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An org that uses Origin to sell services to clients is a service provider.
Some services that a service provider might offer include the vetting of orgs and their people, issuance of vLEIs or other credentials, high-speed signing and verification of telecom traffic, verified attendees at web meetings, credential-based regulatory compliance, document signing, training, support, and much more.
Service providers can charge whatever prices they like for their services, and they can brand the services that they provide on the platform. When they do, the service provider's brand is prominent, and Origin's brand becomes a minor piece of background context. This allows service providers to build a business atop the platform, using common and interoperable features of the platform.
Origin is open. This means that any org or person can become a client and/or a service provider. It also means that the platform facilitates free interactions among the orgs and people that use it. Any party can work with any other party to create and exchange value.
No service provider is likely to provide a full spectrum of identity-related services all by itself. For example, a QVI on Origin may offer to issue vLEIs, but refer its clients to a CSP on Origin if the clients want to use their vLEIs to originate or verify signed telecom traffic. They may make an additional referral if their clients want to use vLEIs to prove who's attending web meetings.
Therefore, in its public deployments, Origin assumes a collaborative ecosystem rather than a simple captive customer model between service providers and their clients. All service providers in the ecosystem are available to maximize business value to clients.
If a service provider leaves Origin, they are welcome to take their clients with them for the services that they provide. However, they cannot remove their customers from the platform unilaterally, because those customers may be using Origin with other service providers as well. Leaving the platform does not automatically remove wallets used by individuals affiliated with any clients, either. Wallets are free, belong to the individual rather than the client org, and persist on Origin until individuals decide to move or delete them.
Service providers that want a true captive customer model are welcome to run their own closed deployment of Origin that changes these rules. However, in doing so, they may lose access to other service providers that add value for their clients. Contact [email protected] for more information.
A tension in an open platform is that clients need help. They need to be introduced to the platform, trained on how to use it to, and supported on an ongoing basis. An open marketplace without orientation or guidance can be bewildering. Furthermore, clients may find it confusing and full of friction to establish many different business relationships in an ecosystem.
To simplify, Origin recognizes a special service provider category called a facilitator. Facilitators are the typical entry point to the platform, and they serve as a primary point of contact for clients. Facilitators can market their services (which may include many things not dependent on Origin) in any way they like, and bring customers to the ecosystem with the facilitator predetermined.
Facilitators can customize their clients' perception of the platform more than an ordinary service provider. If they develop partnerships with other service providers, and if the partnerships allow it, they can de-emphasizing other brands and relationships. They thus serve as a face of Origin for their clients. Any features of Origin that their clients consume remain portable in theory, and the ecosystem remains extensible and dynamic, but if their clients consume any non-Origin services or perceive little other than the facilitator brand, client relationships are very sticky.
Provenant, the org that built and maintains Origin, is a facilitator of service providers and other facilitators. If your org would like to become a service provider or facilitator, please contact us at [email protected].
To develop a service that runs on Origin, see Origin for Developers.
To learn about other service providers, see the Service Provider Directory.
This depends on what type of service you're providing. Different services have different costs and different revenue models. It also depends on where you want to offer your service, and how much you plan to charge.
If you're a private individual or a tiny company that's experimenting with Origin, and if you're offering something novel, for free or super cheap, to the open ecosystem, chances are the answer will be "It's free, or super cheap, at least for a while."
If you are an established company running bulk operations and already charging a lot for your services, or if you want to run a closed, private instance of Origin, the conversation gets more interesting.
Either way, please contact us at at [email protected].
GLEIF's requirements for QVIs are extensive, and so are Origin's associated features. See this whitepaper.
See the instructions at the top of the Service Provider Directory.