Tag Archives: biometric

Asking the Questions vs. Providing the Answers: Two Sides of the Proposals Ecosystem

I’ve worked in proposals longer than I’ve worked in biometrics. Although my first proposals experience wasn’t in writing a proposal. It wasn’t even in writing a proposal letter. (I’ve told that story before.) It was in writing a REQUEST for Proposal.

Granted, it was a pretty rudimentary RFP. Through the guidance of a Moss Adams consultant, I wrote an RFP for a non-biometric poster company that needed a computer system. It was primarily a checklist: do you do this? Do you do that? Companies that automatically checked every box ended up being discarded, while the two companies that put some thought in their responses and actually said what they couldn’t do, and why, move to the finalist stage.

Over the last 30+ years I’ve dealt with RFPs that were much better written, but for the most part I’ve specialized in responding to requests for proposal rather than writing them.

Writing the procurement documents: the pre-acquisition and procurement support from two companies

Writing RFPs takes a different skill set. The RFP writer, either an employee of the company/agency issuing the RFP or an independent consultant, has to simultaneously addresss:

  • The procurement standards of the entity issuing the RFP.
  • The needs of the stakeholder within the entity.
  • The reality of the environment in which the potential respondents operate. For example, even if the entity demands 100% biometric accuracy, no vendor can deliver 100% accuracy so don’t ask for it.

While there have been giants in biometric RFP consulting over the years, two entities that are active today are Applied Forensic Services and Biometrics Consulting Partners.

Applied Forensics Services

Here is how Applied Forensic Services describes its automated biometric identification system (ABIS) pre-acquisition services.

“An expertly guided ABIS pre-acquisition and acquisition can result in greater agency stakeholder satisfaction, reduced deployment time and costs, and increased public safety for your jurisdiction.

“Your agency needs a knowledgeable acquisition professional who understands your stakeholders, strives to keep your vendors focused, and produces a unique acquisition that addresses your concerns and obtains agreement from your stakeholders.

Michael K. French, owner of Applied Forensic Services LLC (AFS), draws upon 12 years of experience with a law enforcement agency, 13 years of experience with ABIS vendors, and eight years of service on forensic and industry standards bodies. He is knowledgeable about all aspects of an ABIS acquisition through his involvement in approximately 50 ABIS implementations including the FBI Next Generation Identification system (NGI).”

French’s services include consulting with all stakeholders, developing the many documents required in a solicitation, and conducting benchmarks of proposal finalists.

Biometrics Consulting Partners

Biometrics Consulting Partners, a multi-consultant entity, provides similar procurement support:

“Biometrics Consulting Partners (BCP)’s staff have led procurement activities in both agency and biometric vendor settings. This experience enables a unique perspective which helps anticipate risks and clearly identify agency needs.

“BCP applies this unique and rare expertise to help government agencies strategically develop system requirements and articulate them in ABIS, Live Scan, MobileID, Mugshot, Patrol, and Applicant Processing RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs.”

The experience of the BCP principals is even more impressive than Mike French’s experience, including local, state, national, and international deployments in law enforcement, government benefits, and other areas.

Answering the procurement documents: Bredemarket proposal services for biometric identity firms

While both entities also have vast experience in answering RFPs written by others, I’d like to toot my own horn in this regard.

Bredemarket

While Applied Forensic Services and Biometrics Consulting Partners (BCP) primarily assist government agencies in writing biometric RFPs (the questions), Bredemarket assists biometric identity vendors in writing the compliance-driven proposal responses (the answers) to win those contracts.

After my mininal RFP writing experience in my pre-biometric days, I’ve spent decades responding to RFPs while employed by Printrak, MorphoTrak, and Incode, and by working with Bredemarket clients.

While I’ve written hundreds of proposals and proposal letters and secured tens of millions of dollars of revenue for my employers and consulting clients, let me just focus on three notable proposal efforts.

How did I answer the questions for the Louisiana Automated Fingerprint Identification System (Printrak)?

I joined Printrak right as it began to sell its Series 2000 AFIS.

Probably the most notable proposal in that initial year was one for the State of Louisiana.

This wasn’t just a simple client-server system (multi-tier would come later when I was the Omnitrak/Printrak BIS product manager for Motorola). This was a multi-server implementation, in which the clients fed into six regional centers that themselves fed into the central AFIS.

Complex, but valuable in solving crimes throughout the state. It solved crimes and identified people; what more could you ask for?

How did I answer the questions for Albuquerque and other cloud-based Automated Biometric Identification Systems (MorphoTrak)?

Up until this time, all of MorphoTrak’s ABIS deployments were on-premise.

I wrote the first three proposals for the new cloud-based MorphoBIS Cloud.

