The Challenge
Before Keyfactor, ServiceNow managed PKI through largely manual processes that were effective at earlier scale but became harder to manage as certificate volumes increased. Limited automation and lifecycle visibility added operational complexity and constrained control over issuance and renewals.
Our previous PKI solution required manual management of certificates. Every single piece was human-driven …With few checks and balances, we had very little control around who was requesting, issuing, and renewing, which was a huge blind spot”
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Lack of automation
Manual issuance and renewal processes could not support the volume or speed required at ServiceNow’s scale.
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High operational risk from manual workflows
Human-driven processes increased the likelihood of errors and inconsistencies across teams.
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Limited visibility and control
The team lacked insight into certificate requests, ownership, and renewal status, creating security concerns.
The Solution
Keyfactor’s API-Based Framework Removes Human Dependencies
ServiceNow selected Keyfactor EJBCA for its REST API–based framework and automation capabilities. The platform enables the team to integrate PKI into automated workflows, removing human dependencies from certificate issuance and renewal. Built-in audit trails also provide the observability needed to maintain security and operational trust.
Keyfactor has really enabled us to be more free. Now, we can do more engineering and solve much larger problems than we ever could have before. We are more effective as an engineering group because PKI management is no longer a weight over our heads.”
EJBCA provided a trusted, standards-based certificate endpoint secured by HSMs and enterprise-grade controls for ServiceNow.
Business Impact
With Keyfactor EJBCA, ServiceNow has dramatically reduced the time engineers spent manually managing certificates while increasing security and visibility. Automated workflows eliminate dozens of hours of manual effort, unnecessary meetings, and preventable issues. The team now supports demanding certificate use cases from hourly issuance to large-scale automation without sacrificing control or security.
“I cannot think of running the ServiceNow ecosystem without Keyfactor. Keyfactor has opened the door for us to be more effective as an engineering group because PKI management is no longer a weight over our heads.”
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Engineering efficiency and innovation
Automation frees engineers to focus on higher-value work instead of manual PKI management.
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Secure certificate issuance at scale
ServiceNow dynamically issues certificates for every service, user, and workload with confidence.
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Improved visibility and security posture
Centralized dashboards and audit trails ensure full awareness of certificate lifecycle events across teams.
With Keyfactor, we would know that every day, every week, every month, we had a certificate endpoint where clients can go and have a trusted platform secured by HSMs and all the niceties of the standards that you want in the industry today.”
