Digital business depends on trust, and trust depends on certificates. But as certificate volumes grow and Life Cycles shrink, the risks multiply.
In fact, Gartner notes that in September 2020, the CA/Browser Forum reduced public certificate validity periods to 398 days, in response to restrictions imposed by Apple. Google later proposed a further shortening to 90 days.
Most recently, Apple proposed a limit of 47 days to be achieved in a phased approach, by March 15, 2029. This was formally passed under CA/Browser Forum ballot SC-081 in May 2025. The shorter the validity period, the more frequent the renewal tasks and the more important agile renewal becomes.
In our opinion, this research provides a clear framework for security and risk leaders to evaluate PKI and CLM solutions, prioritize automation, and prepare for post-quantum cryptography.
What we believe you’ll learn:
- Why shrinking certificate Life Cycles — now as short as 47 days — require stronger orchestration
- How to assess automation, discovery, and integration through proof of concept
- Gartner’s five-step framework to guide your PKI/CLM strategy
- Preparing for crypto-agility, compliance, and the quantum threat
© Gartner, Buyers’ Guide for PKI and Certificate Life Cycle Management, Sarah Almond, 29 May 2025