Under the agreement, Verisign will refer to WebSynergys applicants for New gTLDs seeking or in need of strategic and operational advice as well as comprehensive examination of the risks and opportunities of the coming Multilingual Internet that will be born thru IDN gTLDs, under ICANN’s new gTLD program.  WebSynergys will in turn refer clients requiring registration and resolution services for new gTLDs to Verisign.

WebSynergys had previously announced on September 27, 2011 a cooperation and a global tour of emerging markets with Deloitte to provide advice to brand owners, Deloitte clients, and other prospective applicants of the risks and opportunities of the coming Multilingual Internet, IDN gTLDs, and the New gTLD program.

On January 12, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened the application window for a historic expansion of domain extensions beyond the current twenty-two generic top level domains.  No longer limited by top level domains in Latin characters, applicants from around the world will soon be able to apply and operate top level domains in their own native languages to connect with the billions of people across the globe for whom English is not a native language.

Led by The Multilingual Internet Group Chairman Mr. Khaled Fattal, a pioneer in Internet Multilingualization and the Internationalized Domain Name space, WebSynergys offers an extensive array of services ranging from strategic business model assessment, and IDN gTLD application preparation, to web translation and localization for New gTLD Applicants.

All WebSynergys services are designed to help prospective applicants in ICANN’s New gTLD program maximize the global opportunities and where necessary, minimize the risks of IDN gTLDs and English based (ASCII) gTLDs.

“The next billion Internet users will come online in the next couple of years, not the next 20.”Khaled Fattal said. He added: “They are the people whose native tongue is Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Cyrillic, Chinese and other non Latin Scripts and who had been left out of the English Internet.  If New gTLD applicants don’t have a validated IDN strategy in place and in time, regardless of whether they plan to apply or not, they run the grave risk of compromising their brand in the global marketplace, missing out on connecting with these billion new Multilingual Internet users and the potential market opportunities these new users represent for years to come. This failure to capture a global competitive advantage could result in your competitors gaining an advantage in growing markets.”

Fattal concluded with saying, “We have been pushing for a Multilingual Internet and IDN Top Level Domains since the late 1990s, and although we still see challenges ahead, it is very humbling to see the vision and ideals we advocated for many years, to now be on the verge of becoming a reality.”

It is still not too late for prospective applicants, and applicants who are primarily focused on Latin scripts gTLDs but who have not incorporated an IDN strategy into their plans to act without further delay to minimize the risks and not miss out on fully maximizing the opportunity of the coming Multilingual Internet, IDN gTLDs and the new gTLD Program, in time long before the application window closes April 12, 2012.

The new version adds more gTLD financial planning features, addresses ‘Question 50’ and extends functionality to cover more types of brand and keyword generic top-level domains

Here is the press release:

“Architelos, Inc. today announced BCB 2.0 with new features that enhance existing financial planning capabilities and reports and extend functionality to more types of gTLDs, including those used by companies for internal purposes only (closed gTLDs). The BCB 2.0, a secure online tool, enables prospective new gTLD applicants to understand and evaluate the financial consequences of new business models and generates data in the exact format required by the financial criteria section of the ICANN Applicant Guidebook. Architelos has also automatically extended the new functionalities to all current BCB customers at no charge.”

“The Business Case Builder has already helped many applicants quickly and accurately develop expense and revenue forecasts, in both the cash and deferred basis as required in the domain name industry,” Architelos CFO Norbert Grey said. “Now, we’ve taken it to the next level, adding enhancements that allow applicants to spend more time developing their gTLD strategies and less time on accounting.”

Enhancements include:

Specialized sheets for a dotBrand business model and closed TLDs

New planning sheets to forecast the entire P&L (including all OPEX)

Specialized sheets for staff planning and capital expenditure

Premium names revenue forecasting

Monthly P&L, balance and cash flow sheets

“Source of funds” planning sheet to help determine required funding for forecasted business

Easy production of multiple scenarios such as “most likely”, “worst case” and “what if”

30 standardized reports available with simple “drag and drop” driven reporting

BCB 2.0 Simplifies Addressing of ICANN’s Cash Reserve Requirement

In addition, BCB 2.0 addresses one of the most critical and complicated questions facing applicants, namely Question 50 in the gTLD application, which asks the applicant to calculate the amount of the three-year cash reserve, or “continued operations instrument,” required by ICANN. “The BCB not only proactively calculates the amount of the cash reserve,” Grey said, “but by using artificial intelligence rules, BCB 2.0 also allows for automated accounting of the reserve through either a letter of credit from a financial institution or through an escrow account.”

