Backend Registry: I want you to build my next new gTLD offer

At Jovenet Consulting, we think that the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program will be quite something: we spent the past 10 years watching how existing new registries behave and we now quite know what upcoming applicants want: if some just don't know - like in was the case in the first round, some do.

Many lessons were learnt on applicants' expectations prior to the first round to start in 2012 but today's reality turns out to be different, numbers don't lie : only 6 registries on a list of more than 500 reached out to more than 1 million domain names. Is this where a future applicant wants to stand after 10 years of existence? This is a true question to have prior to submitting a new gTLD application to ICANN.

Combining efforts with a "Backend"

We already know what many upcoming applicants want to pay, we also know that they have high expectations. If submitting a dotBRAND application will be an easy procedure, creating a Registry to sell domain names will not be the same: does an applicant who enters the game want to renew 1.500 domain names each year? Probably not. What about 100,000 or one million? Sounds better doesn't it?

With that objective in mind, applicants will need to address the right partners and backend registry provider: some are already well prepared for dotBrand type of applications but "selling" domain names through the network of accredited registrars will require a studied strategy and a team.

Backend Registry required

Jovenet Consulting is confident that a company willing to invest thousands of dollars/euros in its new gTLD project will want a clear path to success. To do so, we - Jovenet Consulting, want to partner with a Backend Registry provider, not only to develop the best offer on the market but also to be able to offer that "key in hand" solution to our clients.

Our vision is to make it more simple for upcoming applicants to launch their Top-Level Domain. To do so, we want to partner with a Backend Registry provider for which we will sell the offer to our clients if we believe it is a good one. We want this to be a team's job and not a "do it all and send us your client". We are ready to sign a contract for this.

For interested backend registries, please contact us at Jovenet Consulting.

UNR and GoDaddy Registry

"We're preparing for the next Round"

There have been many announcements recently: Uniregistry (the Registrar) being acquired by GoDaddy and GoDaddy acquiring another Registry's business with Neustar Registry: isn't this a preparation for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program? "Oh yes it is".

UNR 

Many followed the news when GoDaddy acquired most of Uniregistry's business (the Registrar and domaining business marketplace, as well as the CEO's domain name portfolio). It is an announcement when a Registrar acquires another. In this deal, GoDaddy acquired all BUT the Registry and Backend-Registry businesses from Uniregistry. It means that Uniregistry kept these two businesses. Since Uniregistry ("Uni" ?) now belongs to GoDaddy, it now makes sense to change name, and that new name is "UNR" (which seems to mean "Uni Naming and Registry). I like short names but please, get rid of "Uni" because in becomes confusing.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy, the number one Registrar in volume of domain names registered, and which acquired Uniregistry, also acquired a Corporate Registrar named Brandsight but it is still unclear to me if this acquisition was to acquire the company's portfolio or if it plans to do develop a serious Corporate Registrar offer for its clients. Note that this would be welcome.

GoDaddy which had a "Retail Registrar" identity is now developing other identities: the Corporate Registrar one and the Registry one too (I would like to add the Backend-Registry identity too but the Neustar Registry acquisition remains unclear about this business).

Note that I make a difference between the Registry's business and the Backend-Registry's one since one is the governing body of a domain name extension selling to Registrars, when the other is the tool to allow the Registry to create domain names and there is a financial connection between those two: the Backend-Registry usually sells to the Registry; because most Registries cannot afford (or have the technical knowledge) to own their technical solution. They usually sub-contract this operation.

GoDaddy Registry

Very recently, GoDaddy made the acquisition of a major player's business named Neustar Registry: not "Neustar" but its Registry's business only. This is a major announcement because GoDaddy was not present in the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program. It applied to its own dotBrand (the .GODADDY new gTLD) but never used it. The funny thing is that its  .GODADDY domain name extension is operated by another Backend-Registry provider (...) which is not Neustar Registry (I would understand that this changes soon).

