GeoTrust sells a variety of certificate services that are used to secure online shopping carts or control access on SSL VPNs. The company sees the European market for digital certificates readied for growth, fuelled both by mass broadband adoption and an increase in the number of online sites being rolled out by small and medium-sized merchants.
The .com and .net SSL certificate market has been virtually owned by VeriSign Inc [VRSN]. But according to numbers released by SoundView [SNDV], VeriSign’s market share has declined from a peak of over 400,000 certificates issued in mid 2002, down to 373,000 active by mid-2003.
GeoTrust claims it has been able to wrest almost 20% market share from VeriSign since 2001, and that it is able produce certificates that are quicker, cheaper and easier to use than those of its larger rival.
The company also claims to be making inroads in the enterprise certification markets. It has a partnership with Arcot Systems Inc to produce token-based authentication systems to rival those from market leader RSA Security Inc [RSAS], and has a deal with mobile carrier Orange SA [OGE.L] for an SSL solution to secure wireless LAN hot spot locations.
This article was based on material originally published by ComputerWire.
