DigiCert named IDC MarketScape leader in CLM market

DigiCert has been named a Leader in IDC MarketScape's vendor assessment for worldwide certificate lifecycle management.

The IDC MarketScape assessment focuses on certificate lifecycle management, a segment of security operations that covers the issuing, renewal, discovery, and governance of digital certificates. Organisations use certificates to authenticate systems and encrypt communications across networks, applications, and devices.

DigiCert said the assessment reflects growing attention on certificate management as certificate validity periods shorten and the number of machine identities increases across hybrid and cloud environments. The company cited a rise in operational risk from certificate-related outages.

Deepika Chauhan, Chief Product Officer, DigiCert, linked the assessment to broader shifts in security operations and reliability.

"The forces reshaping digital trust are amplifying an already complex challenge for organisations, with certificate outages continually making news headlines," said Deepika Chauhan, Chief Product Officer, DigiCert. "As industry headwinds grow, certificate lifecycle management is critical to digital reliability, making the IDC MarketScape's focus on this market in the first-of-its-kind report especially timely."

Platform scope

DigiCert positions Trust Lifecycle Manager as its product for certificate lifecycle management. The company said it provides centralised discovery, policy-based governance, and automation for certificates and cryptographic assets. It said the product covers certificates issued by public and private certificate authorities.

DigiCert said customers use the product to manage operational tasks at scale. It pointed to reduced exposure to outages and compliance risk. It also described lower operational overhead as a factor in adoption.

IDC's write-up cited delivery options and customer feedback as strengths. DigiCert said Trust Lifecycle Manager can be delivered as a managed service. It said this model broadens access for customers with different sizes and geographies.

The IDC assessment also referenced automation for teams that manage high certificate volumes. DigiCert cited a customer comment that parts of device and user certificate operations can run automatically and require minimal effort to operate.

DigiCert also referenced a customer that replaced an in-house public key infrastructure with the SaaS version of Trust Lifecycle Manager. DigiCert said the customer used it for S/MIME, private TLS, and public TLS in a hybrid environment. The customer cited cost benefits from using the platform for certificate lifecycle management activities, DigiCert said.

Market pressures

Certificate lifecycle management has moved into focus for security and infrastructure teams as certificate lifespans shorten and certificate inventories expand. The shift increases the number of renewals and the operational load tied to governance, auditing, and incident response.

IDC Analyst Jennifer Glenn described the market as approaching a turning point. The quote also connected certificate outages to wider business impacts.

"The certificate lifecycle management market is at a clear inflection point," said IDC Analyst, Jennifer Glenn. "Certificate-related outages already have far-reaching impacts across applications, supply chains, and digital services - and that risk will only intensify as certificate lifespans continue to shorten and organisations begin operationalising post-quantum cryptography. In response, IDC published its first Certificate Lifecycle Management IDC MarketScape to reflect the growing criticality of this market and to give organisations a clear, structured view of how vendors are addressing automation, scale, and cryptographic change in what has become a global digital trust challenge."

DigiCert also tied the assessment to emerging cryptographic requirements, including post-quantum cryptography. Industry and government discussions about quantum-resilient cryptography have increased as standards work progresses and organisations review long-term cryptographic dependencies.

Integrations

DigiCert highlighted recent integrations with Citrix NetScaler and F5. It characterised these as responses to demand for more automated certificate management in mainstream infrastructure components.

The company linked that demand to anticipated changes in certificate lifespan mandates and to rising compliance requirements. It also referenced the transition to post-quantum cryptography as a driver for change in certificate operations and cryptographic governance.

Quantum initiative

Alongside the MarketScape recognition, DigiCert announced an industry recognition programme focused on quantum security. The company said it has launched Quantum Security 25: The Top 25 Most Influential People in Quantum Security in collaboration with Techstrong Group.

DigiCert said nominations are open. It invited industry leaders to submit nominations for individuals it described as influencing practical progress in quantum security.

"The certificate lifecycle management market is at a clear inflection point," said Glenn.