Now GoDaddy plans to become a major player in the new gTLD business, this could hurt a lot the Corporate Registrar's businesses since they were the one to offer the .BRAND application nad management service to their clients, subcontracting the technical part to Backend-Registry solution providers such as Neustar Registry. Note that Neustar was neither a Corporate nor a retail Registrar - and GoDaddy is already a Registrar, the most important one worldwide. Getting into that business means that future new gTLD applicants (.BRAND - Cities and Entrepreneurs) could be offered a key-in-hand-solution, having their digital assets operated by the same service provider, all in one place:

• A Registrar (Corporate or Retail) for their domain name portfolio management: all possible operations in all TLDs (legacy TLDs, almost all new gTLDs and almost all ccTLDs);
• A Registry (.BRAND - Generic, Community or Geographic TLD) for the technical operations of their new gTLD:
• .BRAND domain names operated in the exact same place where they manage their other domain names;
• Tools to operate a Registry dedicated to selling domain names to the general public maybe? Note that the solution provider to offer that service would probably be king, we learnt a lot from the first round of the ICANN new gTLD program and the complexity around the understanding of the process and the submission of an application were a serious issue: the provider to simplify that and what comes after...gets my serious attention.
• All other solutions (website hosting and marketing, email, brand and domain name monitoring, security, etc...) invoiced in the same place!

My thought on all this

UNR keeps the Registry and Backend-Registry's businesses but recently announced that it intends to develop it. The word that I read in a press release was "dotBrand" by its CEO, and my understanding of this reading is that UNR will be present in "Round two" of the next ICANN new gTLD program with a new gTLD probable offer for entrepreneurs but also - and more precisely - for Trademarks with an offer for .BRAND new gTLD applicants. This is an important information for me because there won't be so many service providers with an offer around. Let's hope that they will consider the French market (JC: reading this?)

The strange thing about all this is that GoDaddy acquired someone else's business for the Registry and Backend Registry's businesses (Neustar) so there must be a reason behind this. The positive thing is that UNR will be in competition with GoDaddy for its Registry offer(s) and "price" is what made Uniregistry a good service provider because it was "cheap" (it was cheaper to buy a domain name with Uniregistry than Godaddy) so let's hope that their Registry solutions will be cheaper too.

What about Google Registry?

I stand-by because Google, not only offers a free technical registry platform (the Back-End Registry solution) but it also became a Registrar in 2014 and its domain name business is developing fast. Google also operates its own Registries on its technical platform so the only thing that is missing...is an offer. Round two is a little far away but no one can tell if there won't be an offer in a close future. Note that I already asked Google the question in 2017 and the answer was "no". For those interested in digging in that direction or looking for who's working on an offer, I'd suggest to check Nomulus.foo.

New gTLD Registry Software by Google

Google now has an official page for the introduction of its free backend registry solution entitled "Nomulus".

Nomulus is the Google solution for new gTLDs such as :

• .GOOGLE
• .FOO
• .HOW
• .NEW
• .SOY
• .みんな
• and a few others.

It previously used Nomulus.foo to redirect to the URL of its free code available for download on GitHub, but there is now an official URL (and logo) presenting the product.

Good to know

When launching a new gTLD , the below is required:

1. The Company (and team) to operate the Registry;
2. Applying for the required TLD at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which means writing the application on the basis of the new gTLD Applicant GuideBook (AGB);
3. The mandatory ESROW service provider;
4. The mandatory backend registry solution provider: Nomulus is the code to create such a technical solution, it does not offer the service to maintain a registry technically. This is very important to understand prior to applying since the backend registry solution provider is one of the most important aspect of a new gTLD project.

Reminder: note that the free Nomulus solution created by Google is just the code, it requires to host the solution and maintain it and Google does NOT offer that service.

Surprisingly, the GitHub repository delivering the Nomulus code also advertises for other technical solutions.

When the Backend Registry is too expensive

What we call a "backend registry" is the mandatory technical platform to operate a domain name extension and all registries have one. It is the backend registry that allows accredited registrars to technically sell domain names for each extensions.

The question here is: what happens to a registry, who sells domain names to accredited registrars, when his backend registry solution provider is too expensive?

