What GMO GlobalSign does

GMO GlobalSign K.K. operates as a global Certificate Authority and digital identity solutions provider, founded in 1996 and headquartered as a subsidiary of GMO Internet Group (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 9449), with US headquarters in Salem, New Hampshire and primary Japanese operations in Tokyo/Shibuya backed by a Shimonoseki disaster-recovery site. The company builds and operates Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) services that issue and manage digital certificates, secure identities, and enable digital signatures for websites, devices, users, and documents. Core technology centers on the proprietary Atlas digital identity platform for high-scale certificate issuance, complemented by certificate lifecycle management tools (ACME, Certificate Automation Manager, LifeCycleX, Managed PKI, Atlas Discovery, and the recently launched TLS Connect), an IoT Identity Platform with Edge Enroll and zero-touch device enrollment, Digital Signing Service and GMO Sign for document signing, and post-quantum cryptography readiness offerings.

The product portfolio is organized around five use cases: SSL/TLS website security (DV, OV, EV, Wildcard, Multi-Domain, IntranetSSL), authentication (user, mobile, machine/server), client certificates (S/MIME, code signing, VMC/CMC for BIMI), compliance certificates (eIDAS, PSD2, NAESB, FDA 21 CFR Part 11), and managed PKI or custom CA deployments. GlobalSign holds eIDAS Qualified Trust Service Provider status and maintains WebTrust annual audit, ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 27701, 14001, and 20000-1 certifications, providing a regulatory moat for regulated workflows.

Revenue is generated from subscription and license-based pricing across SSL/TLS certificates, certificate lifecycle management subscriptions, client certificate one-time licenses, email security subscriptions, IoT identity subscriptions, digital signing subscriptions, custom CA licensing, and specialty compliance certificates. Distribution combines a self-serve ecommerce storefront (shop.globalsign.com), direct enterprise field sales with regional offices, certified Regional Enterprise, Service Provider, and Reseller partner programs, and technology alliances with Venafi, HashiCorp Vault, cert-manager for Kubernetes, ServiceNow, Adobe Acrobat, DocuSign, AppViewX, AWS IoT Core, and Microsoft Azure IoT Hub. Customers include Microsoft, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Virgin Atlantic, AT&T, Constant Contact, Motorola Mobility, Shiseido, Kose, and 275,000 Japanese transaction user companies, with the company claiming 267M+ active certificates, 500B+ OCSP requests, and #1 SSL market share in Japan.

Name

GMO GlobalSign

Legal name

GMO GlobalSign K.K.

Website

https://globalsign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

GMO GlobalSign is a global Certificate Authority and PKI provider, founded in 1996 and owned by GMO Internet Group, issuing SSL/TLS certificates, authentication, IoT identities, digital signatures, and compliance certificates to enterprises, SMBs, and governments worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Certificate Authority & Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Device Identity & Certificate-Based Authentication (PKI) (BPAMAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Identity Orchestration & Policy (Zero Trust Access, Conditional Access) (HDADAAAL)

Keywords

• Digital certificate authority
• Public key infrastructure
• SSL TLS certificates
• Certificate lifecycle management
• IoT device identity

Headquarters

HQ city

Portsmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. SSL/TLS Certificates: One-time and recurring certificate issuance fees for Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), Extended Validation (EV), Wildcard, and Multi-Domain SSL/TLS certificates. Revenue from both individual certificate purchases and enterprise managed SSL services.
2. Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM): Subscription-based services for automated certificate management, discovery, and renewal. Includes Atlas platform, Certificate Automation Manager, ACME, Managed PKI, and TLS Connect products.
3. Client Certificates: Document signing certificates, code signing certificates, S/MIME certificates, and client authentication certificates for enterprise security.
4. Email Security Certificates: VMC (Verified Mark Certificates) and CMC (Common Mark Certificates) for BIMI email branding, plus S/MIME certificates for email encryption and authentication.
5. IoT Identity Solutions: Device certificate issuance and management for IoT ecosystems including Edge Enroll, IoT CA Direct, and automated enrollment solutions.
6. Digital Signature Services: Cloud-based digital signing services including GMO Sign, Digital Signing Service (DSS), and qualified trust seals for regulatory compliance.
7. Custom CA / Private PKI: Dedicated intermediate CA and trusted root services for organizations requiring private certificate authority infrastructure.
8. Compliance Certifications: Specialty certificates for regulatory compliance including eIDAS, PSD2, NAESB, FDA (21 CFR Part 11), and Belgian Government Services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

