貝寶CTO預言“密碼將死”：身份驗證變革蘊商機

????詹姆斯?巴雷斯在舊金山灣區長大，所以他自學電腦編程語言這件事也就沒那么不尋常了，完全符合人們對硅谷社區的標準印象。這條路很適合他：他后來前往斯坦福大學（Stanford University）學習機械工程，之后留校當了一名程序員。

????巴雷斯當時對電子商務系統非常感興趣，因此，無論客戶是大公司還是非營利組織，他都有著相關系統的開發經驗。要問他當時的目標是什么？那就是，實現電子商務自動付款。由于他在這個行業的相關經驗，他之后進入了eBay工作。在那里，他創建了這家公司的核心運營系統，還實現了規模化。

????兩年半前，巴雷斯調任至eBay的子公司貝寶（PayPal），擔任首席技術官。他認為，這個職位的目標在于幫助世界各地的人們在全球化市場的大環境中參與電子商務，從中淘金。

????《財富》雜志（Fortune）近日采訪了45歲的巴雷斯。

????1.你最欣賞的科技業內人士是誰？為什么？

????我最欽羨的兩位是谷歌（Google）的拉里?佩奇和謝爾蓋?布林。他們在谷歌的早期發展階段就對公司未來的發展方向作好構想，自此以后，他們一直實現構想的路途上挑戰極限，努力做得更好。

????2.你最欣賞的公司是什么？原因是什么？

????我很佩服蘋果公司（Apple）所取得的成就。它的產品工藝精湛，還將不同產品精簡地整合在了一起。它一直在消費科技領域開辟新的疆域。

????3.你對科技的哪個領域最感興趣？

????如今我最為感興趣的科技新興事物是可穿戴科技設備和“物聯網”（Internet of Things）。物聯網的發展將給小型計算設備的進化帶來新突破和實用的新改變。同時，物聯網也將給身份識別和安全保護領域帶來新的發展機遇。

????4. 對于想進入您這一行的人，您有什么建議？

????終身學習。要努力解決那些最困難的問題。永遠不要滿足于現狀。跟優秀的人為伍。

????5.您得到過的最佳建議是什么？

????我所收到的最好的建議是，“隨遇而安”。在我的職業生涯中，我遇到了相當多困難和讓人困惑的狀況，而且并不是每起狀況中，都有豐富的數據讓你理解問題根源。一個人必須學會如何運用有限的數據、自己的經驗和直覺，堅定地做出艱難的決定。

????6. 你想要解決的下一個重大項目是什么？

????我認為，如今業界中很有意思的一個領域是向替代性身份驗證方式的轉變，其中有很多發展機遇。換句話說，這個發展帶來的結果就是“密碼之死”，而且，實現這個目標變得越來越可行。

????7.貴公司的業務在當下面臨著哪些挑戰？

????我們如今所面對的是融合和簡化電子支付和電子商務的良機。移動技術和移動設備的發展給消費者提供了各種全新的支付方式。回顧歷史，我們可以發現，人類首先發明的交易系統是以貨易貨；之后出現了貨幣，然后我們開發了更為廣泛的信貸形式。如今，我們正身處于支付方式的另一歷史性轉變過程中。我們面臨的挑戰是確保產品與人們密切相關，簡單，全球通用。

????許多公司都意識到了當下正在發生的這個根本性變革，而且一直努力利用這個機遇。長期以來，我們也十分認同這個長期發展遠景，而且也在堅持投資開發新的支付方式。我們并不擔心競爭，而是更多地在“如何以最快的速度推出產品”這一點上下功夫。無論是移動支付、在線支付，還是店內支付，我們都開拓創新，探索全新的端到端支付體驗。

???

????James Barrese grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and so it was not unusual -- expected, really, given the Silicon Valley stereotype -- for him to start teaching himself computer programming. It served him well: He went on to study mechanical engineering at Stanford University and eventually become a programmer for the university.

????E-commerce systems were of great interest to Barrese, and he worked on them for large companies and nonprofit organizations alike. His goal? Figure out a way to automate payments. The experience helped him land a position at eBay (EBAY), where he built and scaled the company's core operating system.

????Two and half years ago, Barrese moved to eBay's PayPal subsidiary and became the company's chief technology officer. The role, he says, is a way to help people around the world participate in e-commerce and earn money in a global market.

????Barrese, 45, spoke with Fortune.

????1. Who in technology do you admire most? Why?

????I really admire Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google. Back in the very early days of Google, they set a vision for what they wanted to do, and ever since then, they have been pushing the envelope.

????2. Which companies do you admire? Why?

????I admire what Apple has accomplished. The craftsmanship, and simple integration of their products, has been groundbreaking for the consumer adoption of technology.

????3. Which area of technology excites you most?

????I'm really excited with what's happening in wearables and the "Internet of Things." The Internet of Things work will be creating breakthroughs and useful innovation in small computing devices. There are some great opportunities with identity and security here.

????4. What advice would you give to someone who wants to do what you do?

????Always be learning. Try to solve the hardest problems. Never be satisfied with the status quo. Surround yourself with great people.

????5. What is the best advice you ever received?

????The best advice I ever received is "to become comfortable with the uncomfortable." Throughout my career, I've been thrown into many difficult and ambiguous situations, and there isn't always a lot of data to help figure out exactly what's going on. You have to learn how to make hard and tough decisions with the limited data you have, your experience, and your gut.

????6. What's the next big project you want to tackle?

????I think the shift to alternative forms of authentication is a really interesting space and has a lot of opportunity. It's the "death of the password," and it's becoming feasible.

????7. What challenges are facing your business right now?

????What we have is the opportunity to converge and simplify payments and commerce. Through mobile technologies and devices, consumers will have new ways of paying. Looking back through history, first we had barter system, then currencies, and then we developed broader forms of credit. We're in the middle of another historic shift in the way people pay. Our challenge is in making something relevant, simple, and global.

????Many companies recognize the fundamental shift that's happening and have been working to take advantage of the opportunity. We've held this vision for a long time and have been investing in new modes of payment. We're not worried about competition, but more so about, "How fast can we make this happen?" Whether it's on mobile, online, or in-store, we're tackling a new end-to-end payments experience.