When outages hit, and teams scramble to trace the expired or misconfigured certificate that brought the system down this time—the default response is often, “We need automation.”
But automation alone doesn’t fix the root problem. It’s not a strategy—it’s just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.
Modernizing PKI and certificate lifecycle management (CLM) requires more than a tool that auto-renews certificates. It requires clarity, coordination, and a solution that supports both current needs and future realities.
In this blog, we break down the most common (and costly) challenges holding back PKI and CLM strategies and share five critical steps to help you move from chaos to crypto-agility.
Step 1: Define Clear Objectives (No, “We Need Automation” Doesn’t Count)
When evaluating PKI providers or investing in CLM tools, many organizations get stuck at the starting line—unable to move beyond high-level goals to clear, actionable requirements.
Take certificate lifecycle automation. It is a common goal—and a vague one. Most teams agree it’s needed, but few can define what they want to automate and where it should apply. Is the goal end-to-end certificate renewals? Better governance? Faster provisioning for DevOps?
This lack of clarity often becomes the first major roadblock. A recent Gartner Buyers’ Guide to PKI and Certificate Lifecycle Management notes:
“Many organizations define certificate automation as a key requirement and many tools support certificate automation. However, certificate automation alone does not adequately describe the requirement in a way that will facilitate evaluation and differentiation between solutions.”
As mentioned earlier, automation is just one piece of effective CLM—there are other critical aspects that also need attention. That’s why the real starting point is defining the specific problems you’re trying to solve, translating those into requirements, and mapping them to desired platform features.
Step 2: Fix the Foundations
A PKI or CLM strategy is only as good as the architecture supporting it. And for most organizations, this architecture needs some serious refresh.
One PKI for all or Many?
PKI today supports a wide range of use cases—from workloads and devices to applications and user identities. Any effort to modernize PKI and CLM should take all of them into account.
A common challenge: striking the right balance between running a single PKI for all use cases versus spinning up separate PKIs. Too much consolidation increases operational complexity and risk. Too much fragmentation creates silos and inefficiencies. Getting trust boundaries right is crucial for long-term scalability, security, and agility.
Gartner outlines basic principles for defining PKI trust boundaries without overengineering your architecture.
The On-Prem vs. SaaS Decision
While cloud-based PKI and CLM offerings are on the rise, on-prem deployments continue to be a part of the mix. Choosing the right model is a foundational step in modernizing your PKI and CLM strategy.
Traditional single-tenant, on-prem models offer control but come with trade-offs, such as slower access to updates and security patches, higher infrastructure and support costs, limited scalability, longer deployment cycles, and less agility.
Modern multi-tenant SaaS platforms, on the other hand, offer continuous updates, centralized management, instant scalability, and lower total cost of ownership.
There’s no one-size-fits-all. Highly regulated industries may prefer control, while cloud-native teams might prioritize speed and simplicity.
Gartner presents a pros and cons matrix to help evaluate the best fit for your organization—factoring in cost, control, functionality, long-term flexibility, and others.
Step 3: Pick the Right Solution
Once your strategy is clear, the next big decision is choosing the right solution—and that’s where many teams hit a crossroads. Here are two key considerations to help you evaluate what’s right for your environment.
Breadth or Depth? Finding the Right Fit
One of the most common strategy decisions teams face is whether to go with a single vendor for all use cases or combine best-of-breed tools for different use cases.
Vendor rationalization, consolidating PKI and CLM under one provider offers centralized control, easier procurement, and a single-pane-of-glass experience across use cases.
On the other hand, best-of-breed tools often bring deeper CLM functionality in specific areas—especially where advanced capabilities matter most, like:
- Deeper certificate discovery
- Insights on certificate-related vulnerabilities
- Advanced automation covering even the last-mile endpoint certificate binding
In either case, check if the solution can handle your most critical use cases with intelligence and flexibility. Don’t just go with what looks unified but with what delivers actual value.
Gartner provides a helpful breakdown of vendor capabilities across both breadth and depth to help spot where specific solutions shine or fall short.
Don’t Skip the Proof of Concept
A proof of concept isn’t just a formality—it’s your best shot at a reality check.
Once you’ve shortlisted CLM solutions, run a POC to test for your key requirements, such as the extent of certificate discovery, flexibility of automation workflows, and integration with your existing tools and processes.
A good POC will reveal what the sales pitch can’t. The better you test now, the fewer surprises later.
Step 4: Plan the Spend and the Savings
When evaluating PKI and CLM solutions, cost is another strategic factor. Licensing models vary widely across vendors. Take into account:
- Cost models — per certificate, per action, or enterprise agreements
- Wildcard/SAN usage and pricing differences
- Licensing flexibility
Most transitions involve running old and new systems in parallel, such as migrating PKIs, introducing automation, or phasing out manual processes. This means planning for temporary overhead. At the same time, don’t overlook cost savings automation delivers, eliminating outages, manual effort, and non-compliance fines.
A smart budgeting approach balances initial costs against long-term resilience and agility.
Step 5: Align Your Teams. Think Long-Term.
A successful PKI and CLM strategy isn’t static—it has to evolve with new technologies, emerging threats, and shifting compliance requirements. Here are two essentials to ensure that:
Build A Machine Identity Working Group
PKI and CLM cut across multiple functions, including security, infrastructure, DevOps, cloud. No single team typically owns it all. That’s where a machine identity working group adds real value.
Bringing together stakeholders across teams into one working group helps clarify ownership, enforce policies, and drive consistent practices across your certificate landscape. Whether you’re managing one PKI or many, it keeps decisions aligned and out of silos.
Future-Proof with Crypto Visibility and Agility
Modernizing PKI and CLM isn’t just about solving today’s problems—it’s about staying ready for what’s next.
With the CA/B Forum set to enforce 47-day validity by 2029, frequent renewals will become the norm. Crypto-agility, built on visibility, automation, and policy control, will be critical in preventing outages.
Post-quantum cryptography readiness is also on the clock. With NIST planning to deprecate RSA and ECC algorithms by 2030, you need solutions that support hybrid certificates, trust store management, and PQC certificate issuance for private trust.
And with regulations like DORA and PCI DSS now explicitly calling out cryptographic controls, crypto-agility is a must.
Future-proofing starts with choosing a platform that has crypto-agility built-in so you’re ready for what’s next.
Final Thought: Strategy First, Then the Right Solution
Modernizing PKI and CLM isn’t about a technical refresh; it’s a strategic shift that sets the stage for long-term resilience. From defining clear goals and aligning teams to selecting the right solution, every decision you make now helps avoid outages, reduce risk, and stay compliant down the line.
Whether you’re refining your strategy or just getting started, one thing’s clear: visibility, automation, and agility are no longer optional—they’re the foundation.
With the PKI landscape rapidly evolving with 47-day TLS certificate lifespans, PQC, and new compliance mandates, the clock is ticking. Now’s the time to get your strategy and foundation in place.
If you’re ready to modernize your PKI and CLM strategies, AppViewX offers the most advanced certificate lifecycle management and private PKI platform. Reach out to an AppViewX expert today to see how we can help you build crypto-agility and future-proof your security.