GMO GlobalSign is a global Certificate Authority issuing SSL/TLS, client, IoT, and digital signature certificates, and operating the Atlas Digital Identity Platform for high-scale certificate lifecycle management. The company provides PKI-based trust services for website security, enterprise authentication, IoT device identity, email security (S/MIME and BIMI/VMC), code signing, and regulatory compliance (eIDAS, PSD2, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, NAESB). Offerings span from self-serve individual certificates via e-commerce to enterprise-grade managed PKI with dedicated account management.

Product overview

GMO GlobalSign operates as a global Certificate Authority and digital identity solutions provider, offering a comprehensive PKI and identity management platform. The core offerings center around Atlas - the digital identity platform for high-volume certificate issuance and management, supported by certificate lifecycle management tools (Managed PKI, Certificate Automation Manager, LifeCycleX, TLS Connect, ACME, and Atlas Discovery). For IoT security, the company provides the IoT Identity Platform with Edge Enroll, CA Direct, and developer/partner programs. Document security is addressed through Digital Signing Service, GMO Sign, Cygnature, Qualified Trust Seals, and AATL signatures. The SSL/TLS portfolio includes managed SSL, IntranetSSL, and SAN licensing. Authentication solutions cover user, mobile device, and machine/server authentication, while client certificates include S/MIME, code signing (including EV), and VMC/CMC for BIMI. Compliance solutions address eIDAS, PSD2, FDA, NAESB, and government-specific requirements. Additional services include JCAN certificates for Japanese enterprises, GMO face authentication eKYC, SiteLock security monitoring, timestamping, custom CA/private PKI, trusted root services, and post-quantum computing readiness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Atlas: Digital identity platform for certificate management and issuance
• TLS Connect
• GMO Sign
• IoT Edge Enroll
• ACME
• Digital Signing Service
• Certificate Automation Manager
• Managed PKI