Verisign has supplied the BCB to a number of gTLD applicants. “Navigating the financial requirements of the new gTLD program and quantifying the real-world value of a new gTLD business plan are among the key challenges facing prospective new gTLD applicants,” said Pat Kane, Senior Vice President of GM Naming Services at Verisign. “Business Case Builder is a valuable tool that helps applicants address these critical challenges, giving them an important edge in the upcoming application process.”

BCB 2.0 is available now via the Architelos website, and will available at the same price as the original BCB until Dec. 15. A BCB tutorial and detailed descriptions of the 2.0 enhancements are available on the Architelos website.

Architelos, Inc. provides consulting and managed services for clients applying for new top-level domains (gTLDs) for both brands and generic keyword applicants. Services include assistance developing gTLD strategies, new gTLD application support, launching new gTLDs and turnkey gTLD management services (TMS®). The company was founded by Alexa Raad, former CEO of PIR, the .ORG top-level domain registry, and John Matson, a veteran management advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Architelos’ senior management has collectively more than 30 years experience in the domain name industry.”"

Here is the Press Release:

Highlights
Client agreements now signed, or close to being finalized, in the US, Canada, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe;

Continued progress being made with the Company’s own application bids;

TLDH seeing strong international interest in the gTLD programme; and

ICANN’s timetable remains unchanged.

The Directors of Top Level Domain Holdings Limited (AIM:TLDH.L), the only publicly traded company focused exclusively on acquiring and operating new generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”), are pleased to provide an update on the business development activity of its registry services business, Minds+Machines and the progress of the new generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) programme administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”).

Company Update
Further to the announcement on 7 September 2011, the Directors are pleased to report that Minds+Mac hines continues to engage with a wide spectrum of gTLD applicants, including cities and regions, brand owners and entrepreneurs who have either issued request for proposals (“RFPs”) or who are in direct discussions with Minds+Machines. To date, Minds+Machines has now signed, or is close to finalising, agreements with clients in the US, Canada, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe to represent them in the gTLD application process. For competitive reasons, the clients do not wish their names to be disclosed until after the application window has closed.

In addition, the Company continues to make good progress on preparing applications for gTLDs on its own behalf.

gTLD Market Update
There continues to be growing world wide interest in the gTLD programme and a range of governments, businesses, and entrepreneurs have announced their intention to apply for new gTLDs in recent weeks. For competitive reasons, most applicants are unlikely to disclose their plans publicly at this stage. However, excluding the prospective applications being prepared by Minds+Machines for its clients and own account, the Directors are aware of globally recognised brands requesting information or issuing RFPs, as well as entrepreneurs searching for services for one or several applications. Over 100 named-bids have already been identified by market commentators as intending to apply (of which over 40 are cities or regions) and the Directors believe the industry wide applications which will be made during the application window will be a significant multiple of this.

ICANN gTLD Update
The Directors are also pleased to report that ICANN’s planned schedule for the new gTLD programme remains unchanged.  The application window will open on 12 January 2012, and close on 12 April 2012.  On 27April 2012, ICANN will announce which applicants have applied for which gTLDs (or strings), after which they will evaluate the applications according to the criteria established by international consensus in the Applicant Guidebook (see http://newgtlds.icann.org/applicants/agb).  While the length of the evaluation period will depend on the volume of applications to be processed, the Directors estimate that the first new gTLDs will go live in late 2012 or early 2013.

In the past month, ICANN has provided a significant amount of information to prospective applicants and has made available a number of useful tools on its new web site devoted to new gTLDs (see http://newgtlds.icann.org), including a knowledgebase and FAQ devoted to the new gTLD programme (see http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-4-21nov11-en.htm).  ICANN has also opened a customer assistance center and a demonstration version of their Top Level Domain Application System (“TAS”), which will be used by applicants to submit their applications (see http://newgtlds.icann.org/applicants/tas/demo).

Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of TLDH, commented:

“We are very pleased to see that there is now a ground swell of strong international interest in the new gTLD programme and we look forward to Minds+Machines submitting applications both for its clients and its own account when the application window opens early in January.”

The post entitled

You can download the English version here (pdf)

ICANN has made it clear that the Guide Book will be an ongoing process which will be a work in progress and may will be changed from time to time.

“The Applicant Guidebook is intended to be an inclusive guide and will be regularly updated as aspects of the process are deemed necessary and are implemented.”

“In addition to the Applicant Guidebook, a summary of changes since the last version and a discussion version of a process for amending the Applicant Guidebook are also posted. ”

“There are certain areas where work is still ongoing, such as: whether single character Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) can be delegated as TLDs, ensuring continued registry operation through a continued operations instrument, and providing support for needy applicants through the work of the Joint Applicant Support (JAS) working group.”

You can read a summary of the changes from the previous Guidebook here (pdf)

The biggest change to the Guidebook seems to be the timeline.

Of the $185,000 application fee $5,000 of it is buy a  “key” or “slot” to place your application.

Under the Final Guidebook that slot must be applied for and the $5K paid by March 29th 2012.

The actual application still has to be submitted by April 12th but if they slot is not reserved by March 29th then applicants will be out of luck.

The internet name space is expected to expand into potentially hundreds of new TLDs, as companies are permitted to apply for generic names and even their own brand name in the form of a TLD, to generate greater brand awareness and control. However, achieving the benefits requires a comprehensive set of strategic services leveraging the best of several providers. The cooperative agreement between the two companies provides a complementary set of services targeted at generics and brand applicants.

RIGHT OF THE DOT specializes in new and existing gTLD strategy, board advisement, premium domain strategy, market positioning and sales. The company is offering its expertise to assist new gTLD applicants in developing and executing premium domain name strategies including financial planning.

Architelos’ executives have run registries and launched new TLDs. They provide the rigorous analysis and creative ideas for helping brands and businesses intelligently identify opportunities within the TLD industry. The company has also pioneered tools such as the Business Case Builder, which enables an applicant to easily create the cost and revenue projections for its TLD, as well as the customized report required by ICANN as part of the TLD application.

“The Right of the Dot team is a great complement to the Architelos team in terms of industry experience and track record,” said Alexa Raad, CEO of Architelos.

“Architelos is unique in what it offers our clients—a hands-on team of executives with a successful track record of building registries and launching TLDs and its Business Case Builder that helps brands and generic TLDs create a strong and defensible application for their desired TLD,” said Michael H. Berkens, Managing Director for RIGHT OF THE DOT.

“Interest in new gTLDs continues to increase among entrepreneurs, investors and corporations. And rightly so,” said Monte Cahn, President of RIGHT OF THE DOT. “We are on the verge of a true paradigm shift in the domain industry, and forward-thinking businesses are aggressively planning around new gTLDs. With Architelos and RIGHT OF THE DOT in your court, you’ll have the business intelligence, valuation and sales support you need to ensure your next move is a success.”

About Right Of the Dot LLC

RIGHT OF THE DOT is an Internet consulting and advisement firm specializing in new and existing TLD strategy, board advisement, premium domain and market positioning, sales and services. The venture is the brainchild of two successful domain and Internet industry veterans, Monte Cahn and Michael H. Berkens, Esq., who posses a unique combination of vision, leadership and domain expertise. Cahn was the original founder of Moniker.com, a top 7 ICANN Accredited Registrar, who went on to head the Aftermarket and Sales Division of Oversee.net. Among other pioneering services, Cahn introduced the concept of Live Domain Auctions to the industry. Berkens, a domain investor with more than 75,000 domains, owns WorldwideMedia Inc., including the retail site MostWantedDomains.com. He founded and contributes to the widely read blog, TheDomains.com. Both principals of RIGHT OF THE DOT are members of the prestigious Domain Hall Of Fame, and are two of only 10 members. This highly qualified consulting group gives you access to the most experienced domain sales and marketing strategists in the industry. They are the only domain industry firm specializing in the many of the critical service offerings required to be successful in the ever-expanding domain industry.

