At it-sa, Samsung $005930, Nexus $NEXUS (+0,03%) and Deutsche Telekom $DTE (-1,36%) presented a joint solution with which the smartphone could replace the smart card for access and identity checks in companies and public authorities.

Samsung has been offering security functions for its mobile devices under the brand name Knox for many years. Samsung Knox Native is the security-hardened foundation of all enterprise functions on Samsung devices - a combination of hardware, firmware and OS layers designed to guarantee device integrity, data protection and enterprise management.

Together with Deutsche Telekom Security and PKI specialist Nexus, Samsung has now presented a new mobile access solution based on this foundation at it-sa. It is designed to "turn the smartphone into a secure digital ID card for access and identity checks" - or in other words, it could replace the smart card in many cases.

The starting point for this was the need in public authorities, which often work with a smart card as an authentication method - even when accessing computers or company resources. The new offer brings the smartcard virtually into the smartphone and also allows the functions known from the smartcard (such as additional protection via a PIN) to be mapped.

"The more mobile devices are used for business-critical tasks, the stronger the protective measures that authorities and companies should take to ensure the security of these devices," says Tuncay Sandikci, Director MX B2B at Samsung.

Samsung Knox Native contributes to "keeping digital identities protected and reliable on the smartphone."

The joint development with Nexus and Deutsche Telekom Security has struck a good balance between security and usability, Sandikci emphasized to ChannelPartner at it-sa 2025. The offering is currently being tested with some partners in proof-of-concepts. The market launch will then take place gradually in the first half of 2026.

The partners primarily want to score points in the government business. However, there is no reason why it should not also be sold to corporate customers with high security requirements - or simply those who want to consolidate several authentication methods into one. After all, the providers believe that there is nothing to stop it being used for billing in the canteen, for example, or together with concepts for follow-me printing.

Samsung and Telekom are relying on their proven channels for distribution. This means that Telekom business partners will be able to sell the offer. However, participants in the Samsung Business Partner Program will also have access to it. "Sandikci intends to make it available both to partners who market the Knox Suite for lifecycle management and to those who manage devices for customers as Knox MSPs.