IBM and Entrust Partner to Modernise Enterpise Cryptography

With quantum computing shifts from theoretical risk to boardroom priority, businesses are under pressure to secure their cryptographic infrastructure before it is too late.

Entrust's collaboration with IBM Consulting offers enterprises a structured pathway to quantum safety while addressing immediate operational challenges around cryptographic governance.

The partnership brings together IBM's quantum-safe transformation services with Entrust's capabilities in PKI, cryptographic security and hardware security.

The aim is to help organisations execute a governed transition to quantum safety through the Entrust Cryptographic Security Platform (CSP), which acts as a unified control plane for certificates, keys and secrets.

This represents a shift from reactive risk assessment to proactive cryptographic management, opening new revenue streams for both companies as demand for quantum-safe solutions accelerates.

The business case for quantum preparedness

Quantum computing has evolved rapidly from a distant threat to an urgent business concern, particularly for regulated industries and organisations handling sensitive data with long lifecycles.

The window for preparation is narrowing and the commercial implications are significant.

"With regulatory expectations increasing and quantum computing advances continuing to accelerate, organisations can no longer treat quantum risk as a future concern," says Dinesh Nagarajan, Executive Partner and Global Service Line Leader for Quantum-Safe and Data Security at IBM Consulting.

"Preparation can no longer be delayed. By partnering with Entrust, we can help organisations move decisively towards post-quantum readiness, with solutions built for sustainable governance, resilience and scale."

The threat landscape adds urgency to the business case. Malicious actors are already harvesting encrypted data with the intention of decrypting it once quantum technology becomes available.

Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks worldwide are tightening requirements around cryptographic security. For enterprises, this creates both risk and opportunity.

Early movers gain competitive advantage through enhanced security postures and compliance readiness, while late adopters face potential regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

Addressing cryptographic sprawl at scale

The challenge facing most organisations is cryptographic sprawl, where certificates, keys and secrets are fragmented across legacy systems, cloud platforms and DevOps pipelines, each governed by inconsistent policies.

Traditional point solutions and one-off assessments are proving insufficient for this level of complexity.

The Entrust and IBM Consulting solution addresses this through the Cryptographic Security Platform, which provides continuous discovery, visibility, policy enforcement and lifecycle automation.

This centralised approach helps organisations reduce operational complexity while maintaining governance at scale, translating to reduced cryptographic debt and lower operational costs over time.

The joint solution follows a structured methodology beginning with enterprise-wide discovery and risk assessment.

The Entrust platform provides visibility into cryptographic assets and maps exposure to business services, data longevity and regulatory requirements.

IBM Consulting then develops a business-aligned migration roadmap using its Quantum Safe Migration Orchestrator, converting insights into a prioritised, risk-based plan.

Building long-term cryptographic resilience

The final phase focuses on managed execution and ongoing governance, ensuring changes are implemented safely while enforcing policy and automating lifecycle processes.

This ongoing management model creates recurring revenue opportunities for both partners while providing clients with sustained security value.

"Quantum preparedness starts with regaining control of your cryptography across applications, clouds, identities and infrastructure," says Mike Baxter, Chief Technology & Product Officer of Entrust.

"We are excited to partner with IBM Consulting, which brings deep expertise in orchestrating the enterprise transformation required to deliver effective cryptographic management. Entrust supports this with its unified control plane for PKI, keys, certificates and secrets, anchored in post-quantum compliant hardware security modules.

"Together, we can help customers establish governance, reduce operational risk today and adopt crypto-agility so they can transition to post-quantum standards with confidence."

The partnership's strength lies in its ability to link cryptographic exposure to critical business services and regulatory demands.

This enables enterprises to prioritise remediation efforts based on actual business risk rather than technical criteria alone.

The approach also supports audit-ready compliance, which proves valuable as regulatory scrutiny intensifies.

For organisations evaluating quantum-safe strategies, this collaboration offers a framework for reducing disruption while building long-term resilience.

As quantum threats continue to evolve, the combined solution aims to support a smoother transition to post-quantum standards while maintaining security and operational stability.

The commercial success of this partnership signals broader market readiness for enterprise-scale quantum-safe transformation.