL INVOLVED”

Thank you for reading the 2019 Secure Technology Alliance Annual Review!

We hope you have enjoyed what you’ve read and learned some things about the organization you may not have been aware of as a member. We wish to thank the staff, leadership and management of the Secure Technology Alliance for their help and support in making this web-based publication a lively, informative wrap-up of a very busy year.

For membership inquiries or other industry news and information, please visit our website at www.securetechalliance.org.

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