The Multi Domain (UCC) SSL Certificate Advantage

Cover a Broader Display of Domain Names

E-commerce businesses can help themselves to easier certificate administration and management utilizing a unified communications certificate (also known as a subject alternative name or “SAN” certificate). They can save money and accomplish more by using this type of certificate because, unlike a wildcard, the certificate extends to cover multiple domain names which require SSL on a single server without the need to bind different IP addresses to the different SSL certificates.

UCC certificates enable businesses to save money.  Because of the versatility of these certificates, there is no need to purchase additional certificates (which really can add up and become a task to manage). Whether it is different domain extensions or multiple domain names, this type of certificate is a “one stop shop” and eliminates the hassle of juggling multiple certificates with different expiration or renewal dates etc. Keep in mind, using this certificate may make the domains or sites look related to each other. However, that typically isn’t an issue for most businesses. (Note: It must be the same owner that registers all of the domain names.)

A UC certificate can protect different domains, for example:

www.example.com
www.example2.com
www.example3.net
mail.example.net
exchange.example2.com

The UCC SSL certificates are made particularly for the Microsoft Exchange and the Microsoft Office Communication Server environments. They provide SSL secured communications both internally and externally which helps simplify certificate management and lowers cost. Furthermore, the Exchange SSL certificates can benefit client administration because they support the Microsoft Exchange Autodiscover service, due to the capable platform.

Other Advantages

Some providers of these UCC SSL certificates offer:

• State-of-the-Art Data Encryption
  • Encryption is a security tool that keeps information, which passes through the Internet, private and protected. UC SSL uses data encryption up to 256 bits to convert data into virtually impassable/junk code that is safe from hackers and identity thieves.
• Issuance in minutes
  • The quicker the certificate can be issued to the business the quicker the business can continue with the safe encryption. Note: EV SSL Certificates will require a longer time to issue due to more thorough validation processes.

• Are trusted by over 99% of current browsers
  • This prevents the user’s browser from alerting them that a certificate is unrecognized or that there could be some problem.

• Can be moved/change domains if required
  • Allowing the owner to change names as they see fit without having to deal with any additional hassles.

• Licensed for unlimited physical servers
  • Use UC certificate on as many servers, IP addresses, and domains as you need.

• Backed by support
  • Some provider’s offer 24/7/365 support to its customers via live chat, email, and phone.

Different brands offer different benefits with these certificates.  It is important to discover which offers the most at the desired price.  Also, consider brand recognition which may add more value to the certificate.  Additionally, there are certificate providers that offer UCC SSL Certificates with EV.  These will display the green address bar like other extended validation certificates.  This is a double bonus because now, there is one certificate covering multiple domain names and extensions, plus the confidence building visibility of the well recognized green address bar. Note: There are specific Certificate Authorities which offer these UCC SSL certificates and not all Certificate Authorities have them. Nevertheless, it is a certificate worth looking at and once it is decided that it can be used, then consider the impact obtaining an extended validation version could have on the business.

Selecting the right brand can be secondarily important in picking the right certificate. For customers that have  little or no education in the web security department, they might find that the familiarity offered by a UCC SSL certificate with EV and it’s green address bar encourage their trust because of the other important websites they use to conduct business (i.e. banking, social, or medical websites) that already have them.

Technical Features	Comodo Domain Validated UCC SSL	Comodo UCC SSL
Validation Level	Domain Validated	Full Business validation
Green Address Bar
256-bit Encryption
99.9% Browser Recognition
IDN Support
Unlimited Re-issuance
Maximum Term	4 years	4 years
Speed of Issuance	Issued in less than 10 minutes	1-3 days
SAN Support
Domains Secured	Multiple domains (up to 3) Supports MS Exchange 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007	Multiple domains (up to 5) Supports MS Exchange 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007
Warranty Level	$25000	$250000
Site Seal	Static site seal	Static site seal
Free Unlimited Server Licenses
Technical Support	24 X 7 SSL Technical Support via Live Chat, email, online knowledgebase, web-based ticketing system	24 X 7 SSL Technical Support via Live Chat, email, online knowledgebase, web-based ticketing system
Money Back Guarantee	30 Days	30 Days
Pricing	Listed Price: $285.00/yr. Our Price: $121.06/yr. View Product	Listed Price: $285.00/yr. Our Price: $121.06/yr. View Product

The ultimate decision is left to the Internet Service Provider or E-commerce business in determining if they will get the full value out of the UCC SSL certificate. When it comes down to it the certificate is only an advantage if it can be fully used and would be appreciated. That said, just having one extra domain name to protect with one of these certificates could be enough to validify the decision.