Your New TLD: Build It or Buy It?
Is your company applying for a New Top Level Domain (or, to keep it short, a TLD)?
If so, who's in charge of your new TLD project? To help us better understand who is in charge at companies contemplating new "dot Brand" domains, we asked business intelligence agency Vanson Bourne to conduct a survey about dot Brand TLDs. They interviewed 200 executives responsible for consumer-facing brands in the US and the UK.
And what did we learn? Well, more than half of all executives -- 52 percent -- (point to green screen) said that their IT departments are driving the decision to apply for a dot Brand TLD.
We also learned that six in ten executives believe that they have the necessary in-house technical expertise and infrastructure to run their new TLD, and -- further -- believe that they don't need support from consultants or other outsource providers.
Is your company ready to address the very specific technical issues of the ICANN application process such as the five critical registry functions: the Shared Registry System, DNS, DNSSEC, WHOIS, and Data Escrow?
22 of the 50 questions in the ICANN application require you to provide detailed information about these 5 and many other aspects of the technical solution you plan to deploy in support of your TLD. If your answers are inadequate, your TLD application will be denied ... and your application fee forfeited. Obviously, it is simpler and less risky to use answers based on a currently operating system, which likely means an outsourced solution.
So the key question for you to answer in the next few days is: should you build your new TLD infrastructure in-house or outsource it to a registry services provider?
Let me expand my previous utilities comparison a bit: your company needs a telephone system, but your IT department didn't go out and develop a telephone system from scratch. You use a faster, better, cheaper phone system that you outsourced.
TLD registry technology is similar. Only a handful of companies in the world have the proven systems and experienced staff to run a TLD registry. And, since these systems are operating today, the services are available quickly, reliably and cheaply. Your busy IT department shouldn't waste their time building a new TLD registry—they have real work to do supporting various aspects of your competitive advantage. It's simply not a practical business decision.
Another reason to consider outsourcing to an experienced provider like Afilias is that they also know how to apply and win a new TLD. At Afilias, we have helped many customers in the past get their TLDs. And for this new process, we've already figured out the answers that ICANN wants to see in a new TLD application. Afilias is ready to help you do the heavy lifting needed to win your top-level domain.
Let me be frank: a dot Brand strategy that relies only on in-house resources is a strategy that is probably going to fail.
I'm not saying that because Afilias is a registry services provider. I'm saying that because the reality is that operating a top-level domain registry is a complex business. It's not like buying a "dot com" domain to use for your website. When you apply for a top-level domain, you're buying the "dot com" itself. Top level domain registries are classified as critical internet infrastructure.
That means you're now responsible for helping to keep the Internet -- yes, the entire Internet -- secure, stable and interoperable. And you will now be answerable to ICANN -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is the global entity that helps ensure the security and stability of the Internet.
Operating a top-level domain is closer to operating a utility like an electricity or gas company than it is running a company network or website.
That's why all aspects of a dot Brand domain are better handled by external specialists. They can help you apply to ICANN for your dot Brand. They can also operate it successfully for you, day in and day out, 365 days a year.
But bottom line: you need to make a decision fast. As in "the next couple of days" fast. Your company has to begin the application process several days before March 29, 2012 and must complete it on or before April 12.
If you're counting on internal resources like your IT department to provide the answers you need by April 12 to prove to ICANN that you can run a registry system, you should really think again. Think about who can help... think about Afilias. Thanks.
Visit www.Afilias.info to learn more. Or contact us right now.