Intelligence Part 1 – An Intelligent Way to Manage a Domain Name Portfolio

“With great power comes great responsibility” should be part of the job description for a domain portfolio manager in the big bad online world.  Not only does an organisation have to ensure that their domain names are being used to drive value but also to defend against intellectual property infringement.  A combination of being present, protected, and prosperous by staying one step ahead of the competition and the bad actors in the digital world.

Most individuals who have responsibility for the domain name portfolios within an organisation will know that despite pressure to reduce budgets, and thus the number of domain held, there is always the concerns that those names that are earmarked for deletion will end up in the wrong hands and be used against the organisation.  It is therefore imperative that before any decisions are made, the portfolio is reviewed and assessed against some key metrics such as the value of the keywords in the name to the organisation and any competitors, whether the name is being actively used, and what the DNS traffic.

Domain names are an integral part of the intellectual property portfolio of any organisation, sitting alongside trademarks, patents and designs as key assets used to increase revenues, comply with regulation, and enhance reputation.  With so many Top-Level Domains available to register in today, over 1,000 and due to expand again significantly in the next few years, balancing the risk versus the reward when it comes to a registration strategy is vital.  A domain name, using an organisation’s IP such as key brand names, high-profile individuals, or marketing slogans, that is being used nefariously by a third party can cause financial and reputational damage within minutes if unchecked.

One simple domain name can support a billion-dollar business.  Email systems rely on domains, apps are built on platforms that utilise domain names and many internal systems use domain names for routing purposes.  Therefore, it is essential that those vital domain names are secured against any third-party threats with the most up to date and comprehensive domain security measures such as Enterprise DNS, Registry Locks (where available) and encryption through SSLs.  In many organisations functions such as Information and Cyber Security will provide valuable input to the domain name manager on what protection needs to be put in place.

If domain name managers didn’t have enough on their plate with the hundreds of millions of domain names currently registered and the expansion of the TLD space in the coming years, there is the rapid emergence of Web 3.0 technologies and how traditional and what is called decentralised domain names will be used.  Ensuring that an organisation is ahead of the curve is again one facet of managing a domain name portfolio that almost certainly wasn’t a consideration a few years ago but today is vital.

Having a domain name strategy is the starting point for many domain name managers, defining what should be in the portfolio, the registration criteria and what metrics should be used to determine whether to retain or delete a domain name.

The support, advice and expertise that working with a corporate domain name registrar, such as Com Laude can offer is often undervalued.  At the core of Com Laude’s approach is the rightsizing promise, which ensures that our clients’ portfolios are measured against current and future needs; where every domain is doing its job and achieving positive outcomes; delivering effective portfolios without excess.

With so many aspects of domain name management now to consider, using a platform that can provide the key insights, actions and highlight any potential risks is vital.  Com Laude’s Intelligence allows organisations to work smarter, not harder when it comes to domain portfolio tasks.  Whether it is how critical names, the organisation’s digital crown jewels, are protected, validating that the right names resolve to the right destination or simply ensuring each and every domain provides the business some level of return on investment, Intelligence can help.

Over the next few weeks, Com Laude will highlight how Intelligence can provide the insights for an organisation, focusing on the right-sizing approach but also documenting some of the steps that could and should be taken to mitigate the inherent risks of the digital world and the opportunities that using the right domain names brings.