Overview

In this sequel to the series of books on Identity (Identity & Security, Identity & Policy, Identity & Context), the authors, explore and explain how an Identity System, with its federation model, can act as a conduit that carries context in the network (between multiple service networks, content networks and multi-media networks) so that composition and choreography of converged services can take place with the appropriate context.

Every connection and every call made via the network is for a reason and within a context; the reasons can range from getting information, conversing with a group, invoking services, responding to an event and consuming services. One amongst the core value proposition of an Identity System for an Enterprise SOA Network and a Telecom Carrier's SDP Network is the notion of "Contextual Composition of Converged Services" - Context STARTS with a User (and his/her identity) and a sub-context;

• Task or Enterprise Context (user’s activity/activities as an employee, doctor, citizen, etc.)
• Social Context (friends, family, mentor, coach, redskin fan, etc.)
• Personal (physical and mental attributes about a user)
• Spatial-Temporal or Mobility Context (attributes such as time, location, movement, calendar, etc.)
• Environmental Context (users surrounding - including entities, such as others, devices, etc.)

Here an Identity System adds value by gluing together all relevant contextual attributes to an identity after a User Authenticates with a Authentication Authority and all relevant Attributes are retrieved from the respective -context- Attribute Authority after abiding to the respective domains policy requirements. The "Contextual Composition" however adds another dimension - Composition of the relevant service and content for a user is accomplished after the contextual attributes are FED within a session. BY Fed (we mean both feeding the data and federating the contextual data from multiple sources). The idea again is that composition and choreography is preceded with context all the time. Converged Services, implies Voice, Data and Video Service Building Blocks delivered as one Application. The KILLER APP is the Contextual CALL to the Network. Every Call you make is within a context; and composes multi-media services; A Call made to a friend, a call made with fellow employees, a call made to your doctor, and more, and every Call is not just a Voice CALL - It’s a Multi-Media Converged Application Call.

• the call to the friend automatically loads the relevant context (your joint trip pictures, topic of your last call, your group buddies -common to you and the friend, any planned joint events and more),
• the call to your fellow employees automatically loads the group collaboration site, agenda for the call, the brief bios and pictures of the participants, the areas of specialization and participation of the team members and more),
• the call to your doctor automatically loads the medical transcripts, recent visit data, current medications taken, pending questions to ask and more).

• From an identity federation and policy combination
• From a Secure Attribute Exchange between Services
• From enabling the Enterprise Networks to go Mobile
• From enabling the Mobile Social Experience
• From enabling the fusion between smart things and mobile users
• From enabling the mobile device as a remote control of the Global Network
• From extending and exchanging the context between the 5 context areas
• From making the mobility context the macro context to glue the other context areas
• From fusing voice, data and video (multi-media) to deliver converged services
  

Without Federation Technologies none of the fusion frameworks will be possible. There are many types of IDP's (identity service providers) and PDP's (policy decision points) for business enterprises however the Mobile Operators IDP and PDP has a special unique value proposition to offer mobile consumers, that cannot be true with other environments (making mobility the macro context), especially with the roll out of 4G (2010-2013) and 5G (2014 and beyond) networks. In fact from an Operators perspective Digital Identity is nothing but a “Construct of Credentials for a given Context”. The 1st book “Identity and Security” discussed vertical and horizontal integration of Identity Systems from an Authentication Authority perspective, and the 2nd book “Identity and Policy” discussed a pervasive policy paradigm, with orchestra table policies of an Identity System from a Authorization Authority perspective. This book on “Identity and Context” discusses the relevance of an Identity System as an Attribute Authority, which can exchange attributes about identities and entities securely.