Automating Certificate Renewal in IBM Sterling Environments: A Framework for Secure, Scalable, and Policy-Compliant Lifecycle Management

Abstract

Digital certificates are fundamental to securing communication and ensuring trust in enterprise environments. In IBM Sterling, where managed file transfer underpins critical business processes, certificate renewal remains a persistent challenge when handled manually. Expired or misconfigured certificates frequently result in costly downtime, compliance violations, and operational inefficiencies. Existing research on certificate lifecycle management highlights automation broadly but provides limited focus on Sterling-specific environments. This study addresses that gap by proposing a framework for automating certificate detection, renewal, and deployment within Sterling infrastructures. The framework integrates scripted monitoring, automated workflows, Secure+ configuration updates, and logging mechanisms to deliver secure, scalable, and policy-compliant lifecycle management. Findings indicate that automation significantly reduces human error, strengthens regulatory adherence, and improves operational continuity. By aligning automation with compliance standards and Zero Trust principles, this research contributes a practical model for enterprises seeking to modernize security practices in complex, hybrid IBM Sterling deployments.