From certificate chaos to scalable simplicity: Why partners are rethinking how they sell and manage SSL
Managing SSL certificates used to be tedious and manual, but not anymore. With Sectigo’s Certificate as a Service (CaaS), partners can shift from per-cert chaos to scalable, subscription-based simplicity. Automate renewals, support OV certs, and boost profits with predictable revenue and less operational stress.
There’s no denying it—digital certificates are multiplying.
Shorter lifespans. More domains. More services going online. What used to be a side task has now become a full-time job. Whether you’re actively managing certificates for customers or just selling them as part of your broader offering, the pain points are familiar:
❌ Manual renewals that are easy to forget
❌ Complex installations that eat up support hours
❌ Per-certificate pricing models that limit profitability
❌ A growing customer base asking for hands-off security
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. The certificate space has reached an inflection point—and it’s creating both new pressures and new opportunities for the partner community.
Why certificate management became a burden
It’s a paradox: the explosion in digital certificates should be a good thing for the business. More certificates should mean more domains to secure, more customers to serve, and more revenue to earn.
But for many partners, the opposite has happened.
As certificate volumes climbed and browser policies shortened certificate lifespans, many found themselves caught in an endless loop of renewals, installations, and reactive support. Those who didn’t want to deal with the overhead simply opted out of certificate management altogether—simply selling certs on a one-off basis or not at all.
And who can blame them? Traditional models made scaling hard.
- Margins stayed slim.
- Renewals fell through the cracks.
- Customers got frustrated.
How Sectigo’s Certificate as a Service (CaaS) will change your approach
With the launch of Sectigo’s Certificates as a Service (CaaS), the calculus has changed.
CaaS introduces a flexible, automation-first model that lets partners go beyond selling just certificates to selling the service of certificate management in a way that’s actually scalable. It’s built on one simple shift:
Move from per-certificate pricing to a domain-based subscription.
Once subscribed, partners and customers can issue unlimited certs under that domain—automatically.
- No more manual renewals.
- No more per-cert cost barriers as certificate lifespans shorten.
- No more churn from missed expirations.
Just smooth, automated issuance and lifecycle management—all driven by the ACME protocol.
A growth play
Here’s where it gets interesting: you don’t have to be managing certificates today to benefit from CaaS.
For partners who have been hesitant to touch certificate management due to complexity, resource constraints, or lack of integration, CaaS changes the game. With just a few API calls, you can now:
- Offer fully automated DV and OV certificate services
- Wrap certificate services into your platform or value-added services
- Bill on a subscription basis with predictable margins
- Differentiate your offering in a crowded market
You’re not just reselling certs—you’re delivering automation, assurance, and peace of mind.
What’s new with this CaaS update
CaaS includes several key enhancements:
- OV certificate support: Full automation for higher-assurance certs, with seamless integration into existing pre-validation workflows
- Smarter auto-renewals: Partners can now automatically renew organization pre-validation for OV certificate issuance.
- Advanced reporting: Real-time visibility into transaction history, giving partners visibility into their customer ecosystem to make growth enabling decisions, like when to upsell.
And yes, multi-tenant support is baked in—making it easy to serve multiple customers under one roof.
From operational burden to profit generator
What used to be a cost center is now a scalable, profitable service. By moving to domain-based subscriptions, partners gain:
- Predictable, recurring revenue
- Higher customer retention
- Lower support volume
- Reduced operational complexity
For some, this means doubling down on existing certificate management services. For others, it’s an open door to launch a new line of business without adding headcount.
Ready to see it in action?
CaaS is already powering smarter, more profitable certificate strategies for partners of all kinds—from those reselling thousands of certs to those just getting started.
Schedule a demo and see how simple, scalable certificate automation can work for you.