...
>... there are some other communities which are under-represented:
> 1. Large enterprise operators / other operators
>This has been a chronic problem for >20 years. When I first came,
>I was in that camp (running the networking group at CERN) but it
>was a fight to justify travel funding and to be away from the shop
>whenever anything went wrong. Most operations people are two steps
>downstream from RFCs (via implementors and salespeople).
>At least, we make efforts to reach this community via NANOG, APRICOT, RIPE and the like.
> 1. Large enterprise operators / other operators
>This has been a chronic problem for >20 years. When I first came,
>I was in that camp (running the networking group at CERN) but it
>was a fight to justify travel funding and to be away from the shop
>whenever anything went wrong. Most operations people are two steps
>downstream from RFCs (via implementors and salespeople).
>At least, we make efforts to reach this community via NANOG, APRICOT, RIPE and the like.
Let me address the NOG part first. I think that is true that there is an effort to reach the operator community but the large enterprises that I am talking about do not usually go to the NOG.
meetings. Not that the people who ARE at the NOGs shouldn't be reached out to.
Now, who exactly am I talking about and why is it important?
I am talking of the large banks, financials, insurance, etc. (in the U.S., we call them the Fortune 1000) as well as the major government agencies who are users of Internet protocols. The reason I feel this is important is because although their number may be relatively small, they are the backbone of our economies. Changes to Internet protocols have a huge impact on their operations. This, of course, in turn impacts all of us who use their services.
In the past, I tried for a number of years to get some of these companies to come to IETF. (My life has been mis-spent living in that world! ![*;) winking]( "*;) winking")
) They would let me make presentations to quite a high level of management, but I was unsuccessful for the most part. I made the presentations because I thought it was in THEIR interest to be involved with what was happening at the IETF so they could plan strategically for the future. They usually ended up saying, "You go and tell us what happened." I actually had given up on trying to get them to attend for about two years.
Having said that, I am very much getting the sense that things may be changing. I think this may be because of the impact in particular of security and the related protocols. I have spent the weekend in lengthy conversations between people in a particular WG and the network operations manager of a major U.S. corporation. The network ops manager is trying to get funding to come to Berlin. I hope he can. The changes that will happen because of a particular change to a standard will have a MAJOR impact on their operations and he certainly sees that.
I am wondering if the time is right for some outreach to this community. I think the story above may resonate with other enterprises.
Nalini