New study examines government executive perceptions of IPv6 market

The current version of the Internet (IPv4, in service since 1973) was not designed for the volume of traffic it now carries — or for the kind of traffic it now carries. To help bring the Internet into the modern age (now that’s a strange thing to say!) a new protocol called IPv6 is slowly coming on-line, and the government is trying to do its part by updating its Web sites, servers, and security regimes. All federal agencies are expected to be IPv6-compliant by June 2008.

Readers interested in how that is all getting along should examine a new study by Juniper Networks and SynExi entitled “Government Action Study: Progress and Promise of the U.S. IPv6 Transition”. The study shows that among federal and state and local IT executives, 30 percent are considering IPv6 complaince in their IT spending decisions, a number that is expected to increase to 44 percent by 2008. Other key findings include:

* 85 percent believe the federal government should play an active role in the commercial adoption of IPv6 in the U.S.; 53 percent also believe that the federal government should provide guidance and some level of funding to support the U.S. private sector transition to IPv6

* 67 percent said that the government IPv6 transition will speed the inclusion of IPv6 capabilities in their organizations’ products and services.

* In making IT purchasing decisions, 68 percent of government respondents are more likely to choose a vendor with IPv6 capabilities; 30 percent of respondents are also willing to pay more for IPv6 capabilities

* 75 percent of government respondents believe that a U.S. Government IPv6 Transition Office would be very or somewhat helpful, assuming it received the proper levels of funding and authority.

-read more at Juniper IPv6 Web site