The Editor of TCP IP World got a chance to ask the CTO of BlueCat Networks, Richard Hyatt, about the DDI (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) and IPv6 industry.
Brief Company Profile:
BlueCat Networks is a leading provider of IP Address Management (IPAM), DNS, DNSSEC and DHCP core services including the centralized management of Microsoft Windows® DNS/DHCP services. Our solution provides complete visibility and centralization of “everything IP” in the network.
1. How was your company formed and what problem were they trying to solve?
BlueCat Networks was formed to focus on creating smart, simple, scalable technology solutions to address the complex business challenges associated with IP Address Management. The explosive growth of networks, devices, and IP usage had created a complex management challenge – one that was putting businesses at risk. In an IP-enabled world, when core services like DNS or DHCP stop, business grinds to a halt. The successful implementation of new services and technologies also depends upon IP addresses. We saw network administrators struggling with spreadsheets, manual processes and homegrown solutions for managing their IP addresses. We assumed that there had to be a better way, but when we went out and looked, we couldn’t find any solutions on the market that offered tightly integrated IPAM and reliable, resilient DNS/DHCP – so we set out to build one.
2. When were you founded and how many employees do you have?
BlueCat Networks was founded in 2001. We currently have 185 employees, all of whom are shareholders in the company, and over 1,500 customers worldwide.
3. Will IPv6 affect your business? If so, in what ways?
IPv6 will affect all businesses – and sooner than later. With the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, organizations can’t afford to ignore the inevitable transition to IPv6. To avoid losing connectivity with the growing segment of Internet users – and potential customers – who surf the Web over IPv6, organizations need to start implementing IPv6 in 2011.
BlueCat Networks is working with its partners and customers to help them ease the transition to IPv6. IP Address Management (IPAM) solutions are critical to helping organizations adopt and manage IPv6 and dual-stack networks. The traditional methods of managing IP addresses with spreadsheets and manual processes simply will not scale to accommodate IPv6.
4. What do you think the following region of center will be in the system foundation and the executives business?
While IPv6 will dominate the corporate IT agenda for some time, there are other focus areas where IPAM plays a critical role. By making it easy to track, audit, manage and deploy all relevant IP information, IPAM supports strategic IT initiatives such as launching new services, managing organizational growth, building private clouds, virtualization, and consolidation, compliance, and security.
Many private and government organizations are looking at DNSSEC to secure their networks and protect sensitive information, which is creating a growing demand for DNSSEC-ready IPAM solutions.
5. Increasingly more day by day customer and business items are getting their very own IP. What vertical businesses and geographic markets do you feel will create the most interest throughout the following couple of years?
The need for IPAM is universal across verticals and geographies. That said, education and healthcare are two vertical markets where we see a growing interest in IPAM. Higher education institutions, and also K-12 school boards, are wrestling with the network management challenges that go along with introducing Internet and mobile learning applications into the classroom.
Healthcare organizations rely on their networks to provide quality patient care. The network must deliver uptime and reliability to support doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals providing critical patient care. The growth of IP-enabled devices in hospitals and healthcare facilities – from wireless devices and VoIP phones to mobile IV pumps and X-ray machines to “workstations on wheels” – is increasing the size and complexity of health management networks.
In both of these cases, IT managers and network administrators must track and manage a rapidly increasing number of IP addresses and DNS records, and they are looking for IPAM solutions to ease the management burden and allow them to make the most of their IP address space and namespace.
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