At the Domain pulse event in Vienna, industry experts debated regulatory zeal, geopolitical crises, and the industry's future.

What are the key challenges facing the industry? And how is the domain business evolving? These questions were addressed by the leaders of the three German-speaking registries – Richard Wein (CEO nic.at), Andreas Musielak (DENIC board member), and Urs Eppenberger (CEO SWITCH). The discussion prominently featured the increased regulatory demands. Andreas Musielak remarked, "A decade ago, there were no regulatory actions. Now, we're dealing with a diverse array of regulatory topics." In addition to the European NIS2 directive, there's also legislation like the Cyber Resilience Act and the eEvidence package. Urs Eppenberger added, "Other sectors have been regulated for decades. The era when governments relied on the internet's best-effort principle has ended. We too must now start dialogues with regulators." Richard Wein pointed out, "The frenzy of regulation has fully hit us. NIS2 presents a bigger challenge than the General Data Protection Regulation."

“We are on Solid Ground“
The industry is also feeling the impact of geopolitical and economic turmoil. "In Zurich, we employ people from many different countries, some of which are even at war with each other," said Urs Eppenberger. This makes the conflict feel very close. "It's no longer possible to say it's all happening far away." Andreas Musielak highlighted, "We're well-prepared as long as geopolitical crises don't directly affect us. We can manage inflation because we maintain a large customer base." Regarding the rising inflation, nic.at CEO Wein noted, "We are on solid footing, yet managing costs is becoming increasingly crucial."

The registries are also grappling with a shortage of skilled workers. "We are fully feeling the impact of the IT skills shortage," Wein remarked. Urs Eppenberger added, "IT architects and cloud engineers aren't exactly lining up at our door. However, as employers that offer meaningful work, we have that advantage to leverage."

Optimism for new gTLDs

What is the future of the domain business? "Domains will continue to be important," stated Musielak. Richard Wein agrees: "Domains will be around for many more years. I don’t foresee any massive changes in the industry." However, relying solely on one product isn't advisable. "At nic.at, we've been promoting diversity and diversifying our operations for many years, for example with our Anycast service RcodeZero DNS," Wein explained. Urs Eppenberger also highlighted: "Domains will remain our primary business, and registries like this will exist for quite a while yet."

Michael Riedl, CEO of Team Internet Group, echoed this sentiment during his talk in Vienna: "Domain names are poised for positive development and continued growth." He noted that while new registrations have dipped slightly after the COVID-19 pandemic, "the overarching trend remains upward." Riedl is also optimistic about the upcoming registration of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). "There's substantial potential to increase and diversify the number of registrars worldwide," he said. Additionally, Christopher Mondini, Managing Director Europe at ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), outlined a schedule at Domain pulse, mentioning, "If all goes as planned, the first gTLD applications could be submitted by the second quarter of 2026."

So many challenges are awaiting the domain industry. However, the three heads of the German-language registries and the speakers at Domain pulse agreed that the outlook for the industry remains fundamentally positive.