Rising Star Connect Frontline

Short Summary

Connect Frontline is a Workforce Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform launched in 2025 by Cocentric, a London-based company founded in 2015 with roughly 30 employees and seed funding, with another round anticipated. The product targets a widening IAM gap: frontline, deskless, seasonal, and operational workers who often lack corporate email accounts or conventional enterprise identities, yet require secure access to workplace applications across retail, hospitality, manufacturing, logistics, and similar distributed industries.

The platform integrates with one or multiple HR/HRIS systems (and supports CSV imports), consolidating workforce data into a central identity layer that automates Joiner-Mover-Leaver (JML) lifecycle changes across connected applications. Provisioning can be driven by attributes such as role, site, team, region, or country. For workers without Microsoft Entra ID identities, Connect Frontline issues a “ConnectID” activated via QR code during onboarding and verified against HR records. Desk-based staff can continue using Entra ID credentials, enabling parallel operation through a shared access layer and consistent administration.

Connect Frontline provides an Access Hub for SSO to key frontline applications (communications, learning, payroll, scheduling), plus self-service password reset, MFA, audit logging, reporting, and automated deprovisioning. It is ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certified and designed to support GDPR requirements. Its core innovation is applying mature IAM controls without making corporate email or productivity-suite identities the prerequisite, while sustaining the HR–identity–access linkage after onboarding so changes in authoritative sources automatically update entitlements. Evidence of fit includes deployment in a hospitality environment exceeding 27,000 employees and consolidation of identity data across 16 independently operated brands, alongside support for contractors and temporary workers via CSV when HR records lag. Key challenges include funding, expanding connectors, and scaling market visibility beyond established markets.

Interesting Facts

• Connect Frontline is a Workforce IAM solution launched in 2025.
• Cocentric was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
• Cocentric employs approximately 30 people and is in seed funding with an additional round anticipated.
• The platform supports integration with one or multiple HR/HRIS systems and also supports CSV import.
• Workers without corporate email or Entra ID identities can be issued a ConnectID activated via QR code and verified against HR data.
• Desk-based employees can continue using Microsoft Entra ID credentials while using the same access layer and administrative controls.
• The Access Hub provides SSO to workplace applications including communications, learning, payroll, and scheduling.
• The platform includes self-service password reset, MFA, audit logging, account reporting, and automated deprovisioning.
• Connect Frontline is ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certified and is designed to support GDPR requirements.
• The product has been used in a hospitality deployment involving more than 27,000 employees and in an environment consolidating identity data across 16 independently operated brands.

Notable Quotes

• “Frontline identity is likely to become a more visible component of Workforce IAM.”
• “That separation is becoming increasingly difficult to justify from both security and operational perspectives.”
• “Its strongest characteristic is that it does not require organizations to treat every frontline worker like a conventional office employee.”
• “Connect Frontline removes the dependency on corporate email and expensive productivity-suite identities as the starting point for access.”
• “More importantly, Connect Frontline maintains the relationship between HR data, identity, and application access after onboarding.”
• “This provides a pragmatic identity fabric layer between fragmented workforce data and the applications frontline employees actually use.”
• “This gives the company a well-defined position rather than requiring it to compete with broad IAM suites across every workforce identity use case.”
• “The opportunity is significant but Connect Frontline must build awareness and expand its ecosystem as it grows.”
• “If the company maintains its frontline specialization while broadening integrations and enterprise reach, it has the potential to establish a distinctive position within Workforce IAM.”