In most companies, the company email is a core work tool. Employees use it to sign in to apps, send invoices, communicate with customers, and reset passwords for other services. So the question is: Is a company email actually a digital identity? Short answer: yes—inside a company, the corporate email is the employee’s real digital identity.
Why is company email the employee’s digital identity?
An employee’s company email uniquely identifies them and is used to access many apps and services across the business—it’s their “company ID.” Similar to an employee badge.
In a legal sense (for example, under eIDAS in the EU), a digital identity is issued and guaranteed by a government or accredited provider. But in day-to-day business for US SMBs, it’s simpler: the company itself stands behind the employee’s identity.
- When an employee is hired, the company verifies their identity in person (ID check, signed offer and onboarding paperwork).
- Based on that, it issues a digital identity—typically a company email and access to systems.
- This identity then represents the employee across all company apps and processes.
Why company email is a digital identity
For most employees, the company email is like a digital ID card inside the organization:
- It’s their username for company systems (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Aptien, HR and finance tools).
- It’s an authentication channel (used for password resets, MFA prompts, or sign-in approvals).
- It’s their official external identity — how they present themselves to customers and partners.
So we can say: a company email isn’t just an account—it’s the employee’s working digital identity, because it’s issued after the company verifies who they are.