The Challenge
GRENKE relied on multiple PKI systems and manual processes to issue and manage certificates. Unknown and untracked certificates frequently expired, causing service outages and disrupting business operations. Rapid growth left little time for IT teams to plan or implement long-term improvements.
We had three different PKI systems and about 70 certificate templates. At that time, we experienced roughly 60 outages, because unknown or untracked certificates would expire, and we wouldn’t know about it until systems went down.”
-
Fragmented PKI environment
Multiple certificate authorities and templates made certificate management difficult to manage and scale.
-
Service outages from expired certificates
Lack of visibility led to frequent disruptions caused by unknown certificate expirations.
-
Manual and time-intensive processes
Certificate requests and provisioning required significant manual effort, slowing IT teams.
The Solution
Centralized, Self-Service Certificate Management
GRENKE selected Keyfactor Command to consolidate certificate management and replace outdated PKI infrastructure. The team deployed a new offline root CA with issuing CAs and centralized access through Keyfactor Command. Self-service workflows enabled application owners to request, issue, and deploy certificates with appropriate permissions.
Now users do a lot of the work themselves, and I have more time to create new possibilities for them.”
Keyfactor Command enabled automated deployment and renewal for certificates across internal and public use cases.
Business Impact
GRENKE now manages more than 25,000 active certificates with full visibility and centralized control. Self-service workflows reduced certificate provisioning times from 45 minutes to under five minutes. Automated renewal and alerting eliminated certificate-related outages and freed IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
-
Elimination of outages
Automated alerts and renewals removed certificate related downtime.
-
Increased productivity
Application owners manage certificates independently without IT bottlenecks.
-
Scalable foundation for growth
Centralized management supports continued expansion without increasing complexity.
“[Keyfactor Command] has helped our teams move at least 50 faster.”