Products and services

• Atlas - Digital Identity Platform High-scale digital identity platform engineered for exceptional speed and performance, providing centralized certificate issuance, management, and automation for billions of services, devices, people, and IoT things. Used by enterprises requiring large-scale PKI operations.
• Certificate Lifecycle Management Comprehensive solution for managing the entire certificate lifecycle including discovery, issuance, deployment, renewal, and revocation across enterprise infrastructure. Designed for enterprises with large certificate portfolios.
• Managed PKI Provides centralized control over certificate and user activity for enterprise PKI deployments. Used by organizations needing comprehensive certificate and user management.
• ACME - Automated Certificate Management Environment SaaS-based lightweight solution that automates TLS certificate management using the ACME protocol for automated issuance and renewal. Used by DevOps teams and enterprises adopting ACME standards.
• Certificate Automation Manager Completely customizable solution using preset policies to automatically provision certificates across enterprise environments. Used by enterprises with complex multi-platform certificate needs.
• LifeCycleX by GMO Certificate lifecycle management solution for enterprise environments requiring advanced automation and policy controls. Used by large enterprises with complex governance needs.
• TLS Connect Certificate Lifecycle Management tool designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses to automate public trust TLS certificate deployment and renewal. Addresses shrinking certificate validity periods from 398 days to 47 days. Deployed on-premises, integrates with ATLAS platform and Certificate Center.
• Atlas Discovery Certificate discovery tool that identifies and inventories all TLS certificates across infrastructure to prevent expiration outages. Used by enterprises managing large certificate estates.
• PKI for IoT / IoT Identity Platform Cloud-based PKI platform for provisioning, securing, and managing device identities at scale for Internet of Things deployments. Used by IoT device manufacturers and large-scale IoT deployers.
• IoT Edge Enroll IoT Identity Platform component for secure device enrollment and identity provisioning at scale with zero-touch capabilities. Used by IoT manufacturers for automated device identity deployment.
• Digital Signing Service Cloud-based digital signature service for documents with support for eIDAS, AATL, and qualified trust services. Used by enterprises and government agencies needing compliant document signing.
• GMO Sign Electronic contract service providing end-to-end document signing workflows from signature to document management for businesses. Used by organizations needing electronic contract execution.
• GlobalSign Cygnature Blockchain-backed digital signature solution for bulk document signing with unwavering document integrity. Used by enterprises requiring high-volume, tamper-evident document signing.
• Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) Signatures AATL-compliant digital signatures enabling trusted document signing recognized by Adobe Acrobat globally. Used by enterprises needing Adobe-trusted digital signatures.
• SSL/TLS Certificates Digital certificates for website security including Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), Extended Validation (EV), Wildcard, and Multi-Domain/SAN options. Used by SMBs and enterprises for website and server security.
• Managed SSL Enterprise SSL management solution providing complete certificate lifecycle management for SSL/TLS deployments. Used by enterprises with large numbers of SSL certificates.
• IntranetSSL SSL certificates for internal server names, reserved IP addresses, and internal applications. Used by enterprises needing encryption for internal infrastructure.
• User Authentication Certificate-based authentication solutions for user identity verification and access control. Used by enterprises needing certificate-based user authentication.
• Machine and Server Authentication Authentication certificates for machines and servers enabling mutual TLS and secure machine-to-machine communication. Used by enterprises for machine identity and M2M security.
• S/MIME Certificates Email security certificates providing integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation for business email using S/MIME protocol. Used by organizations needing encrypted and authenticated email.
• Code Signing Certificates Digital certificates for software code signing to prevent tampering and verify software publisher identity. Used by software developers and publishers.
• EV Code Signing Certificates Extended Validation code signing certificates providing higher assurance and immediate reputation in Microsoft SmartScreen. Used by software publishers needing maximum trust for their code.
• Verified Mark Certificates (VMC) and Common Mark Certificates (CMC) Certificates enabling display of brand logos in email clients supporting BIMI standard, enhancing brand trust and email recognition. Used by organizations adopting BIMI for email brand authentication.
• eIDAS Solutions Compliance solutions for EU eIDAS regulation covering qualified and advanced electronic signatures and seals. Used by EU organizations and those doing business in the EU needing compliant electronic signatures.
• PSD2 Digital Certificates Digital certificates for Payment Services Directive 2 compliance in financial services sector. Used by banks, payment processors, and financial institutions operating in the EU.
• FDA Certificates (21 CFR Part 11) Digital certificates for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance for electronic records in pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Used by life sciences companies needing FDA-compliant electronic signatures.
• NAESB Certificates Certificates for North American Energy Standards Board compliance in energy sector. Used by energy trading companies and utilities needing WEQ-012 compliance.
• Belgian Government Services Digital certificate services for Belgian government electronic services and compliance. Used by Belgian citizens and government agencies for eGovernment services.
• Timestamping Service Trusted timestamping service for establishing evidence of document existence at specific points in time. Used by enterprises and legal entities needing RFC 3161-compliant timestamps.
• Custom CA / Private PKI Dedicated intermediate CA services allowing organizations to control their own chain of trust while maintaining privacy for internal servers. Used by enterprises needing a private CA infrastructure.
• Trusted Root Root certificate authority signing services for establishing organizational trust hierarchies. Used by organizations needing to establish their own trusted root CA.
• GMO Face Authentication eKYC Online identity verification service using AI-powered face recognition to verify real human presence and identity for businesses. Used by Japanese businesses needing online KYC and identity verification.
• SiteLock Cloud-based security service providing malware detection, vulnerability scanning, and website security monitoring for web properties. Used by Japanese SMBs needing website security monitoring.
• GMO Trust Login Medical Institution Authentication Enhancement Plan Identity authentication service combining SSO and password leak detection features for Japanese medical institutions at 500 yen per ID monthly. Designed to help medical institutions comply with Japanese Version 6.0 cybersecurity guidelines.
• PKI for DevSecOps Security solutions for DevOps pipelines enabling compliant SSL/TLS certificate deployment in CI/CD environments. Used by DevSecOps teams needing automated certificate management in pipelines.
• Post Quantum Computing Post-quantum cryptography readiness solutions addressing quantum computing threats to current encryption standards. Used by enterprises preparing for quantum-safe cryptographic standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced certificate management effort through automation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability2 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Red SiftcoreTechnology or Integration · 15 June 2026Integration partnership combining Red Sift's OnDMARC email authentication solution with GMO GlobalSign's Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) and Common Mark Certificate (CMC) offerings. Provides unified path to DMARC enforcement and BIMI adoption, reducing timeline from months to weeks. Available outside Japan primarily in Europe and Americas. Enables DMARC enforcement in 6-8 weeks.
• DigilinkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership enabling secure digitalization and cybersecurity expansion in Peru through digital signature solutions.
• RealystminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership bringing trusted digital certificates to South Africa market.
• VenaficoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology alliance providing Venafi as a Service integration for certificate automation.
• HashiCorp VaultcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology alliance for Atlas-HashiCorp Vault integration for PKI automation.
• cert-manager for KubernetescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology alliance providing cert-manager integration for Kubernetes environments.
• ServiceNowcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with ServiceNow for certificate management within enterprise service management workflows.
• Adobe AcrobatcoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital signature integration with Adobe Acrobat Sign and Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) signatures.
• DocuSigncoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital signature integration with DocuSign for electronic contract signing.
• AWS IoT CorecoreTechnology or IntegrationAWS IoT Core integration for IoT device identity provisioning and cloud connectivity.
• Microsoft Azure IoT HubcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft Azure IoT Hub integration for IoT device identity management in Azure ecosystem.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Venafi (CyberArk): Machine identity management platform covering certificates, keys and secrets with deep enterprise integrations (including a direct technology alliance with GlobalSign). Comparable on the enterprise certificate automation and PKI management layer.
• Keyfactor: Certificate lifecycle management and PKI platform focused on enterprise automation and DevSecOps, integrating with multiple CAs including GlobalSign. Overlaps with GlobalSign's CLM, ACME and Atlas Discovery offerings at the automation layer.
• AppViewX: Certificate lifecycle management and PKI automation vendor with a GlobalSign technology alliance. Competes with GlobalSign's Certificate Automation Manager, LifeCycleX and ACME for enterprise CLM workloads.

