Businesses are generally unaware of the changes to come, but those that know are optimistic about opportunities

66% of businesses surveyed are unaware that the structure of the Internet is set to change so dramatically next year, though were optimistic about the branding prospects of a liberalised domain space with a massive 81% stating that liberalisation will be innovative, 75% stating it will be advantageous, and 66% exciting when launching a campaign online.

The domain name is now an integral part of a company’s brand building and a primary point of contact for customers, suppliers and other businesses. It is at the centre of marketing campaigns (for 19% of the businesses surveyed), a valued element of intellectual property (15%), a beacon for other businesses to find it online (14%), a destination for external communications (14%) and a means to compete better in a competitive marketplace (13%).

However, not all businesses seem to be happy with their current domain name situation. Sixteen per cent of businesses say that their website name is not ideal. The smallest businesses struggle the most, with 28% complaining that they have had to settle for second best. When asked why they register their domain names, the key responses included protecting their online brand reputation (20%), their private company information (17%) and the overall brand reputation (15%).

ICANN is expected to start taking applications for new top-level domains between January and March 2010, and a number of groups have already announced interest for city top-level domains such as .berlin, .paris, .london and .nyc. Industry or activity-specific names are also expected to get attention, for example for .music, .sport or .movie.

Interview with Joe White - Gandi COO on the impact on business

At Gandi we believe that this could be a new opportunities for consumers and businesses with the increased choice of domain names, but if liberalisation is to bring the benefits that it promises, it needs to be handled carefully. There is a danger that squatters will take over the virtual high street and as soon as the criminals move in, you’ll see the overall web experience decline. As an ‘ethical’ registrar we really believe, all players in the domain space need to take a longer term, mature view of how they behave. This includes registrars and registries whose commercial interests sometimes conflict with the goal of keeping the domain space from being polluted, which in turn blights the consumer experience.

Download our guide for businesses on how to manage the changes as liberalisation occurs.