AJ Holloway – Solution Director

Grab a latte and pull up a chair to join us for a great interview with
AJ Holloway, Solution Director, Background Screening, Interactive Data, LLC (“IDI”).

How long have you been in the background check industry and what led you  to join the industry? 

I’ve been in data-related industries for 13 years, beginning with a technical role  at an identity solutions provider that included the background screening industry  before moving into a role as the CTO and then General Manager. Two years ago,  I made the decision to see what else the world of data had to offer by accepting a role with IDI. I chose IDI as the move included jumping into product and sales with  a laser-focus on background screening, and my broad experience within the data space would allow me to serve clients at all levels—from the technical “nitty-gritty”  to the “30,000 foot” big-picture. 

What is important about your company that you want people to know?

IDI, a Red Violet, Inc. company, is a trusted source of identity insights for industries  ranging from financial services and law enforcement to the public sector. It has  been a leading back-end service provider to the background screening industry  since 2017.  

When researching the needs in the industry prior to entering the space, IDI found  frequent instances within SSN trace where search and filter needs were being un derserved, as well as extensive coverage issues for those utilizing national criminal  search. These challenges were addressed with the release of IDI’s two flagship  products: idiTRACE™, a premier source for applicant address and alias history  that helps to improve match rates while reducing false positives, and idiCRIM™,  a comprehensive search tool that leverages IDI’s extensive database of national  criminal, court, arrest, and sex offender records. These solutions were ideated and  developed by a cohort of industry veterans with an eye towards innovation built  from a cloud-native data solution. 

Any important announcements about products or services or future direction  you would like to talk about? 

We have just finished integration into Accio Data’s platform with our SSN trace  product, idiTRACE, and our national criminal database, idiCRIM. We’re bringing  our newest product, a national criminal alias search, to market soon.  

If you had a Crystal Ball and could look into the future, what do you see hap pening in the background screening industry 10 years from now?

As technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate, I expect new innova tions will keep pace with the rate of change. Machine learning and AI tools continue  to gain adoption, and I believe they will become integral in the background screen 

ing industry for everything from smart web scrapers for collecting court data to  intelligent matching algorithms to assist CRAs in their day-to-day research. While  these tools won’t ever replace a human, I can imagine a world where they are as  commonplace as a keyboard and mouse are today. 

What is your favorite quote? 

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” –Søren Kierkegaard 

If you could meet anyone regardless of whether the person is alive or not,  who would you want to meet and why? 

I’ve heard so many fascinating stories and insights about Hank Asher’s life and  legacy. He was very influential in the world of data fusion and many members  of our leadership team worked closely with him throughout his many business  ventures.