DigiCert

When TLS certificate lifetimes officially reduce to 47 days, as Apple has mandated, most companies will face a certificate management nightmare. DigiCert saw this coming years ago. While other certificate authorities focused on issuing certificates, DigiCert built something different: a comprehensive digital trust platform that doesn't just issue certificates—it manages their entire lifecycle automatically.

Based in Lehi, Utah, with around 1,200 employees across 16 offices, DigiCert positions itself as "the most-trusted global provider of high-assurance TLS/SSL, PKI, IoT and signing solutions." But what sets them apart isn't just the certificates—it's their DigiCert ONE platform that treats digital trust as a unified challenge spanning SSL/TLS, code signing, email authentication, document signing, and DNS security.

The company operates on a unique 12-month subscription model that fundamentally changes how organizations think about certificate management. Instead of purchasing individual certificates, customers buy licenses for the assets they need to protect—domains, email addresses, code signing operations. Once you have a license, you can issue unlimited certificates against those assets and even swap domains or email addresses at no extra cost if your business needs change.

DigiCert's platform approach becomes clearer when you look at their recent acquisitions. In September 2024, they acquired Vercara, adding cloud-based DNS services including UltraDNS and DNS Made Easy. Just months later, they announced the acquisition of Valimail, a leader in zero trust email authentication. These weren't random purchases—they're building blocks in a comprehensive digital trust ecosystem.

What makes DigiCert's DNS strategy particularly interesting is how it integrates with their certificate management. Through their Vercara acquisition, they now operate authoritative DNS for 0.34% of domains tracked by dnschkr.com—a substantial presence that includes brands like UltraDNS Neustar, DNS Made Easy, and Constellix. This gives them unique visibility into domain infrastructure and the ability to offer integrated DNS and certificate services.

Their Trust Lifecycle Manager, Software Trust Manager, and Document Trust Manager aren't just certificate tools—they're platforms designed for a world where digital trust requirements are becoming more complex and automated. The DigiCert Trust Assistant can automatically enroll and renew certificates through identity provider integration, handling the kind of large-scale certificate operations that manual processes simply can't manage.

The company also pioneered Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs), which allow brands to display their logos directly in Gmail inboxes—a use case that perfectly illustrates their approach of solving real business problems through digital trust technology. It's not just about encryption; it's about making digital identity visible and trustworthy at scale.

Today, DigiCert serves everyone from government agencies and financial institutions to enterprises managing massive IoT deployments, all through a platform designed to handle the automation and scale requirements of modern digital trust.