PKI Services

While not quite at the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" level, outsourcing a PKI is a considerable investment in both money (the cost can approach six figures for a midsize shop, depending on the services you choose) and time (you'll need to do your homework and have your technology ducks in a row going into negotiations). But in return you get the invaluable benefit of having your IT staff able to devote itself to your business rather than a PKI infrastructure.

At our Syracuse University Real-World Labs® we set up a fictional organization with 1,000 to 5,000 users on Windows NT/2000 clients, the need for S/MIME on Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, and a remote-access Check Point VPN in the works. The desired architecture was simple. We took a look at Baltimore Technologies, with its Managed PKI Service; Entrust, with Entrust@YourService; and VeriSign, with its OnSite offering. The race was neck and neck, and while we found VeriSign the best fit for our organization and gave it our Editor's Choice award, only three-tenths of a point separated the three contenders on our score sheet. Your needs, and thus your pick, may differ.