A chart from Afilias showing the volume of domains supported by the company.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Domain registry and DNS service provider Afilias (www.afilias.info) and information management company Iron Mountain (www.ironmountain.com) announced on Monday that they had formed a co-referral partnership designed to benefit applicants in the new generic TLD process.
According to the announcement, Iron Mountain will refer prospective gTLD registry operators to Afilias for registry services, and Afilias will refer them to Iron Mountain for that company’s data escrow services.
Afilias says it is offering a full suite of services around the application process associated with new gTLDs, designed to ensure that their applications and operations are successful. As the operator of the registry for several existing TLDs, including .INFO, Afilias can provide applicants with expertise around the application process, as well as a technical platform for operating the registry itself.
In November, Afilias announced that it was offering integrated registry and DNS services for new TLDs.
ICANN is currently planning to open the application window for new gTLDs in the second quarter of 2011, says Afilias, with the protection of registry data through escrow an integral part of the process.
As new gTLDs are created, the registries will be required to comply with data escrow requirements similar to those currently applied by ICANN to existing gTLDs. Iron Mountain, according to the press release, currently provides escrow services for the majority of active gTLDs and can provide the same service to new gTLDs.
Escrow protection, according to the companies, is essential to ensuring the continuity of domain operations in the event of the technical, physical or business failure of a registry.
“Afilias is known for the reliability, security and scalability of our registry systems as well as new gTLD expertise that comes from supporting the launches of more new gTLDs than any other registry provider,” says Afilias senior vice president and chief marketing officer Roland LaPlante, quoted in the press release. “We offer a complete technical solution for new gTLD applicants including ICANN-proven registry and DNS services. We’ve worked with Iron Mountain for years to provide escrow that meets ICANN’s requirements, and we are pleased to extend this partnership into the new TLD area.”
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
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