About Architelos

Architelos, Inc. provides consulting and managed services for clients in the internet and domain name industry. The TMS service provides outsourced professional services and SaaS-based registry “front-office” solutions for both new TLD contract winners and existing small registries. TMS services range from new TLD application support to launch and turnkey management of a new TLD. The consulting practice focuses on innovative growth strategies and boasts both industry leaders as well as new entrants as clients. Architelos operates as an independent and trusted third party with no financial interest in or plans to apply for any new TLDs. Architelos has an “open source” ethos, thus ensuring integration with all back-end processors. With an executive team comprised of leading industry veterans who have successfully launched, built and managed new and existing TLDs, Architelos is uniquely positioned to offer a turnkey solution for registry launch and management. Founded by Alexa Raad, former CEO of PIR, the .ORG registry, and John Matson, a veteran management consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Architelos brings wisdom and experience to turn rapid market change into innovation and success for its clients.

Here is the Press release:

The Master of Your Domain – New TLD Conference:

The “dot com” era is expanding and will soon be joined with a myriad of possibilities. This is the web’s new lakefront property frontier. Cities, brands, industries, interest groups, even start-up concepts could be your domain. ICANN’s recent ruling to open up the process to apply for and run new domain registries forever will alter the way things are represented online. The implications for SEO and trademark protection are critical, and the opportunities presented to brands, industry associations – even investors – is exploding. This iBreakfast Conference will sort through the opportunities and surrounding issues with industry leaders from around the world.

Confirmed Speakers include: Roland LaPlante, SVP/CMO, Affilias; Ken Hansen, Sen. Dir. Business Development, Neustar; Verisign; Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic and dotBrand Solutions; Michael Berkens, Co-Founder, Right Of The Dot and TheDomains.com; Barry Werbin, Trademarks, Herrick Feinstein, LLP.; Edmun Chong, CEO of DotAsia Organisation; Wendy Selzer, Esq., Fellow, Princeton University’s Center for IT Policy; Anastasia O’Rourke, Big Room Inc. (.eco applicant); Annalisa Roger, Founder/CEO, DotGreen Registry Corporation (.green applicant, remote); Scott Seitz, CEO of DotGay LLC. (.gay applicant, remote); and Dirk Kirchenowski, Founder of Dot Berlin GMBH (.berlin applicant, remote).

“The Master of Your Domain?” Event will have an opening keynote followed by three panels contemplating the different major sectors of the New TLDs. chronologically on Brand TLDs; Public Interest and Non-Profit TLDs; and City and Generic TLDs.

The event will be livestreamed, with Social Media DJ™ Jonathan Accarrino, Director of Social Media, Definition 6.

The Master of Your Domain TLD Conference is a must-attend event for big and small business, cities, brands, industries, advertisers, marketers, interest groups, investors, and digital professionals. Gain insight, share thoughts and network together as we explore this game-changing shift in the digital media world.

About iBreakfast:

The monthly iBreakfast meetings, started in 1997, are the longest continually running digital media strategy events delivering the latest trends and issues in the industry. iBreakfast reaches over 20,000 Tristate NY digital media executives through emails, Facebook. LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Smart TLDs

Smart TLDs is domain industry lobbying firm and domain name and IP holdings company. Smart TLDs reaches over 10,000 US and global domain industry leaders; social entertainment and technology executives; luxury brands; digital and social media agencies and stragtegists; law firms; VCs; publications; bloggers; and new media influencers.
# # #

The iBreakfast is the nation’s longest-running Forum for Digital Media Executives, Entrepreneurs and Investors.

The new relationship gives both companies expanded offerings in their services as the industry prepares for an influx of new gTLDs starting later this year. On June 20, 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced an historic expansion of domain extensions beyond the existing .com, .net, and .biz top-level domains.  Already announced are initiatives to start .radio and .eco. In addition, companies will be permitted to apply for their own “.brand”, and a several cities are expected to apply for localized domains, including .nyc (New York).

Premium domain names are highly sought-after terms that are worth considerably more than the average name, and represent a valuable line of business for any new domain extension.  “A good premium domain name strategy is crucial to the success of a new top-level domain,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines.  “Premium names bring in important revenue to a new TLD, and pairing the right client with the right name is key to establishing the TLD brand. Right of the Dot are the acknowledged experts in this area, and we are delighted to establish this partnership.”

