#73 - Self-Sovereignty: A Lost Vision or an Evolving Concept? (with Vladimir Vujovic)

Are you curious about how Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) has evolved over the years and where it is headed?

In this episode of The SSI Orbit Podcast, host Mathieu Glaude sits down with Vladimir Vujovic, Head of Digital Product Management at SICPA to discuss the journey and future of SSI and decentralized identity technologies. Vladimir, with his extensive background in product management and experience in the SSI space since 2017, offers valuable insights into the technological advancements, challenges, and opportunities in this domain.

From the early days of Evernym to the current state of mainstream adoption, Vladimir sheds light on the progress made and the hurdles still to be overcome. How have new credential formats and protocols impacted the industry? What role do government initiatives and large-scale pilots play in the broader adoption of SSI? Vladimir addresses these questions and more, providing a comprehensive overview of the SSI landscape.

Join us as we explore the nuances of product development in the SSI space. Vladimir highlights the technical focus of digital wallet products and the need for companies to move beyond generic solutions to create value-added services tailored to specific industries. Discover the importance of making bold choices and the potential for growth in this evolving market.

Chapters

00:00 - How things have evolved since Evernym’s early days in 2027
8:50 - Have we lost the vision of ‘Self-Sovereignty’ with an overfocus on Government ID?
20:30 - Complexity of exchange interactions in identity vs payments
24:10 - Evolution in thinking around building SSI-enabled products
31:00 - The complexities of issuing credentials vs verifying them
39:10 - How far open source goes and impacts product design
45:25 - Adoption curves, horizontal vs vertical product focus
51:45 - Where the technical SSI space is at today