IPv6 Transition will impact 30 percent of U.S. government IT purchasing decisions in 2007.

Juniper Networks, Inc. have released results of the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Government Action Study: Progress and Promise of the U.S. IPv6 Transition. The company and SynExi, founded by globally renowned IPv6 experts, combined their talents to comprehensively examine, realize and highlight the status and successes of IPv6 transformation in the U.S. government. The study indicates that 30 percent of federal and state/local government executives will be influenced by the transition to IPv6 in their IT purchasing decisions, which equates to $39 billion in government IT spending where IPv6 will have an impact; by 2008, IPv6 influence will jump to 44 percent, an estimated $62 billion.1

"It is not surprising that IPv6 is playing such a significant role in IT purchasing decisions, as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has required the transition from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to next generation IPv6 by June 2008," said Peter Tseronis, director of Network Services for the U.S. Department of Education and co-chair for the Federal IPv6 Working Group. "IPv6 IT purchases in FY07 and FY08 will likely focus on training services, testing and engineering services, and production equipment." Additional key findings of the IPv6 Government Action Study include:86 percent of government respondents believe that foreign nations' headstart in the adoption of IPv6 in Asia, Europe and other regions abroad will negatively impact the U.S. Respondents who believe there will be a negative impact cited technological leadership (70 percent), national security (62 percent), and influence over Internet stability (58 percent) as top areas of concern.

The federal government should play an active role in the commercial adoption of IPv6 in the U.S., according to 85 percent of government respondents; 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 of industry respondents 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. Depletion of additional IPv4 addresses will have a negative impact on their government organization, according to 70 percent of government respondents. 45 percent of state/local government respondents indicated that they are interested in receiving IPv6 recommendations and best practices from the federal government; 36 percent of state/local government respondents said that they would be interested in understanding the impact of interoperability with federal programs. "There has been a tremendous amount of attention surrounding IPv6 in opportunities for increased security, scalability and innovation," said Lou Anne Brossman, director of U.S. Public Sector Marketing at Juniper Networks. "What the IPv6 Government Action Study has uncovered is significant data on many unanswered questions, including IPv6 spending levels in the immediate future, the civilian and state/local government 'catch up' on IPv6 adoption, and the extent of government knowledge surrounding the consequences of IP address depletion."

An additional component of the IPv6 Government Action Study included a comparison to Juniper Networks' IPv6 IQ Study, commissioned in May 2005. In the past 16 months, the importance of IPv6 in supporting federal agencies' overall IT goals has grown from 44 percent to 64 percent within the defense community, and 27 percent to 49 percent within the civilian community.

Additionally, 34 percent of defense executives claim that their agencies have a written IPv6 transition plan, as compared to 12 percent in May 2005. For civilian executives, 25 percent have a written IPv6 transition plan, as compared to 4 percent in May 2005. "The results of the Juniper Networks' IPv6 Government Action Study clearly indicate the success of the U.S. government moving forward in the transition to IPv6 and the next generation Internet," said Dr. Chuck Lynch, co-founder of SynExi and former lead DoD technologist for IPv6. "But, it also clearly conveys the need for a centralized IPv6 Transition Office to coordinate the continued transition and for a national strategy to help transition the country to IPv6. The Internet has become a critical differentiator for the U.S. and we need to maintain leadership as we move into the future."

The results were based on a survey of more than 1,000 respondents from federal, defense and state/local government organizations, and industry IT decision makers. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 5.45 percent. For more information on Juniper Networks IPv6 solutions, or to download a copy of the IPv6 Government Action Study, please visit: www.juniper.net