1. ASPIRE BoF TNC2012 23.5.2012 Future of NRENs Panel
Christoph Witzig, SWITCH

2. Panel Future of NRENs Membership: 3 Questionnaires M.Nowlan (chair)
D.Foster (CERN), V.Reijs (HEANET), A.Rotkop (IUCC), K.Wierenga (CISCO), D.Wilson (HEANET), C.Witzig (SWITCH)
3 Questionnaires
NREN managers
NREN clients
Individual interviews
TNC2012: ASPIRE BoF

3. NREN Questionnaire
¾ of NRENs, that answered the questionnaire, have a strategy – normally not publicly available
Connectivity as common strategic service, followed by collaborative middleware services. Cloud as key future service
National environment key for NREN “all NRENs are local”
Connectivity alone may not be sufficient to guarantee NREN sustainability  importance of strategy execution
NRENs firmly embedded and trusted in community  key competitive advantage
TNC2012: ASPIRE BoF

4. NRENs and Internet Industry
Industry no longer perceives NRENs as cutting-edge customers
Long innovation cycle for core infrastructure (4-6 years)
Past: interest for field trials – now a customer with special needs
TNC2012: ASPIRE BoF

5. Future Strategies / High Level Recommendations
National environment as key advantage for NRENs  bigger differentiation between individual NRENs
(Only) Connectivity and some middleware services offered at European level ?
Partnership with pan-European scientific projects
Economies of scale for services at European level
High level recommendations
NRENs need to become more cohesive and act with a single voice
NRENs should re-consider funding model for sustainability
Adaptation of strategic business planning and service delivery due to harsher economic environment
A Terena R&E User Compendium is needed
TNC2012: ASPIRE BoF