Interview: How to avoid domain pain

Domain expert Jonathan Wales explains the advantages of a unified approach to registrations, protection and management.

IT Week: Has 2002 been an interesting year to be in the domain name business?

Jonathan Wales: 2002 may well be remembered as a pivotal year for the domain name industry because Icann [the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the managing body of the Internet addressing system] used the year to plan its restructuring. Icann has long been under pressure to make itself more effective, representative and efficient. In 2002, the Icann board proposed a new organisational plan with revised constituency groups, a new board selection process, and an ombudsman office. But, as they say, the proof is in the pudding - this time next year, we can review whether the plan was successful.

What are the key domain name issues for businesses at present?

In terms of registration policies, corporations are becoming much more strategic and focused in their approach. There is a move away from registrations and towards consolidating and managing portfolios. We have seen a growing demand this year from clients for transfers between registrars as they aim to outsource their domain name requirements with one provider. Clients are attracted to a total solution, which not only includes registration and portfolio management solutions, but for large corporations also includes searching and monitoring strategies to proactively tackle online infringements.

There have been many instances of domain name scams over the past year. What needs to be done to prevent this?

Companies need to make sure they are protected against such scams. Many tactics prey on those who are confused by the registration process or who have ineffective control over their domain name registrations. By ensuring their portfolio is centralised and securely managed by one department or contact, companies can reduce the risk of being affected by domain scams.

Which bodies should be responsible for regulating and penalising unscrupulous registrars?

In terms of policing these activities, it is difficult to provide a definite answer. To date we have seen various bodies take action, including registries such as Nominet, the Office of Fair Trading and registrars such as ourselves. Without a specific process in place, the onus is on end-users and concerned organisations to take the necessary action.

Do you think the rollout of the new generic top-level domains has been successful so far?

We have seen the new domains grow in popularity, such as .info recently announcing one million registrations. I think we still have a lot to see from them, particularly as not all of them have been launched yet, with .pro expected next year. The idea of the new domains was always to see what did and did not work. Future domain name launches will be able to benefit from the varying successes we have witnessed and will continue to witness.

Icann's president Stuart Lynn recently proposed the introduction of three new sponsored domains. Is there a need for more domains?

There seems to be a general informal consensus that the market is ripe for more sponsored domains [restricted to certain industries or individuals]. But this does not mean the end of generic domains. What we are seeing is a variety of domains appealing to different business and end-user needs, whether it be restricted domains such as .pro, or unrestricted generic domains such as .info.

How easy is it to assess the value of a certain domain?

The success of these names should not be measured exclusively on the number of registrations. A sponsored domain may attract a relatively small number of registrations, while its real value is providing a solution for that particular market sector. In terms of further domains, this is not a new subject and it is too early to speculate on the outcome or what to expect. It will be interesting to see what emerges.

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ABOUT JONATHAN WALES
Jonathan Wales is the general manager of the corporate services division at domain name registrar Register.com.

His role entails developing the business strategy and delivering the products and systems to meet corporate clients' needs.

Wales is also chairman of RegistryPro, the operator of the .pro top-level domain.

Before joining Register.com, he was chief financial officer at Internet service provider Virtual Internet.