The .nz domain name registry is exploring options with regards to replacing their backend registry systems. To that end they’ve launched an “expressions of interest” process.
The timeline is laid out below:
| Event | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Issuance of the request for expressions of interest | 23 October 2019 |
| Briefing opportunities at ICANN66, Montreal | 2 to 7 November 2019 |
| Briefing opportunities in New Zealand | 11 to 15 November 2019 |
| Closing date for clarification requests and questions from potential respondents | 15 November 2019 |
| Closing date for the submission of EOI | 29 November 2019, 12 pm (NZDT, UTC+13) |
| Evaluation panel consideration of EOI responses Note: additional information may be sought from respondents during this stage | 2 December 2019 to 18 February 2020 |
| InternetNZ announces next steps | 19 February 2020 |
The more detailed document they’ve provided lays out both the reasons why they’re doing this and what they expect from any replacement system.
We hope to have a good overview of existing solutions on the market by the end of the EOI submissions period. We are doing this market exercise to test the value, accountability and performance of best-in-class registry systems and to assess the capability of responding suppliers to enable and support InternetNZ to undertake the Registry Replacement project
Dave Baker, InternetNZ’s Chief Technology Strategist
This is an important project that will improve New Zealand’s domain name system – reinforcing its reliability and security. It’s an investment in keeping the core technologies behind .nz up to date. We will be taking a careful and thorough approach to this project
InternetNZ Group Chief Executive Jordan Carter
It’s good to see ccTLD registries investing in new technologies and better systems and I know that .nz aren’t the only ccTLD registry that is using “old” technology to run their platform.
So who will end up with the contract? I’d expect the likes of Afilias, Centralnic, Neustar and Nominet to try and pitch for this. However whoever wins this deal will have to provide the services from New Zealand directly and not simply put in one or two token employees “in country”. While some of the bigger players might have some infrastructure in New Zealand it’s doubtful that any of them have offices there at the moment.
You can read the full requirements document here (PDF).
