India’s e-commerce companies are emerging as a key growth driver for DigiCert, a US-based cybersecurity firm that provides digital certificates used to secure websites, applications and online communications.
Adoption of DigiCert’s main enterprise platform, DigiCert ONE, which helps organisations issue and manage security certificates across their IT systems, has nearly doubled in India over the past 18 months, the company said.
Digital certificates are a core part of online security, enabling encrypted connections, authenticating users and devices, and preventing unauthorised access. They are widely used by companies operating websites, payment systems, mobile apps and cloud infrastructure.
DigiCert has added a significant number of net new customers in India during that period, on top of its existing base, said Anant Deshpande, company’s regional vice president for India and ASEAN. “The trajectory is good,” he said.
Demand has been strongest among large internet-dependent businesses, particularly e-commerce firms, healthcare providers and companies in regulated sectors. In many cases, adoption goes beyond basic SSL and TLS certificates to include services such as email authentication, wireless authentication and passwordless access.
One large Indian customer runs its entire platform on DigiCert’s UltraDNS service, Deshpande said, pointing the importance of domain name system security and certificate management in maintaining uptime for online businesses.
E-commerce firms, especially those subject to regulations because of payment gateways, tend to adopt certificate management tools earlier than others, he said. Banks are also investing in the technology but are moving more cautiously as they balance security upgrades against operational risk.
On the question of market for SSL and TLS certificates becoming increasingly commoditised, with multiple providers offering rapid issuance at low cost, Deshpande said the focus for large organisations has shifted from buying certificates to managing them at scale.
“It is easy to buy a certificate in minutes,” he said. “The question is what happens after that.”
Shorter certificate validity periods mandated by browsers and industry standards have increased the risk of outages if renewals are missed, pushing companies towards automation and centralised visibility across their digital assets.
“There is no silver bullet in security,” Deshpande said. “Incidents will happen.”
Interest in post-quantum cryptography is also emerging, as organisations prepare for a future shift away from current encryption standards such as RSA 2048 towards quantum-safe algorithms. Standards such as Dilithium have already been published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, with further specifications expected.
In India, government interest in quantum technologies is growing, though formal mandates have yet to be issued. Initiatives such as the National Quantum Mission point to the direction of future policy, Deshpande said.
“It is only a matter of time before this translates into requirements,” Deshpande said.
DigiCert ONE now locally hosted
Reflecting the growing importance of the Indian market, DigiCert recently launched a locally hosted version of DigiCert ONE in the country, allowing customers to manage certificates and cryptographic keys within India.
The move is aimed at organisations facing data residency and compliance requirements, particularly in sectors such as banking, telecom and healthcare.
