Adfinis unveils flat-fee OpenBao-based secrets service

Adfinis has launched Secretz Enterprise, a subscription product based on the OpenBao open source project. It targets organisations that want predictable pricing for secrets management and 24/7 support.

Secretz Enterprise is positioned as an alternative to proprietary secrets management tools that charge more as customers grow. Adfinis refers to this as a "Success Tax", where licensing is tied to identities or clients.

Secrets management tools store and control access to sensitive values used by software and infrastructure, including passwords, API keys, encryption keys and certificates. Many organisations also use them to manage machine identities and audit access.

Pricing model

Secretz Enterprise uses a flat-fee subscription model that does not increase as organisations grow, according to Adfinis. It claims the approach can reduce annual secrets management spend by up to 50% compared with proprietary alternatives.

The subscription also includes 24/7 support and software assurance. Adfinis describes the offer as "OpenBao-based" and says it follows an "upstream first" approach, contributing fixes and enhancements back to the OpenBao project.

That upstream focus may appeal to organisations that want commercial support without relying on a closed product roadmap. Open source governance can also matter to buyers concerned about supplier concentration risk and long-term availability.

OpenBao foundation

OpenBao is a community-driven fork of Vault under the Linux Foundation. It is used for identity-based secrets and encryption management and supports a range of interfaces, including a user interface, command line tools and an HTTP API.

Adfinis says it is a co-maintainer of OpenBao and holds a seat on the project's Technical Steering Committee. It adds that Secretz Enterprise inherits OpenBao features such as automated secret rotation, just-in-time access, audit logging and a unified API.

These functions address common operational risks associated with secrets sprawl and unsecured storage. Many security incidents involve credentials embedded in code, mismanaged keys, or weak lifecycle processes for certificates and tokens.

Adoption claims

Adfinis says organisations can adopt Secretz Enterprise without migrating data or making infrastructure changes to existing deployments. It also says customers can end the subscription without affecting running environments.

The product is aimed at a wide range of sectors, including finance, utilities, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and government.

The launch expands Adfinis's existing OpenBao services, including tailored platforms and fully managed options, alongside consulting, engineering and managed operations.

Adfinis has offices in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Egypt. It works with technology partners including GitLab, Red Hat and SUSE, and offers managed services on a 24/7 basis.

Executive comment

Michael Hofer, Adfinis Chief Technology Officer, framed the launch around sovereignty and operational convenience.

"Sovereignty and convenience don't have to be a trade-off. We've proven that moving to an open, sovereign architecture is possible without friction or downtime, making it accessible for everyone, not just those with massive budgets."

Adfinis says it will continue contributing code changes to OpenBao under its upstream-first approach, and that fixes and enhancements will flow through to Secretz Enterprise as the underlying project evolves.