Creating your backend registry solution
In 2008, I remember going to a .BRAND meeting with Stephane Van Gelder and a technical guy told us: "we don't need a backend registry, we have enough resources to do it ourselves". Well...one can try to do it so for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program - and there are tools for this - but I would certainly not recommend it for three reasons:

1. It requires serious skills to develop a backend registry platform;
2. It requires to pass the ICANN tests;
3. It's awfully expensive.

How to lower the expenses

There are less than 10 solution providers that I would work with worldwide, and the reason why I would not create my own backend registry solution is simple: the more your new gTLD project costs you, the more you will be tempted to increase the price of your domain names. Accredited Registrars, the ones Registries sell their domain names to, will have to take a margin so they will increase the price too, and here is what happens next:

1. The final price at the Registrant level (the person who buys the domain name) will be higher than a ".com"; it may be be a bad sign sent to new consumers: "hey, why should I pay more for a domain name?". Remember that the average price known by consumers for a domain name is between $10 and $12;
2. It will make your registry more difficult to develop in volume of domain names if your target is the general public. For domain names to meet with adoption: "use" is needed but "volume" is needed too to increase its visibility on Internet.

Think twice about creating your own backend registry solution: it will drastically increase the price of your new gTLD project.

Note that 500 registries have less than 10,000 domain names registered but is this what a new registry wants when creating a new domain name extension? I stopped counting at 200 domain names registered (June 2018) to exclude .BRAND new gTLDs from this approximate calculation.

Less than $2 per domain

Backend registry service providers offer different range of services but there is now stronger competition between them and offers should change for the next round of the ICANN new gTLD program. Prices should change too and there are three parameters that I will focus on when selecting a backend registry provider:

1. One price per domain name "only" should constitute the offer: a registry which wants to gain recognition cannot be blocked from lowering the price of his domain names because the annual financial commitment with his backend registry is too high: let's not forget that the more domain names a registry puts on the market, the more it benefits the backend registry.
2. No leaving fee: the knowledge to operate a registry relies a lot on the backend registry solution provider but it has now become easier and, for example, one might be tempted to change to a Chinese solution provider to access the profitable Chinese market with a MIIT licence. Once you're blocked with an important leaving fee, it blocks you from spending this money to find a better solution: a Chinese backend registry solution provider will be very efficient combining complementary solutions for you: the backend registry solution + the MIIT licence for example.
3. A "minimum annual commitment"? I read this fee at a service provider (...) With the number of registries to have launched at the same time in 2012, how can a niche TLD survive when it sells less than 1,000 domains a year (also because its retail price is already too high)? Added to a leaving fee, it makes it almost impossible to develop. For some, it means going "bankrupt". By the way: a backend registry asking for a minimum annual commitment does not care about the success of your project.

Note that such offers already exist: some providers have adapted to the market. It costs less than $1 for certain registries to create a domain name: "the lower the price is at the backend, the lower it will be for your clients".

If the backend registry is too expensive...it will impact the final price of your domain names and it is unlikely that new consumers will want to pay more than $12 to buy them. Registration volumes seem to confirm this: when new gTLD registration volumes are low, it is also because the price of domain names is often too high, the reason is that.

Good news for .BRAND new gTLD applicants

Google Registrar is now in France and a few other countries. If this can be a good news for registrants (the one to buy domain names) then, what does it have to do with French .BRAND new gTLD applicants?

Good question
In fact, the good news relates to Nomulus, the backend registry solution also offered by Google. This information is important because Nomulus actually is the technical solution on which all Google new gTLDs are operated.

OK, so what?
.BRAND new gTLD applicants need a backend registry provider but also, a registrar solution to be able to create and setup their personalized domain names. Until very recently, French domain name registrants had no access to Google as a Registrar: a postal address located in the USA was requested prior to registering a domain name using a credit/debit card. This made it impossible to register a name using this registrar. Now, French residents...can register domain names at Google, which also means that .BRAND applicants could also use both solutions to operate their TLD and manage domain names: Nomulus and Google Domains.

And then?
Nomulus offers a direct access to Google Domains: in simple words, it means that there already is a footbridge allowing domains created in Nomulus to be managed using Google Domains: such solution using another backend registry wouldn't automatically allow a .BRAND applicant to manage his personalised domains using Google as his Registrar, this would need to be implemented.

