There are many reasons why you should consider switching to another Certificate Authority (CA) for your SSL needs. While lower price is always a driver, there are many other factors that should also be taken into consideration that we'll discuss in more detail below. If you've recently been thinking about switching SSL vendors, then this article is definitely for you. Let's take a few minutes to go over five reasons why a switch could make sense for you.
#1 Cost and Value
While a lower cost will always gain interest and drive decisions, you cannot ignore the overall value provided by one vendor over another. Many CAs often go right to pricing in competitive situations, but this is where GlobalSign is different! Do you really want to purchase certificates that don't cover all of your security needs, or meet your organization requirements just because they are inexpensive? The answer is simply no. Therefore it is important that you evaluate all of your business’ immediate needs, as well as your future short to medium term requirements too. You can then compare with what the CA or SSL supplier has to offer, for example these could be certificate features, benefits, service levels and customer support to name a few and then gauge if they are a good fit for your organization.
#2 Features and Benefits
Depending on which SSL provider you choose, there are different features and benefits to take advantage of. You should be aware of these and evaluate which vendor offers the most overall value. A great example would be the free SSL tools offered by GlobalSign and not every SSL provider will offer value-added tools with no additional charge. You should be wary of other charges for features and benefits that you may not need, or potentially do not even want, as some providers will throw in additional features simply to charge you more for their services. Also look for features that are imperative to your business needs that you could be charged extra for, such as server licenses. GlobalSign offers unlimited licenses at no extra cost.
#3 Service and Support
Outstanding service and support builds lasting business relationships and should be an important part of your relationship with your SSL provider. SSL Certificate provisioning requires ordering, installation and renewals and sometimes users need support or service to handle any issues that may arise. The last thing a user wants is to not receive the help they need throughout the certificate lifecycle.
This also links back to the point on cost. While it may seem that the cost of a certificate is a lot cheaper, the reason could be that the CA or SSL provider has saved costs by not providing over the phone support, or support for different languages in your time zone.
#4 Comprehensive Lifecycle Management
Comprehensive SSL Lifecycle Management means discovering, taking inventory and managing all SSL Certificates across your network and cloud services. When your SSL vendors make the process easier and more streamlined for you, it allows you to simplify deployment and management of all of your SSL Certificates – saving you time and money.
If you are looking to manage multiple certificates for your company, make sure to get a demo of the tool/platform that is being offered. Is it easy to use? Does it come with everything you need to issue and revoke certificates quickly? Can you train the right people in the company to use it?
The right CA or SSL provider will have an easy to use and time efficient tool that your team can put to work instantly. They will also be able to offer dedicated account management and continued support for issues that may arise.
#5 Trust and Compatibility
With the right tools anyone can become an SSL provider or CA. So what makes one particular company a better choice than another? Major browsers like Mozilla and Chrome have come together and decided on particular CA's they trust. Certificates issued through these CA's will be compatible with most major browsers and devices. The better a CA is trusted, the more devices and browsers you will be able to use your certificates on.
A CA has a huge responsibility in the world of security to make sure they keep their customers data safe and secure. You want to make sure that the CA you are working with is as fit as possible to do this. So why use a third party SSL provider when you can use a CA directly? If you want to know more about the guidelines and requirements of a trusted CA you can visit the CA/Browser Forum. The CA/Browser forum is a voluntary organization of CA's and browser vendors who come together and create a baseline of industry standards that CA's and browsers comply and adhere to.
Remember to ask your CA what browsers and devices their certificates are compatible with and how long they have been running as a CA. If the company is new then you should steer clear as they don't have the many years of experience to show they can be trusted.
Why Choose GlobalSign?
GlobalSign has been a trusted CA since 1996 and today more than 25 million certificates rely on our trusted root. We make SSL easy from the very beginning. Our managed SSL platform offers complete lifecycle management, including reissuance and revocation, delegated user administration, and robust reporting and auditing capabilities. All domains via GlobalSign's managed certificate platform are pre-vetted so certificates can also be issued immediately after they are requested.
GlobalSign is the only CA that offers complimentary SSL Management tools, like our Atlas Discovery, to help discover all your certificates. Also included with our services, we offer the SSL Server Test to help configure servers correctly and to find potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities. This ensures that all of your certificates are installed and configured correctly the first time.
Additionally, GlobalSign offers flexible business terms to accommodate organizations of all sizes and structure, including unlimited issuance plans, pay as you go, and bulk deposits. All SSL Certificates come with unlimited server licensing, so you can install across as many devices as needed. And, with worldwide local language service and support, we can accommodate organizations on a global scale.
Find out how you can switch your Certificate Authority over to GlobalSign today.