  • This required coordinating the technical response.
  • More importantly, I also ensured that other aspects of the bid (financing, pricing, legal, and support) accorded with a service-based model. This is very different from an on-premise model: for one, the vendor doesn’t receive a single dime until after it is providing the service. No pre-payments at contract signature, requirements document finalization, shipment, and testing completion.

This resulted in a monumental transition in how MorphoTrak deployed its projects and realized its revenue, but the end result was a more reliable stream of revenue and better service for the end customers.

How did I answer the questions for the undisclosed biometric front-end system (Bredemarket client)?

This consulting client responded to a Request for Proposal for an undisclosed entity requiring multi-biometric submission services.

I not only wrote the winning proposal, but also managed the project for the first two releases of the supplied product.

So what can I do for your identity/biometric firm?

Now I didn’t win every single proposal that I wrote, but I’ve won enough to know what a proposal needs and what it doesn’t. Similar to what I’ve said in other contexts, a winning proposal needs customer-focused, benefits-oriented responses that move the prospect to buy. Proposals also need some sort of process: perhaps a complex 96-step process, perhaps a less burdensome one.

Read about Bredemarket’s proposal services here.

Bredemarket and proposal services

Schedule a free meeting to request my services here.

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What If BREDEMARKET Put Out YOUR Identity/Biometric Firm’s Fires?

Two weeks ago, I thought it was a mistake to prioritize daily fires over long-term strategic planning. But blog posts are ephemeral (like AI agents) and a conversation with Google Gemini made me realize I had it backward.

Before, sprinkler systems outranked firefighting

On May 12 I wrote a post entitled “Is Your Identity/Biometric Firm Too Busy Putting Out Fires to Install a Sprinkler System?” Its thesis:

“Your identity/biometric firm needs experienced product marketing contract help because you are drowning in work. But because you’re drowning in work you can’t take the time to set up that contract.”

Google Gemini.

I won’t get into the resolution of the post, but note the inherent value judgment contained within the content.

  • Manually putting out fires (NEVER with gasoline) is reactive, displays a lack of planning, and is therefore denigrated.
  • Installing a sprinkler system is proactive, displays a bias toward strategic long-term planning, and is therefore elevated.

So if the prospect takes the time to sign that contract with Bredemarket, I will ensure that the process is as frictionless as possible. I already know the identity/biometric terminology, and Bredemarket’s “seven questions” process removes the need for you to develop a briefing book for me.

Nice and stable, like installing a sprinkler system.

Something that a sage would write.

Let’s look at it again

But then I began asking questions—in this case, with Google Gemini. Not with the distinctive Bredebot persona, but with Gemini’s natural voice. And as I engaged in a messaging and positioning dialogue, Gemini hit me between the eyes with this observation.

“[Bredehoft] notes that many biometric firms are “too busy putting out fires to install a sprinkler system.”

“The “Fire” is an immediate, looming RFP deadline….A consultant like Bredehoft is brought in as an emergency firefighter to secure that short-term win.  

“The “Sprinkler System” is long-term product marketing (building consistent messaging, positioning products, and writing educational white papers)….

“[C]onsulting clients are notoriously reactive. They are far more likely to open their wallets for immediate help with an active proposal than for long-term strategic brand-building.”

Then it hit me.

The firefighter is the GOOD guy.

Google Gemini. The little kid’s admiration is unparalleled.

After, firefighting outranks sprinkler systems

Prospects call in a consultant because they want something yesterday and, as my home page phrases it, “don’t have the time to craft their own content.”

And not just proposal content with money on the line as Gemini explained. Maybe the prospects need a blog post right now; no immediate contract, but invaluable positioning. Or maybe they even need an emergency analysis. (Hey, it could happen.)

When you’re in the middle of a fire, you don’t have time to train a rookie. I already know the identity world, so we can get straight to bailing out your firm.

I will fight your fire, and then maybe later on we can discuss more strategic topics.

But first we need that pesky contract, or the equivalent. (“John, we’ll pay you $500 net 15 for that blog post.”)

But first let’s put out the fire. Contact Bredemarket today to get it done.

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And here is a postscript for the kids who don’t know why I was talking about gasoline earlier.

“Cat People (Putting Out Fire).” The Giorgio Moroder version.

Or why right now.

“Right Now.” No David.

No “Neutral Expression” When Free Lyria Songs Go Full Length

My latest Google Lyria song experiment surprised me.

I was playing back the song I had created when I noticed that the new song was longer than the standard 30 seconds. In fact, it was a full length three minute song, something only previously possible with paid versions of Lyria.

So I adjusted my prompt to take advantage of the length.

It’s probably no surprise that my latest Lyria song doesn’t touch on a couple who is never ever ever getting back together. Instead, I focused on the ICAO Doc 9303 “neutral expression” requirements I discussed in passing in this October 2025 post.

