IPv6 – your next cash cow?

For anybody looking at the next big thing, the new 'killer app' or the new gold, I recommend to read a white paper by the Atos Scientific Community called "IPv6: How Soon is Now?".

The paper explains very well the problem with the way the internet is currently working. It points out that we have a serious issue, a 'time-bomb', with the way that devices (computers, networking components and other IT stuff) are connected with each other using this old IPv4 technology. The paper further explains why, in spite of all kinds of intermediate technologies, we need to adopt a new technology, called IPv6, and we need to do that very quickly.

"To sustain the expected Internet growth, there is no adequate alternative to adopting IPv6."

Furthermore you will read in the paper that we will be running into real problems if we do not make that change and unfortunately the change is happening much too slow.

"Unfortunately statistics from Google paint a (…) picture with less than 1% of total users being IPv6 clients"

This might sound awfully boring and a field of play for the technology wizards in your organizations – this is not for you right? But wait, because halfway through the paper, the authors start explaining that the benefit of this new technology is in the way it can support all possible technical devices (including cars, phones, traffic lights, wind mills, televisions, your shoes and wrist watch, medical devices and almost anything) can become connected – can talk with each other – when we switch to IPv6.

"(…) that IPv6 can now be used on virtually any communicating object, from servers to small sensors, regardless of the underlying (…) network technology."

I think this changes everything; it opens up a whole new world of play for consumers and manufacturers, for service providers and retailers; to create new businesses, to open up new markets and create new ways of making money.

"The IPv6 "Killer App" is likely to be the enablement of the Internet of Things (IoT)"

Based on this you would be stupid to not support this move to IPv6; it will be the engine that allows your business to innovate and grow; your IT landscape will increase thousand fold and you can bring any type of information, sensor or other device into your business platform. That is cool and exciting.

But it will not be easy.

"Although many people think that a migration to IPv6 is primarily a networking issue, the truth is that all IT organizations across server, network, storage and application domains must be equally trained to contribute to both the planning and execution."

The authors explain in quite some detail that you will need to overcome technical hurdles (IP Space Management, IP Address Provisioning, IPv6 to IPv4 interoperability, Application IPv6 readiness and Security Challenges) as well as business challenges (Coordination across silos and companies, Timing issues on what to do first and governance to establish End-to-end responsibility).

"We predict a tipping point when there will be more IPv6-connected users and devices, and therefore opportunity, than the IPv4 landscape provides today."

So, want to grow your business, do the strategically right thing and set yourself up for business growth, agility and all the other stuff you need and like? Migrate to IPv6 now.


This blog post was previously published at http://blog.atos.net/blog/2013/09/03/watch-this-space-lucky-7-avoiding-information-overload/