Are You Ready For The New Internet?

You've probably heard that the Internet as we know it is running out of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, and this is expected to occur somewhere between 2008 and 2010. Big deal, right? The new Internet format ? known as IPv6 (IP version 6) ? is actually a very big deal, and its impact on your business and your customers' businesses could be very significant, especially if you sell to the government or you are a network security provider.

IPv6, which was originally created in 1996, has already been adopted by European and Asian countries in anticipation of the upcoming IP address shortage. Unlike the current IPv4 format, which is built on a 32-bit architecture, IPv6 is built on a 128-bit architecture. The new Internet format will offer exponentially more IP addresses than IPv4 ? 2 to the 128th power compared with 2 to the 32nd power. Also, IPv6 will enable end-to-end encryption at the host level rather than just at the firewall level. The significance of this is that if you resell network security software that only monitors network packets, you're going to start losing market share because IPv6 will already have this capability built in.

The U.S. government is already taking action to make sure every federal government agency is IPv6 compliant by June 2008. In fact, on Aug. 2, 2005, President Bush approved a mandate detailing the steps all government agencies need to follow to ensure they are compliant by the deadline.

If you sell networking solutions to the government, IPv6 is important right now. You need to learn how to help your government customers become compliant. Even though the federal government may be the first market to make the transition, all other markets will follow suit shortly thereafter.

Make Sure Your Vendors, Customers Are IPv6 Compliant
The first thing you need to do is find out whether your vendor partners are compliant. Many of the big name network security vendors (e.g. Check Point, Cisco, HP, Juniper, Radware) make network security products (e.g. routers and hubs) that are IPv6 compliant and can be used in an IPv6 environment by simply flipping a switch. If your hardware or software vendor isn't offering compliant products right now, it should have a detailed plan in place to attain compliance before the end of 2006.

If you resell your own proprietary network security products, you'll want to make sure your hardware and software is compliant. Nonprofit organizations such as the North American IPv6 Task Force (www.nav6tf.org) and the California IPv6 Task Force (www.cav6tf.org) exist to help U.S. companies understand IPv6. Also, check out www.IPv6ready.org for additional assistance.

Next, it's time to follow up with your customers. Many of them may be using legacy routers and hubs that only support IPv4. Now is the perfect time to help them develop an IPv6 migration strategy rather than waiting to do a massive overhaul in two years. After all, weren't you looking for an excuse to call them back anyway?