Certificate Authority Market Research Report: By Component (Certificate Type, Service), SSL Certificate Validation Type (Domain Validation, Organization Validation, Extended Validation), Organization (Large Enterprises, Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises), End User (Retail and Consumer Goods, BFSI, Government, IT and Telecommunications, Healthcare, Education, Travel and Hospitality) - Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030

Global Certificate Authority Market Overview

Valued at $81.7 million in 2019, the global certificate authority market size is expected to witness growth of 12.3% during the forecast period (2020–2030), reaching $285.7 million by 2030. The increasing awareness among online users about protected web access, rising internet users, growing number of transactions that require secure connection and authentication, and rising need to create trust among the growing online customer base are the most prominent factors that are boosting the growth of the market, globally. Furthermore, the growing e-commerce businesses, rising digitization rate in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry, increasing usage of online documentation, and surging security requirements are other factors behind the industry growth.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic is expected to have a tremendous adverse impact on the economy and the society at large. In view of this, COVID-19-affected countries around the world have been taking measures, such as social distancing and intermittent lockdowns, since March 2020, in order to curb the transmission of the disease. However, the imposition of lockdowns has neutrally impacted the growth of the certificate authority market. The rise in the usage of digital services, such as e-commerce, coupled with the growth in the adoption of digital payments, is the key factor driving the certificate authority market despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certificate Type Category Held Larger Market Share in 2019

The certificate type category dominated the certificate authority market during the historical period (2014–2019), based on component. The major advantage of digital-certificate-based authentication is that it provides online data privacy. By encrypting all communications — logins, emails, and online banking transactions — private data is protected by these digital certificates, and the information is prevented from being seen by unwanted eyes. In addition to this, digital certificate systems are also user-friendly, and they usually work automatically, requiring minimal intervention from recipients and senders.

Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Projected To Attain Faster Growth in Industry

SMEs are projected to attain the faster growth in the certificate authority market during the forecast period, on the basis of organization size. These enterprises are increasingly adopting digital signatures to manage their authentication and security operations. Small- and medium-sized companies are becoming more digital, which is why they require digital certificates in order to validate their authenticity and gain customers’ trust.

Digital Certificates Being Largely Adopted by BFSI Vertical

In 2019, among all end users, the BFSI category generated the highest revenue in the certificate authority market. Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions are major targets for phishing attacks and other scams aimed at identity theft. With a rampant increase in phishing and social engineering incidents, the sector is increasingly focusing on online transaction security. Such factors are leading to the rising usage of secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates, thereby boosting the certificate authority industry.

In July 2018, Deutsche Bank AG speeded up the account opening processes for its institutional and corporate clients, by introducing a digital signature. Digitizing document signing and account opening notably reduced processing times and costs. Such initiatives are propelling the adoption of digital certificates in the BFSI sector, thus driving the certificate authority market.

North America – Largest Market for Certificate Authorities

Among all the regions, North America generated the highest revenue in the global certificate authority market in 2019. This was majorly due to the presence of a huge number of digital certificate providers and rigorous data security regulations and compliance standards.

The U.S. leads the market in the region. The country does not have any central federal-level privacy law, like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Instead, there are several vertically focused federal privacy laws, along with new customer-oriented privacy laws in several states. The country’s data privacy laws include the U.S. Privacy Act of 1974, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) passed in 1996, and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 2000.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) – Fastest-Growing Market

The industry in the APAC region is projected to attain the fastest growth during the forecast period. This would be majorly due to the increasing number of online businesses, rapid digital transformation, and surging adoption of the internet of things (IoT). Chinese mobile operators are the foremost companies across the world in the integration of transformative IoT solutions. By connecting more than 950 million devices via cellular networks, China is experiencing the worth of the IoT and transforming society through the mass-level deployment of smart industry, smart home, and smart city solutions.

As the increasing implementation of IoT can lead to a surge in malicious attacks, organizations are paying attention to user authentication and data security. Public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates help companies achieve this, as digital certificates represent identity in a cross-platform, cross-organizational way. This, in turn, is propelling the growth of the certificate authority market in the region.

