Whether driven by impending global addresses exhaustion, estimated to occur by 2009, driven by the limited size of the IP private address space for today's large networks or mandated by governments, the upgrade to the next generation of the IP protocol has become a high priority topic for both businesses and governments. For years people were warned of an impending IP upgrade but, despite significant efforts in generating business cases for it, the expected low Return on Investment (ROI) deterred them from pursuing it. IPv4 seemed good enough. The rapid adoption of IP worldwide and in all aspects of our life, the expansion of IP infrastructures and the penetration of the technology in multiple applications, appliances and services accelerated the consumption of its resources, the IP addresses. The IP upgrade has become a necessity and Internet Protocol version 6 was pushed to the forefront of planning and designing the IP communications of the very near future. Yet the rapid surge in importance of IPv6 has caught most unprepared.

A large body of work is developing in printed and electronic documents in order to present the technical aspects of IPv6. With these resources at hand, the engineering community is aggressively ramping up its expertise in IPv6. Engineers recognize the technical problems, see some of the adoption trends developing in the industry and they understand the importance of IPv6. The question is: How do the decision makers perceive this significant transition event? The non-technical, business oriented people within businesses and governments must also be provided with the right information that will help them find answers to question such as: Why this topic is now so important? What are the implications of a migration and how to plan for it?

IPv6 for Decision Makers will help non-technical people who are responsible for defining the business strategy of organizations understand the importance of IPv6 in terms of opportunities and costs. The book will allow a person with no background in IPv6 to understand, at a high-level, the technical challenges and the implications of an upgrade at micro and macro economic level. It will offer an overview of today's trends and strategies in adopting and leveraging IPv6 for specific services and competitive differentiation. The book will help technical staff as well to understand the economic and business drivers for an upgrade of the IP protocol, help understand the rational behind adoption mandates.

After completing IPv6 for Decision Makers the reader will:

• Understand at a high-level the problems faced by IPv4 and solved by IPv6
• Differentiate between Myths and Truths about IPv6's capabilities
• Have a good understanding of the IPv6 adoption strategies and trends at global, national and business levels
• Become familiar with several successful business cases in various markets
• Know how to plan a migration, minimize its costs while maximizing the benefits.

IPv6 for Decision Makers comes at an inflexion point in the evolution of IP communications to shed light on the significance of an IP upgrade. It caters to the large market of non-technical individuals who have to make decisions under the pressure of this upcoming event. It enables them to plan for IPv6 and turn its adoption from an irrational expense into a rational opportunity. At the same time, it helps the technical staff see the larger perspective of the IP upgrade with its multiple implications to business competitiveness.