“But in one of those oddities that fill the biometric world, you can have TOO MUCH expression. Part 3 of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Document 9303, which governs machine readable travel documents, mandates that faces on travel documents must maintain a neutral expression without smiling. At the time (2003) it was believed that the facial recognition algorithms would work best if the subject were expressionless. I don’t know if that holds true today.”

Google Gemini.

That should make for a catchy song, shouldn’t it? Judge for yourself in the song “Neutral Expression.”

“Neutral Expression.” Google Lyria.

Wonder if the woman liked it.

Google Gemini.

She did!

The Two-Way Door Decision

In business there’s something called a “Type 2 decision.” Because of my biometric background I shy away from the term (which means “false positive” in biometrics) and prefer to use the term “two-way door decision.”

If you’ve been through an airport security checkpoint, either entering or leaving a security area, you know that you can only go one way.

Google Gemini.

Amazon and the two-way door decision

But other entrances and exits DO allow you to change your mind.

“The [two-way door decision] concept was introduced by Jeff Bezos in his Amazon shareholder letters, using the metaphor of walking through a door. With a two-way door decision, you can walk through the door, see what’s on the other side, and if you don’t like it, you can easily turn around and come back through. If you make a suboptimal two-way door decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for long—you can reopen the door and go back through.”

Amazon Fresh is not a good example.

Google Gemini.

While in the end the original decision was reversible, the reversal was not without pain. The rise and fall of Amazon Fresh took years. (Technically less than a year in Upland, if you don’t count the years of planning, but still a long time.)

But what about trying a new product marketing idea? While some ideas, such as pricing a luxury car at one dollar, can cause permanent damage, others can easily be reversed.

I’ll use Bredemarket as an example. Back in 2020 I was heavily pushing my Bredemarket 404 Web/Social Media Checkup. While it remains on my website, I haven’t promoted it in years. I could certainly still do it (and did it for one client), but while it parallels my analysis strengths, I find other areas (such as market and competitive analysis in the biometric industry) much more satisfying and financially rewarding.

Google Gemini.

On the other hand, I DID pull my editing services from the Bredemarket website. That’s not rewarding at all.

Enough about me…what about you?

But what if YOU want to try a new product marketing idea and see if it resonates with your prospects?

Google Gemini.

Now you could go through an entire tiered go-to-market launch,

Or alternatively, you could send up a trial balloon such as a blog post, a social media post, or a data sheet.

Google Gemini.

Then measure the results.

  • If the content resonates with your prospects, double down.
  • If your prospects are indifferent, never mention the idea again.
  • If your prospects hate it, delete it.

Because of my “I ask, then I act” bias, I gravitate toward these trial balloons. As long as the idea doesn’t kill your company, why not try it quickly, rather than paralyzing yourself by repeated inaction?

Your trial balloon

Google Gemini.

Are you ready to launch a trial balloon, but need some help with the helium? Set up a meeting with Bredemarket and we can discuss your options.

No, Tongue Identification Is NOT Widely Accepted

Remember tongue identification, which I discussed in 2023? Supposedly you can identify people based upon the shape and texture of their tongues. Unfortunately for the proponents, I don’t know that this has ever been tested with a subject size greater than 20 participants.

But that doesn’t stop people from talking about tongue identification as established fact.

A blog post (I won’t link to it) makes statements such as this:

The human tongue…has unique features that are different for each person.

Again without a shred of evidence.

Of course, the same blog post also praises bite mark analysis as an established identification method. Ignoring what scientists say:

“A likely next candidate for elimination is bitemark identification….An important National Academies review found little scientific support for the field. The Texas Forensic Science Commission recently recommended a moratorium on the admission of bitemark expert testimony….This article describes the (legal) basis for the rise of bitemark identification and the (scientific) basis for its impending fall. The article explains the general logic of forensic identification, the claims of bitemark identification, and reviews relevant empirical research on bitemark identification—highlighting both the lack of research and the lack of support provided by what research does exist. The rise and possible fall of bitemark identification evidence has broader implications—highlighting the weak scientific culture of forensic science and the law’s difficulty in evaluating and responding to unreliable and unscientific evidence.”

So don’t get all excited about tongue identification just yet.

Does Your Identity/Biometric Product Provide Certainty?

In case you didn’t know this, the word “trust” makes me yawn. Everybody uses it. Everybody sounds the same.

So let’s talk about certainty.

It’s not an exact synonym, but I think it’s better. It’s one thing to trust someone, but another to be certain of an outcome.

Google Gemini.

Does your identity/biometric product assure your company’s prospects that the product accurately identifies people…and doesn’t misidentify them?

