IE Domain Registry Annual Report 2019

IE Domain Registry  Annual Report & Review  2019 8 Chief Executive’s Report From our consumer research and our experience with Digital Town in Gorey 2018 and Sligo 2019, it’s clear to us that town residents want their local SMEs to provide digital services, such as click and collect and e-prescriptions. The main reasons for having .ie domain names are for website and email purposes. For this reason, the Company continued to support its Registrars in promoting their website builder services to SMEs during 2019. Outlook for 2020 Across the globe, during the first 6 months of 2020, the human and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic dominated the agenda. Despite the horrendous medical and economic impact of the lockdown, it would appear that 2020 is a tipping point and represents the coming-of-age for the next wave of digitalisation. The use of digital tools by small business has accelerated dramatically, especially for the services sectors. GPs, physios, architects and gym instructors realised the power of digital when the lockdown prevented face-to-face consultations being delivered. Financial services and software development transnational projects continued, with staff working from home using online collaboration tools such as Confluence, Jira and Google Docs. Customer and staff meetings, using video conferencing tools such as FaceTime, Zoom and Webex, often on smartphones, have awakened a realisation that will have dramatic effects on future productivity, facilitating working from home with dramatic reductions in wasteful commuting time. Nationally, new registration growth surged in Q2 2020, as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a renewed respect for the power of websites and digital communications. In Q2 alone, there was a 50% increase in new .ie registrations compared to the same period of 2019. The outcome for the first half of 2020 at 33,286 new .ie domains, is an increase of 26% compared to the same period in 2019 (26,452 .ie domains). This uplift in domain growth is replicated in many ccTLDs across Europe. The work of the IE Policy Advisory Committee will continue in 2020 and will respond to developments impacting ccTLD registries, in particular EU cyber security initiatives and regulations impacting the Digital Single Market. The committee will conclude its work and issue recommendation on the policy response to handling online illegality and technical abuse which uses the DNS. We are pleased to have Board approval to continue our investments in 2020 on a range of projects designed to assist SMEs in their digital journey. We will provide a new state-of-the- art registry management platform which will, before the end of 2020, provide a foundation for the next decade of growth and expansion in the .ie namespace. On a personal note, I would like to express my gratitude to our Chairman and Company Secretary, Mr Jimmy Joyce for his ongoing counsel, support and service to IE Domain Registry over an eighteen-year period. His professionalism, calmness under pressure and unrelenting focus on good corporate governance has brought the company to its position of financial strength, technical resilience and corporate reputation. My colleagues and I wish him, and his family, every happiness on his retirement. I look forward to working with our Board of Directors and thank the members for their ongoing support and expertise. Our dedicated staff deserve huge credit and respect for their outstanding contribution to the continued growth of the .ie namespace and the development of our policies and services. Together, we will ensure that .ie remains ‘Identifiably Irish’ in a competitive and ever-expanding global internet ecosystem. David Curtin Chief Executive 1 July 2020