Other backend registries would probably answer that they're already connected to all other major registrars but...this is absolutely not required for a .BRAND new gTLD for which the most limited number of service providers is required to lower the price and go straight to point: register personalized domain names. It is what I would want as a .BRAND new gTLD applicant.

Come on, it can't be so simple

As you can imagine, things can't be so simple because using the Nomulus solution is not (yet?) a service offered by Google and also, it requires a strong technical knowledge to operate the tool so unless Google decides to create an offer, which is a question that we already asked "Ben" last year (Ben is the person in charge of the Nomulus backend registry solution at Google), I see a limited number of .BRAND applicants with the capacity to operate their own backend registry solution using #Nomulus. Note that neither Amazon nor Microsoft have developed a backend registry solution to operate Top-Level Domains and none of the two offer a registrar solution to their clients: both use an external backend registry provider to operate their .BRANDs.

Conclusion
Google is creative and has capacity to offer clients the right solutions and since there is a strong demand for more .BRAND new gTLDs, I am confident that someone has already considered thinking about creating a complete .BRAND offer connected to Google Registrar: we are two years away (and possibly less for .BRAND applications) from the next round so there is still time...and actually, last time we asked Google the question was a year ago.

Also, Google is the only Registrar to offer his free Backend registry solution, hosted on its own Google Cloud solution: as myself being a fully satisfied French G Suite client (another Google solution recently adopted by the 130,000 employees of Airbus SAS), I only see good to be able to control personalised .BRAND domain names from a single point of entry, as well as all of my other domain names. Note that this would require to transfer domain names to Google Registrar.

Amazon or Google for new gTLDs?

Google offered the world its tool to operate new gTLDs: it is a backend registry solution, named Nomulus. Google new gTLDs already use this solution.

AWS from Amazon
You might have noticed the massive communication around AWS (Amazon Web Services) where the communication focuses on promoting cloud solutions from Amazon. A new gTLD was even created for this: the .AWS domain name extension.

If Google made it clear that it still does not know if it will create a key-in-hand offer for .BRAND new gTLD applicants, what about Amazon?

Amazon did not build its TLDs with an internal solution, it has a backend registry provider and has not yet considered creating its own solution.

Potential .BRAND new gTLD applicants still think that it is too expensive to apply for their own domain name extension and a cheap/simple offer, just build for them, would seriously help. Lowering the price at ICANN...would help too.

So which service provider will come with that offer?

What you missed in our previous Newsletters:

1. SBI launches its website using "Bank.sbi";
2. .LIVE to Become Rightside’s Largest TLD;
3. Conferences:
1. Let's talk .NYC : Thursday 23 February (today);
2. DomainX: Sunday 9 April;
3. Domaining Europe: Sunday 14 May.
4. Phishers are shifting their sights to new gTLDs?
5. A 2019 Second Round of New gTLDs?
6. Domain Registrations Face An Uncertain Future But Opportunities Are There;
7. NewG talk #26 (the latest figures for the Top 10 NewG extensions);
8. Reminder: list of confusingly similar new gTLDs;
9. Market Flatlines After ICANN Introduces New gTLDs;
10. Preparing for Round 2;
11. Interesting: all New gTLDs by Category;
12. A Q&A on Google's New gTLD Solution, Nomulus;
13. New gTLD cost impact survey (INTA): deadline extended;
14. Guillon.blog : just (re)launched;
15. 4 years to delegate the .AFRICA new gTLD;
16. We Urgently Need a New Internet;
17. Empire.Kred;
18. ICANN : It rains domains in dot .Africa;
19. The .AFRICA new gTLD's cover:
1. Official date of the delegation: 15 February 2017;
2. Official registry: http://nic.africa;
3. Application submitted by the winning applicant to the ICANN.

Google answers questions about Nomulus

Nomulus is a backend registry tool made available by Google and for free. The Nomulus team kindly informed me about the place where to go for questions. I expect this discussion group to be able to answer technical questions but I believe it is going to be worth trying to ask questions on (a) potential coming offer(s).