(Certainty is essential because trusting a concert promoter is pointless if the promoter delivers Dread Zeppelin when you expected Led Zeppelin.)

Dread Zeppelin, “Immigrant Song.”

Do your product marketing materials explain:

  • Why your product works?
  • How it works?
  • The benefits your customers receive?

Your prospects have a lot of questions. So do I.

The Seven Questions I Ask.

Bredemarket’s questions help my clients and I deliver expert content, proposals, and analysis that convey certainty to prospects and customers.

To learn more and schedule a free meeting, click here or below.

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Is Your Identity/Biometric Firm Too Busy Putting Out Fires to Install a Sprinkler System?

It’s the classic case of paralysis by overwhelmedness. (Not officially a word, but bear with me here.)

Your identity/biometric firm needs experienced product marketing contract help because you are drowning in work. But because you’re drowning in work you can’t take the time to set up that contract.

Bredemarket can help you contract with Bredemarket.

Now there are certain things that Bredemarket can’t do. Well, Bredemarket could do them, but you (understandably) won’t let me.

  • I can’t create my own contract with you. Actually I can, and I have with some clients, but your company probably requires that I use your contract, which I don’t have.
  • I can’t enroll myself as a vendor in your purchasing system. Trust me, that would be dangerous. Hmm…net 5 terms at $1,000 per hour?
  • I can’t onboard myself into your other internal systems. If I could, that would be a major security flaw.

But there are things that I can do to make your life easier when you onboard Bredemarket as a contractor/vendor…especially if you are an identity/biometric firm.

  • You don’t have to explain to me what a bifurcation or ridge ending are. I’ve been working with fingerprints since 1994 and know these things.
  • You don’t have to teach me how to spell NIST. While the 1985 interchange standard was before my time, I’m familiar with every ANSI/NIST standard since 1993 to the present day.
  • You don’t have to explain to me what a “factor” and a “modality” are. Heck, I wrote the book on factors and modalities.
  • You don’t have to create a briefing book. Just let me ask the questions and we’ll figure out the scope together.

So I can meet your partway. Then we’ll realize our mutual goal of making your products prominent and making the competitive products look weak.

So let’s talk and move the process forward.

Oh, and the title of this post was suggested by Google Gemini. AI is only a tool, but sometimes it’s a very effective tool. Sometimes.

Jurisdictional Privacy and Consent

Where are you?

Who are you?

The answers to these questions affect if or how you obtain consent to use one’s personally identifiable information, or PII.

Privacy regulations can change when you cross country or even city lines, and they can also change depending on who you are: an individual, a business, or a government agency.

How?

  • On the other extreme, some entities in some jurisdictions must obtain express written consent. If I am a homeowner in Schaumburg, Illinois, and I use a doorbell camera to identify friends or foes approaching my door, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) prohibits me from capturing their biometrics without their consent, and lets them sue me if I do it anyway.

Before you collect PII, check the laws in your jurisdiction first.

Oh, and check the laws in other jurisdictions in case they try to enforce their laws in your jurisdiction.

By the way: if you’re a software or hardware vendor, don’t assume that you bear no responsibility and that only your customer does.

You must educate your customers.

And Bredemarket can help you with my content-proposal-analysis services.

CPA
CPA.

(Told you I’d bring this landing page back.)

I’m Writing a Book…And It’s Already Received a Negative Review

Some of you may have already read my shorter books, including “Seven Questions Your Content Creator Should Ask You.” They’re short, and they’re free.

Last December I started writing something more comprehensive, and long enough to sell. If I price each copy at $100,000 apiece and sell 25 of them, I can start thinking about retirement.

Despite the (completely realistic) financial incentive, I dropped the project and didn’t pick it back up again until this month. I’m not ready to announce it yet, but the very fact that I’m talking about it may give me the impetus to finish it.

I just uploaded the latest draft to Google Gemini, both to write a 100 word promotional blurb (which I may or may not use or adapt), and to write two book reviews: one positive, one negative.

Again without giving away too much about the book, here are two excerpts from the negative review.

“Author John E. Bredehoft spends significant time on self-promotion and anecdotal stories, such as his hypothetical attempt to access Donald Trump’s medical records, which may distract readers seeking deep technical data.”

Here’s the second:

“While the writing is accessible, those looking for a dense, scholarly analysis of biometric algorithms might find the conversational tone and frequent “investigative lead” reminders a bit repetitive.”

Hey, there weren’t THAT many…

More to come.

Six identity factors. One Bredemarket ebook. Total identity protection. Purchase “Proving Humanity: The Six Factors of Identity Verification and Authentication.”

Four pages from "Proving Humanity: The Six Factors of Identity Verification and Authentication" by John E. Bredehoft, Bredemarket., Click on the image to purchase.