Indeed Certificate Manager

Public Key Infrastructures (PKI) remain foundational to digital transformation, enabling encryption for data at rest and in transit, secure email, strong user and device authentication, and legally enforceable electronic signatures through X.509 certificates. Despite repeated claims that PKI is “dead” due to complexity, cost, and perceived inability to match modern requirements, the core cryptography is presented as sound and adaptable, including ongoing efforts aimed at resisting quantum-era threats. The real pressure point is operational: traditional PKI and hardware-based authentication struggle to scale to millions of mobile and IoT entities, while enterprises must modernize processes, improve user experience, support new device platforms, and reduce lifecycle administration overhead for smart cards and certificates.

Indeed Identity, a privately held vendor founded in 2011 and headquartered in Vilnius with offices in Lithuania and Singapore, addresses these lifecycle and scalability challenges with Indeed Certificate Manager (Indeed CM), released in 2014. The on-premises, Windows-based, modular suite centralizes PKI management and automates certificate and smart card operations across heterogeneous environments. Indeed CM integrates with multiple certificate authorities and storage systems, supports numerous smart cards, tokens, and peripherals, and can add new device support quickly. Its core server is decoupled from middleware, enabling uniform operations across physical and virtual smart cards, remote workstation management via a client agent, and even direct certificate issuance to the Windows registry. Administrative workflows are handled through a web console with policy and role customization, while end users can perform controlled self-service actions like PIN changes and certificate renewal or revocation. Automation and auditing are reinforced through Card Monitor lifecycle triggers and comprehensive event logging. A complementary option, Indeed AirKey Enterprise, provides a network-attached virtual smart card model where private keys remain centralized, reducing reliance on physical devices and improving resilience against client compromise. Key challenges include Windows-only scope, limited market presence beyond EMEA/APAC, and missing MFA for the admin console.

• X.509 digital certificates are widely used for distributing public keys across multiple applications.
• Digital certificates are used for encrypting data at rest and in transit, signing and encrypting emails, authenticating users and devices, and creating legally enforceable electronic signatures.
• Old-school PKI implementations are described as incapable of scaling to millions of entities such as mobile and IoT devices.
• Enterprise environments widely use smart cards and certificates as a strong authentication alternative to password authentication.
• Indeed Identity is a privately held software vendor headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, founded in 2011.
• The company has offices in Lithuania and Singapore and serves over 200 enterprise customers primarily in EMEA and APAC, including former CIS states.
• Indeed Identity is expanding via over 150 partners and establishing local presence in over 20 countries.
• Indeed Certificate Manager was initially released in 2014 and is intended for on-premises deployment on the Windows platform.
• Indeed CM Server can issue certificates directly to the Windows registry, bypassing the need for smart cards.
• Indeed CM supports full management of Windows Hello for Business credentials on Windows 10 devices.

• “Public Key Infrastructures (PKI) have undoubtedly been the backbone of the Digital Transformation for decades already.”
• “Yet, for years, PKI has been declared dead more than once.”
• “This cannot be further from the truth, however!”
• “the underlying technology and cryptography are still sound”
• “enterprise IT departments continue to rely on the proven technology”
• “they are feeling an increasing pressure from businesses to modernize the existing processes”
• “Designed from the very beginning to be as flexible and modular as possible”
• “the server is completely decoupled from the actual card middleware”
• “For Windows 10 devices, Indeed CM supports full management of Windows Hello for Business credentials”
• “Altogether, Indeed Certificate Manager delivers a quite unique unified approach towards security device and certificate management”