Usage of Cloud-Based Services by Businesses Is Key Trend

The usage of cloud-based services by businesses is a key trend being observed in the certificate authority market. Owing to the several advantages of cloud computing, such as scalability, flexibility, and data security, numerous organizations are preferring to test workloads on the cloud, and many companies are adopting cloud computing in their operations.

The cloud offers several models, which include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS). With the increasing utilization of SaaS cloud computing, several organizations are opting for SaaS certificate authorities, especially, as the applications of the mobile and cloud technologies evolve at a substantial rate, thus resulting in an amplified requirement for digital certificates.

Businesses’ Requirement to Establish Trust among Increasing Online Customers Driving Industry Growth

With the increasing online customer base, the requirement of businesses to build customer trust is also significantly growing. Customers these days have substantially more options when it comes to selecting from different brands, products, and services. In such a ferociously competitive environment, brand trust and customer loyalty have become an important differentiator for companies.

Customers trust brands based on several factors, such as good-quality products or services, discounts, loyalty programs and rewards, and quick resolution of queries. Thus, in order to increase their customer base, businesses are required to establish trust among their online customers. Such factors are boosting the growth of the certificate authority market, as businesses are using SSL certificates to add more confidence and trust in the security and identity of the business.

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Industry Driven by Growing Awareness about Secure Web Access

The increasing adoption of the internet is generating a significant opportunity for social and economic growth across the world. In December 2019, there were nearly 4.6 billion internet users globally, which accounted for around 58% of the total population. This number increased from around 4.3 billion in December 2018, which was around 55% of the total population at that time.

While there are irrefutable benefits of users coming online, it also creates difficulties in securing the cyberspace. In order to tackle this challenge, several countries organize awareness campaigns regarding cybersecurity. With such initiatives toward making internet users aware about cybersecurity and accessing secured web content, the awareness among users regarding digital signature or identity certificates is also increasing, thereby benefiting the growth of the certificate authority market.

Industry Players Introducing New Products and Services to Gain Competitive Edge

The global certificate authority market is consolidated in nature, with the presence of major players such as IdenTrust Inc., Sectigo Ltd., and DigiCert Inc. These players are involved in introducing new products and services, in order to gain a competitive edge in the industry. For instance,

• In June 2020, Sectigo Ltd. announced the release of a new digital certificate application for the ServiceNow portal. The new Sectigo Certificate App for ServiceNow enables security administrators to manage hundreds, or even thousands of SSL and non-SSL (private) certificates across the enterprise, from within the ServiceNow portal, taking advantage of ServiceNow’s IT workflow automation and management features.
• In February 2020, Entrust Datacard Corporation announced the launch of the nShield issuance hardware security module (HSM). The module has been designed to allow for the simplicity, security, and serviceability of the payment card system of the company, along with securing issuance environments. The module was built after the acquisition of HSM provider nCipher Security LLC.
• In December 2019, WISeKey International Holding AG announced the launch of the WISeID digital identity portfolio of services. WISeID delivers a digital identity to the users, which can be used to protect email communications and digitally sign documents with legal validity. Furthermore, it has features such as single sign-on and dual-factor authentication. The company also launched a suite of WISeID applications, which includes MyWISeID, an app that provides digital signatures and strong authentication, and WISeID Vault, an app that offers a personal encrypted vault to protect the confidential information of a user.

Some of the key players included in the certificate authority market report:

Certificate Authority Market Size Breakdown by Segment

The certificate authority market report offers comprehensive market segmentation analysis along with market estimation for the period 2014–2030.

Based on Component

• Certificate Type
  • Secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate
  • Secure email certificate
  • Code signing certificate
  • User/client authentication certificate
• Service
  • Managed public key infrastructure (PKI) service
  • Support service
  • Implementation and integration service

Based on SSL Certificate Validation Type

• Domain Validation
• Organization Validation
• Extended Validation

Based on Organization

• Large Enterprises
• Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Based on End User

• Retail and Consumer Goods
• Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance
• Government
• IT and Telecommunications
• Healthcare
• Education
• Travel and Hospitality

Geographical Analysis

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • U.K.
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
• Asia-Pacific (APAC)
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Australia
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia
  • U.A.E.
  • South Africa