Verio Launches Commercial Next-Gen Internet Protocol
Formally dubbed Verio IPv6 Gateway Services, the technology will be delivered over a newly upgraded Verio Global IP Network, and consists of three individual solutions. The first, IPv6 Native Service, offers customers a dedicated IPv6 connection. The second, IPv6 Tunneling Service, is designed for those customers that operate remote locations and want to incorporate an existing IPv4 connection.
The third, dubbed IPv6 Dual Stack Services, is a combination of both native and tunneling services, mixing the two in a solution that enables customers to switch from one transport method to another, depending on dynamic requirements. All three offer customers many of the features associated with IPv4 connectivity, but also boast exclusive enhancements such as augmented VPN and full integration of the IPsec framework, enabling end-to-end communications that are totally secure.
"This kind of technology exists in Europe and Asia, but we felt it was time to make it available to the sales channel here in the U.S.," said Cody Christman, director of product engineering at the Englewood, Colo., company. "This is new ground for Verio, new ground for anyone in our industry, and we're excited to see it grow."
Still, experts questioned Verio's release strategy for a product that may be too expensive and sophisticated for the channel to sell. Stan Schatt, a research director at Forrester Research, said he could count the number of industries that might be ready for this technology "on one hand," and noted that many corporations have managed just fine under the current IPv4 infrastructure.
Schatt added that carriers and other telecommunications companies have placed far too much emphasis on IPv6, denying a dire need for more IP addresses and reiterating reports that indicate carriers have worked around most of the problems with current Internet Protocol conventions.
"I think it's a bit early to burst onto the marketplace touting this as a technology that everyone has to buy," Schatt said. "Sure, there's an advantage to getting out there early, but I'd say [Verio] has done more harm than good by taking a sky-is-falling approach to the need for this kind of [technology.]"
Channel partners seemed unfazed by Schatt's skepticism, and applauded the telecommunications company for blazing the IPv6 trail. Quy "Q" Nguyen, CEO of solution provider Allyance Communications Networks, Irvine, Calif., predicted the new service will have a "huge" impact on the sales channel because "Verio will be able to differentiate themselves from other IP players."
Robert Goble agreed. The president and CEO of channel partner Venicom, Scottsdale, Ariz., said simply being first to market should give Verio's resellers a competitive advantage.
"Any time you come to market with something and you're first, you pass along the advantage to your resellers in the channel," Goble said. "I don't care when people start adopting this stuff; when they do, they'll come to us."