NetNames was a British company that provided online

brand protection Brand protection is the process and set of actions that a right holder undertakes to prevent third parties from using its intellectual property without permission, as this may cause loss of revenue and, usually more importantly, destroys brand eq ...

, as well as

domain name In the Internet, a domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services, and more. ...

management and acquisition services. It was the first specialist domain name registration company. Founded in 1997, it ceased trading under its original name after acquisition by CSC Digital Brand Services.

History

NetNames Ltd was founded as part of Webmedia Group by

Ivan Pope Ivan Pope (born 1961) is a British technologist, involved in a number of early internet developments in the UK and across the world, including coining the term '' cybercafe'' at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. He was a founder of two o ...

in 1996 and demerged from it in 1997. NetNames invented and developed the concept of a standalone commercial domain name registration service which would sell domain registration and other associated services to the public. Netnames was acquired by NetBenefit plc in 1995 and renamed to Group NBT plc in 2004, the company officially consolidated all its corporate brands under the NetNames banner in January 2013.Group NBT becomes NetNames
Realwire. January 15, 2013. In 2011, NetNames was bought by private equity firm HG Capital and delisted from the Alternative Investment Market. The following year, NetBenefit ltd, NetNames’ managed hosting division, was sold to Canadian IT infrastructure provider Peer 1 Hosting. In 2016 NetNames was sold by

HgCapital Hg is a London, England-based private equity firm targeting technology buyouts primarily in Europe and the US. The company focuses on investments in technology and services sectors. Hg was founded in 2000. History Hg began life as Mercury Private ...

to US business services outfit CSC Global for an undisclosed sum. In 2018 CSC absorbed the NetNames brand into its own and NetNames stopped operating as a standalone entity.

Locations

The company was headquartered in London, with offices in Cambridge, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Zurich, Munich, New York, San Francisco, Melbourne and Singapore. A series of global acquisitions made NetNames “''one of the world’s largest corporate domain name management and online brand protection specialists''”. Its acquisitions included Ascio Technologies, INDOM and Cedel, as well as WebIP in AustraliaNetNames Enters Australian Market with Acquisition of WebIP
PR Newswire. April 29, 2014. and Adicio in Singapore.

Services

NetNames supported more than 2,000 companies globally, including a quarter of the UK’s FTSE 100 firms. In 2014,

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

reported that NetNames had relationships with 240 registrars worldwide and could "have fake websites taken down within days".

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

was one of NetNames’ biggest clients, with a portfolio of more than 10,000 domain names under management for all its global brands.

Certifications and awards

NetNames was a founding member of

Nominet UK Nominet UK is currently delegated by IANA to be the manager of the .uk domain name. Nominet directly manages registrations directly under .uk, and some of the second level domains .co.uk, .org.uk, .sch.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .ltd.uk and .plc.uk. ...

, the .uk domain name registry in the United Kingdom. In 1999, NetNames gained

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...

accreditation status for domain registration. NetNames was named as a

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

& Touche Technology Fast 50 Winner in 2002 and was recognised again in 2004. NetNames was also selected by

Superbrands The Superbrands organization publishes surveys related to brands. The organization also publishes a series of brand-focused books and publications. Superbrands has offices in 90 countries. Background Superbrands was founded in 1994 by Marcel K ...

in its 2006/7 Top 50 eBrand Leaders.eSuperbrands
Superbrands.com. Retrieved September 10, 2015.

References

{{reflist Brand management 1996 establishments in the United Kingdom 2018 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

History

Locations

Services

Certifications and awards

See also

References