Companies considering introducing a new top-level domain will need high quality management services for registrants. “A good registry services provider understands not just the technical side, but the whole business of running a top-level domain,” said Mike Berkens, Managing Director of Right of the Dot. “Minds + Machines is the best friend a TLD applicant could have: proven experience, business success, great pricing, and the most widely deployed registry platform on the planet.  This alliance is great news for us.”

About Minds + Machines http://mindsandmachines.com
Minds + Machines provides registry services for new top-level domains.  With experience in launching over 20 top-level domains, and the most widely deployed registry platform in the world, powering over 30 top-level domains, the Minds + Machines team can break down the process of starting a new top-level domain into understandable and actionable steps.  The simple and inexpensive flat-rate pricing from Minds + Machines includes help with the ICANN application as well as registry services for an unlimited number of names (some exclusions apply).  We work with entrepreneurs, cities and brands to make the process of launching new top-level domains easy and affordable. Minds + Machines is a wholly owned subsidiary of Top Level Domain Holdings, Ltd.

About Top Level Domain Holdings Limited http://tldh.org
Top Level Domain Holding is a publicly traded company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: TLDH.L).  TLDH is focused on the new top-level domain space and makes targeted investments in the new top-level domain space, focusing on both infrastructure technologies and specific top-level domains.

About Right of the Dot: http://rightofthedot.com
Right of the Dot specializes in new and existing TLD strategy, board advisement, premium domain strategy, market positioning and sales. The company is offering its expertise to assist new gTLD applicants in developing and executing premium domain name strategies.  Right of the Dot was founded by two successful domain and Internet industry veterans, Monte Cahn and Michael H. Berkens, both of whom have been inducted into the exclusive Domain Hall of Fame. They are widely recognized as two of the domain industry’s most respected valuation and sales experts, and have assisted in the strategy for several previous domain and TLD launches and re-launches.

The arrangement benefits both companies  at a time when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is planning a historic expansion of domain extensions beyond the current twenty-two generic top level domains.  ICANN is expecting hundreds of requests to establish new “generic Top-Level Domains” (gTLDs), and has seen significant interest in applications for the expanded domain options. Among the more popular gTLDs of interest from applicants include .Radio, .Miami and .NYC.   In addition, companies will be permitted to apply for their own “.brand”, and a number of cities and other geographic regions are expected to apply as well.

RIGHT OF THE DOT specializes in new and existing TLD strategy, board advisement, premium domain strategy, market positioning and sales. The company is offering its expertise to assist new gTLD applicants in developing and executing premium domain name strategies including financial planning.

RIGHT OF THE DOT was founded by two successful domain and Internet industry veterans, Monte Cahn and Michael H. Berkens, both of whom have been inducted into the exclusive Domain Hall of Fame. They are widely recognized as two of the domain industry’s most respected valuation and domain sales experts, and have assisted in the strategy for several previous domain and TLD launches and re-launches.

“The RIGHT OF THE DOT team has over a decade of premium domain name experience and has a demonstrated record of helping domain name registries develop and execute and register millions of dollars worth of premium domains during and after the launches of those new TLDs ,” said Pat Kane, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Naming Services .  “This expertise is highly specialized, and we believe many gTLD applicants would greatly benefit from their experience.”

We  are excited about the possibilities that exist for the industry. “Enormous opportunity lies ahead for entrepreneurs, investors and corporations.” Said Cahn, President of RIGHT OF THE DOT. “But the question is, how will you take advantage of the new domain land rush? Knowing how to make the most of your time and assets, and getting to market in the most productive manner is what this strategic alliance is all about.”

The 2nd Dot-Nxt conference is all about new gTLD domain name extensions.

As ICANN has approved the program and set January 12, 2012 as the date for accepting applications for those wanting to operator their own TLD registry the Dot-Nxt show should be well attended by those interested in the new gTLD program.

Mr. Cahn will be speaking at the session entitled:

“How to Run a Sunrise and Landrush Auction” on August 26th at 3:30 PST.

The Dot-Nxt conference is from August 24th -26th 2012.

For more information and to sign up to attend click here