Reminder: a backend registry is mandatory when it comes to applying for a new gTLD. The backend registry is the technical platform which manages daily operations related to the creation, renewal, registrars'payments, etc...for domain names. Nomulus comes as an alternative for coming .BRAND new gTLD applicants with few knowledge and Generic new gTLD applicants in round 2 of the ICANN new gTLD program.

Ask your questions here

What you missed in our previous Newsletter:

1. Why Some Brands Stayed Out of First Dot-Brand Auction;
2. Fast thinker: founder of .XYZ Registry;
3. 4 Career-Changing Benefits of a Personalized Domain;
4. Rightside’s first webinar series;
5. Domain Name Pick Up – 5 Mistakes To Avoid!
6. Verisign and Afilias in open war over $135m .WEB
7. CentralNic will ‘continue to benefit from recurring revenues;
8. Interesting - “Zhi Bo” (Live Video Streaming) Is Growing;
9. Good survey - New gTLDs in 10 years;
10. What's in a Brand Name?
11. 8 myths about new domain names;
12. 5 Ways To Use Your .CLUB Domain (watch the video);
13. Must read - GAC Hyderabad Communique;
14. New gTLDs & ICANN: Adopted Board Resolution;
15. .WEB new gTLD: "Afilias' Cynical Attempt";
16. Verisign to .WEB losers: stop griping and carry on;
17. The .Blog registry is not releasing ANY 1, 2 and 3 character domains;
18. Free SSL certificate for .SHOP Registrants?
19. The .Blog registry registered the best .blog domains for itself!
20. “Shadow content policing” fears at ICANN 57;
21. Google Does Not Promote Or Demote Based On Top Level Domain;
22. History of AUC's failure to get the .AFRICA legitimately;
23. Get ready for thousands of new two-letter domains.

Domain name registration volumes: 

• Singular VS Plural New gTLDs; 
• New gTLDs related to FRENCH applications; 
• New gTLDs related to RELIGION; 
• Generic new gTLDs; 
• New gTLDs related to HEALTH (hot); 
• New gTLDs related to CARS;
• New gTLDs with a French connotation.

Since most new gTLDs have launched, reports will be updated on a monthly basis starting January 2017.

Recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

Note to our readers: starting January 2017, the content of our Newsletter will be sent by email only. It will not be made available online anymore on www.newsletter.domains.

Nomulus: what do you think?

I am working on an article related to Domulus, the new backend registry tool offered by Google to existing applicants, and new ones willing to submit a new gTLD application in "Round 2" of the ICANN new gTLD program.
I look for first impressions from potential interested parties in this tool. Please contact me.

Update on new gTLDs' registration volumes:

• New gTLDs for COMPANIES: the domain name extensions in which companies should secure their name (see tonight's Newsletter);
• New gTLDs related to the LAW: Corporate Registrar FairWinds Partners, a domain name strategy consultancy company, also sole Corporate Registrar to have applied for its own .BRAND new gTLD, has now 4 new domain names registered (ending in ".fairwinds");
• New gTLDs related to the COLORS;
• New gTLDs related to FINANCE: the .ACCOUNTANT new gTLD loses 6,000 registrations;
• New gTLDs related to CATERING;
• New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY: the .ART new gTLD now has 10 domain name registered and website says it should launch in November 2016 but no official announcement has been made yet.
• New gTLDs related to CITIES.

Tonight's new gTLDs' Newsletter: subscribe here.

What you missed in our previous Newsletter:

1. gTLD Marketplace Health Index Metrics;
2. Il punto davanti a Roma e Milano (article about new gTLDs in Italian with info on coming new gTLD project);
3. Chinese Naming Tip: Sometimes even words that sound negative in their English translation (for example “poisonous chicken soup”) can have a more trendy and positive meaning in Chinese usage, making it a more valuable and brandable domain name as well: read the full story;
4. Ending soon: .网站 (web) Sunrise Period
5. Have you claimed your digital real estate?
6. New gTLD .WEB and .AMAZON update;
7. Busting the Myths of Not-Com Domain Names;
8. NewG talk #9: the usual strong performers (.top, .club, .site, .bid, .vip, .online) continued their uptrend.

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements