General Purpose Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) are highly secure, physical devices designed to perform a variety of cryptographic operations, such as key generation, storage, management, encryption, signature creation, or key exchange. HSMs perform these functions within a tamper-resistant, hardened physical environment, guaranteeing integrity and confidentiality, serving as the Root of Trust for organizations’ digital infrastructures.
Based on the different performance and compliance models, they are suitable for organizations of all sizes in each industry.
On-premises is just one way of consuming GP HSMs
HSM setups on-premises – Full access, full control, full costs
For the past decades, purchasing a physical HSM device as LAN appliance or PCIe Card and hosting it on-premises was the only option to utilize an HSMs capabilities.
This came at considerable costs, starting with the purchasing investments (CAPEX), to the costs connected to its maintenance, also requiring dedicated expert headcount.
HSM remote access - Transfer technologies towards true as a Service offerings
Some years back, the first remote access offerings to GP HSMs were entering the market. As classical Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering, this deployment model removed the need for investments tied to on-premises installations while granting the customer sole access to the HSM hosted on the vendors’ end. But still, with this model the workload related to the management of the HSM remained on the side of the customer. With that, also the responsibility for meeting certification requirements was left on the customers’ end, and thus requiring recruitment of skilled staff for HSM management.
HSM as a Service – The new deployment model revolutionizing the GP HSM Market
Within recent years, the digital landscape drastically shifted towards a growing number of as a Service-based offerings. However, “as a Service” is not a standardized term and can have many sides.
Besides the already mentioned IaaS, the two most common service models are Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), often also called fully managed service.
To emphasize on the option that is most user-friendly and provides a complete service experience to the customer, we want to focus on the fully managed service offerings for GP HSMs in this blog.
GP HSM as a Service – The better choice for securing your business
Fully managed as a Service offerings for GP HSMs are now at the forefront of the cybersecurity landscape.
Choosing the right offering from an experienced vendor that is fulfilling the crucial points, can provide you with the same level of security as with an on-prem installation while leveraging from the fact that the vendor is providing all services related to the HSMs hosting, maintenance and management, including crucial tasks such as HSM setup, load monitoring and balancing, alert handling, secure backups, top-level key exchange, network and hardware updates as well as end of life refresh.
Watch our webinar and discover the Top 10 decision points for choosing the right as a Service vendor
New HSM deployment model – New benefits
Tied to the deployment as fully managed service, GP HSMaaS provides unique advantages for organizations. Some of them are even exceeding the capabilities of traditional on-premises installations.
The most important key benefits of GP HSMaaS are:
- No Implementation Effort
By combining GP HSM service, maintenance, and hosting, the requirement for hardware deployment or software management on the customers’ end is removed and with that, the costs for hardware and staff too. - High Availability
The fully managed service offering of choice should be able to guarantee highest availability of the GP HSMaaS, based on highly secure data center setup and geo-redundancy. - Strong Compliance
The right GP HSMaaS offering helps you to meet regulatory and security compliance requirements, enabling highest security for manifold use cases throughout all industries. - Flexible Integration
Easy and flexible integration into customers’ digital environments based on standard APIs. The right vendor should also be able to offer out-of-the-box support for standard integrations, ensuring a smooth and efficient setup. - Multi-Tenancy
A capable GP HSMaaS solution enables management of fully isolated, standalone processes in one HSM based on an integrated containerization option.
Make the better choice for adopting GP HSMaaS
Utimaco’s Trust as a Service marketplace showcases the potential of Data Security as a Service offerings. With a wide range of services tailored to meet various security needs, Utimaco provides businesses with the tools to secure their digital infrastructure. To explore the benefits of GP HSM as a service, visit our product page!
We also offer additional services, including: Payment HSM as a Service, File and Folder Encryption as a Service, Key Exchange and Escrow as a Service, eInvoice Signature as a Service, Device Attestation and Timestamp as a Service.
Utimaco's unique cybersecurity solution portfolio allows businesses to choose between on-premises, cloud-based solutions, or hybrid setups.
By adopting Utimaco’s Trust as a Service solutions, businesses can reduce their total cost of ownership, enhance flexibility, ensure accessibility, and achieve unparalleled security.