Direct peers

• DigiCert: Largest dedicated commercial Certificate Authority offering TLS/SSL, enterprise PKI, document signing and IoT identity at global scale. Directly comparable to GlobalSign across public trust certificates, high-assurance offerings and enterprise CLM.
• Sectigo: Commercial Certificate Authority providing SSL/TLS, PKI, IoT and digital signature solutions with both enterprise and self-serve motions. Competes with GlobalSign across the full certificate lifecycle and IoT identity.
• Entrust: Long-standing Certificate Authority and identity provider offering PKI, TLS, eIDAS qualified trust services and document signing — directly comparable to GlobalSign's regulated trust services and enterprise authentication portfolio.

Others

• DocuSign: Electronic signature and agreement cloud that integrates with GlobalSign for trusted AATL/qualified signatures. Not a direct CA competitor but a key channel and integration partner for GlobalSign's Digital Signing Service and qualified trust offerings.
• Adobe (Adobe Acrobat Sign / AATL): Adobe's Acrobat Sign and Approved Trust List program rely on CAs like GlobalSign to issue trusted signing certificates. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct CA competitor, but materially shapes the digital signature trust framework GlobalSign sells into.

Broad incumbents

• Let's Encrypt: Free, automated, ACME-driven public CA operated by ISRG. Indirectly competes with GlobalSign's DV/OV SSL business by absorbing the long tail of public TLS demand at zero price, putting structural pressure on the broader CA market.
• AWS Certificate Manager: Cloud-native public TLS certificate service tightly integrated with AWS workloads. Competes indirectly with GlobalSign for AWS-centric customer TLS volume, particularly for DV certificates and IoT device identities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/GlobalSignJP
• Xx.com/globalsign
• Facebookfacebook.com/GlobalSignSSL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/globalsign

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GMO GlobalSign