Published on the 28/01/2014 | Written by Newsdesk
Monash University manages more than a million web pages – it will also now manage the .monash generic top level domain which CIO Ian Tebbett believes will simplify things for end users…
When Australia’s Monash University announced it had become the first globally recognised organisation to be granted a top level domain by the internet’s governing body ICANN this month, it signalled the start of a major change in the way large enterprises might manage their web activities in the future.
Monash was one of the global winners of a lottery held by ICANN, making it among the first of around 1000 new top level domains being established on the internet. In Australia the AFL, Australia Post, and the Victorian Government have similarly applied for their own internet domains; in New Zealand the .kiwi domain has been approved by ICANN, and the specially formed internet registry Dot Kiwi is currently managing expressions of interest from organisations in New Zealand which want to use that address.
For enterprise CIOs, securing a new top level domain web address takes them into a whole new arena. Monash University CIO and vice president (information) Dr Ian Tebbett said that under the monash.edu.au addressing system the information structures and navigation around the university’s million plus web pages could be complex. Moving to .monash would simplify navigation and improve the user experience he said.
“The main challenges are operational rather than technical. Owning a top level domain means operating as the Registrar for the domain, which for an open domain would mean processing requests for delegation of sub-domains. However, the .monash domain has been classified as closed and therefore not open to external requests,” he said.
Monash has had to define some new policies and processes to allow it to meet the specifications required from an ICANN recognised Registrar, but Tebbett said that the university has not had to make significant changes to its systems or security settings in order to host the new .monash domain.
However he acknowledged that there was something of a leap of faith involved in applying for the new top level domain.
“The business case is one of investment to support the development of Monash as an institution, with an element of speculation. This type of top level domain has not existed before, so there’s no evidence to draw on. ICANN application fees and annual fees are the additional cost. We took the view that applying to ICANN was less risky than not applying and missing what we see might be an opportunity that won’t come round again for several years. As a leading Australian university, we want to be part of this.”
