A look back at 2020: Opportunities, progress and the path forward

That information is the new oil doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. New products and services emerge, while the traditional industries find new ways to attract and retain customers. We have vehicles continuously managed and updated over the air, robots delivering on-demand manufacturing, even cows are “online” to optimize milk production and improve their wellbeing. The paradigm shift is driven by digitalization and will continue to affect everyone, everywhere.

According to the recent Ericsson Mobility report, data from connected devices is increasing 50% per year. Connectivity is really happening for the broader mass market, here and now. But what does it mean and what does it bring to us? A more convenient and efficient life for many, yes. It also retransforms how code is deployed, and information is governed. Unlike oil - data can be copied, stolen, corrupted or just abused.  At PrimeKey, we have devoted our talents to help industries and governments to make good use of the new oil, by protecting them against adversaries while continuously following advances in technology and the threat landscape.

A few years ago, PrimeKey redefined how on-premises deployments are done, with our Hardware Appliances, delivering “PKI in a box”. Before that, our EJBCA product had redefined how industrial-grade and scalable PKI solutions are made. Today, we see several deployments modalities - from private and public clouds, via 3-4-5G networks, to edge devices. As if this was not enough, new deployment methods and different tools in interplay allow our partners and customers to quickly adapt to the market demands - you probably know all about Docker, containers and DevOps (DevSecOps).

This new interconnected world requires encryption and compliance tools like PKI and Signing with; rich API’s, strong automation capabilities, standards support, interoperability and scalability, to stay in control and continue to deliver a more convenient and efficient life for many. This is exactly the environment PrimeKey has supported for years, so what has happened on the product side? Our acquisition of Crypto Workshop almost a year ago has given us a key component to our technology stack with direct access to the world’s largest encryption community. Our EJBCA and SignServer Cloud offerings are now available on AWS and Azure. We have started to move into Industry 4.0 with our Identity Authority Manager product. EJBCA SaaS that was launched now in December will allow our customers to leverage sophisticated PKI with less need for in-house resources and competence. This year we have also launched a new range of appliance models with improved scalability and ability to fit every use case and its needs.

So, what does the market have to say? Despite challenges that 2020 brought to everyone, PrimeKey has had another really good year. Our annual event, PrimeKey Tech Days, had more visitors than ever. We have been awarded our 4th consecutive Di Gasell for being a fast growing and profitable company.  This is actually very rare.  We have won new customers across several industry verticals, indicating wide-spread need for our products. In the MedTech sector, we provide security and support new business models and securing devices from cradle to grave for fortune 500 companies. Most, if not all, Californian electrical vehicle suppliers are now our customers. Our Secure Execution Environment, SEE, is deployed in large scale production and reducing operating expenses for our customers. The US Federal Government is a growing customer and we have expanded our team in Washington D.C. during the year.  We also see the 5G business happening in Europe where we support mobile operators to improve their offering and reduce cost.

What lies ahead? Steady course, diligence in delivery and continued expansion to new customer segments. In terms of technology, PrimeKey product teams will continue to focus on making PKI and signing even easier to adopt. In terms of sales, we are looking to expand our market presence to allow an even better-connected world tomorrow.

All of us at PrimeKey would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and partners. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and the best for 2021. 

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