Whether you’re securing IT infrastructure, the software supply chain, or embedding identities into connected products, organizations turn to public key infrastructure (PKI) as a proven technology to establish digital trust. However, legacy PKI deployments often leave teams straining to cope with costly infrastructure, certificate sprawl and outages, and piecemeal hardware and software solutions that create more complexity. To meet the demands of hybrid and multi-cloud and fast-paced application development teams, organizations have been forced to re-think their PKI and certificate management strategy
Traditional PKI vs modern IT
Microsoft CA, also known as Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS), may have been an easy choice for traditional IT environments, but the path to the cloud and the remote workforce introduces several new challenges.
For starters, legacy PKI environments just weren’t designed for the high volume and velocity of certificate issuance today. They also typically lack integrations with modern tooling and, due to error and oversight, can be easily misconfigured at any time throughout their long lifespan. Not to mention that many teams just don’t have enough expertise or resources on staff to dedicate to their PKI deployment.
For these reasons and more, many organizations have recognized the need to modernize their PKI or move it to the cloud entirely. PKI as a Service (PKIaaS) or SaaS PKI solutions offer all the benefits of a state-of-the-art PKI, without the burden of running and maintaining it in house. Regardless of how or where you deploy it, the importance of getting PKI right cannot be overstated.
