Logicalis US Warns: The United States Must Do More to Prepare for IPv6

NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after World IPv6 Day, the U.S. ranks seventh among the world's nations in terms of relative readiness for the new Internet addressing protocol.  Based on this ranking, Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), has warned that the U.S. risks falling behind in preparing for the new protocol.  The ranking, compiled by Logicalis based on data gathered by Cisco¹, shows that America's relative failure to keep up could threaten U.S.-based businesses' ability to compete internationally, particularly in vital, fast-growing economies. 

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While the U.S. ranked first in a secondary list of countries/territories in the Americas, outpacing its two closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, Logicalis says the United States should still be concerned that it does not rank higher for readiness on a global scale.  Despite placing among the top 10 worldwide, that list is comprised primarily of smaller nations that have actually been much swifter and more agile in adopting the nascent technology standard.

"This is undoubtedly a concern for U.S. businesses.  IPv6 might sound like a technology issue, but it's much more than that.  The United States has certainly not fallen too far behind yet, but failure to keep pace with other nations – trade partners or competitors – could ultimately have serious implications in terms of competitive capabilities for U.S. businesses," says Mike Martin, Senior Vice President, Solutions and Services, at Logicalis US.  "The move to IPv6 will ensure that growth opportunities, which would have been lost had the world allowed IPv4 addresses to run out, are protected. The U.S. is certainly capable of taking advantage of those opportunities, but IPv6 readiness efforts must quickly be redoubled."

Designed to replace the IPv4 protocol, which is already depleted in much of the world, IPv6 will allow the creation of a nearly infinite number of public Web addresses, supporting the continued growth of the Internet and the increasing Internet-enablement of a wide range of products and services.  The new protocol provides the capacity required to support:

• The proliferation of mobile devices, many of which will require IPv6 connectivity, and the mobility strategies that are increasingly important to competitive strategies worldwide.
• Increasing Internet connectivity requirements in devices like cars, security systems, heart rate monitors, and home appliances.
• New demands generated by industrial and residential applications, transportation systems connected to the cloud, integrated telephony services, sensor networks, distributed computing, and online gaming.

Perhaps most importantly, IPv6 readiness is fast becoming a requirement for companies looking to tap into growth opportunities in fast-growing economies where IPv4 has already run out.

"While this may not be a business-critical issue just yet, that's no reason to wait," Martin says.  "As with all growth opportunities, being late to the party really isn't an option.  Everyone from infrastructure and service providers to businesses with an eye on growth must address IPv6 readiness now or risk being left behind."

Infographics

• See an infographic of the top 20 countries that have adopted IPv6: Click here.
• See an infographic ranking IPv6 adoption in Europe, APAC and the Americas: Click here.

About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international IT solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration; data center and cloud services; and managed services.

Logicalis employs nearly 3,500 people worldwide, including highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and manage complex ICT infrastructures to meet the needs of almost 6,000 corporate and public sector customers.  To achieve this, Logicalis maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders such as Cisco, HP, IBM, CA Technologies, EMC, NetApp, Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow.

The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.4 billion from operations in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific and is fast establishing itself as one of the leading IT and Communications solution integrators specializing in the areas of advanced technologies and services.

The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues of over $5 billion.

For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.

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¹ http://6lab.cisco.com/stats/index.php - based on original data from RIR, routeviews, Alexa, Google, ITU and APnic

Media contacts:
Lisa Dreher, VP, Marketing & Business Development,
Logicalis US
[email protected]
425-201-8111
www.us.logicalis.com 

Karen Franse, Communication Strategy Group for Logicalis US
[email protected] 
866-997-2424
www.gocsg.com 

SOURCE Logicalis US