Shell wasn’t happy with the state of the internet domain names of its various business units. They asked Amina Bacar, a MSc student in Informatics at TU Delft, for advice.
Shell liked her proposal so much that they even started the implementation before she finished her project.
Shell’s business units could use any name they wanted to and they did. Some business units didn’t even use the name Shell in their internet addresses, according to Amina Bacar, from Mozambique, a MSc student specializing in management of information systems. “Shell has companies in more than a hundred countries and most of the companies have several products,” Bacar says. “So you can imagine the huge number of internet sites the company has.”
Furthermore, each country has its own naming authority, which is responsible for creating new internet domain names and maintaining existing domains. Unfortunately, these various naming authorities apply different rules: In some countries you need approval from the chamber of commerce to claim an internet address that includes your company name, while in other countries, you can register a trademark that isn’t even yours.
There is no global rulebook available, listing each countries particular rules. “For each country I had to find the information on the internet. Therefore, I only looked at European countries, but even in Europe, rules for registering internet domain names are quite dissimilair.”
To overcome these problems, Shell should have a central unit that maintains a database with Shell internet site names and enforces a name policy for the entire company, according to Bacar. Moreover, if possible, this unit should register and maintain domain names by contacting naming authorities and, when necessary, local registration agencies. Before Amina joined Shell, a third party provided this service. In future, however, the application will only be contracted out in countries where it proves much easier to do so, like in Spain, where applications must be written in Spanish.
Busy
By talking to employees of Shell’s Intellectual Property unit, Bacar discovered that applying for a trademark and for an internet domain name has many similarities. Therefore, she advised that this unit should also be the focal point for registering domain names. Previously, the various locations of Shell Services International, the company’s information technology business unit, had maintained contact with the third parties that handled domain names. Bacar herself was a student on work placement at Shell Service International, in Leidschedam.
To gather sufficient information about how various business units dealt with the domain names, Bacar interviewed Shell employees all over the world, mostly by telephone. “It wasn’t always easy to speak to people because they were very busy. However, I could almost always convince them of my project’s importance, so they’d make some time for me,” Bacar recalls. “Most Shell employees were already aware of the problem before I arrived.”
Having completed her interviews, Bacar presented four options for improvements to Shell, they agreed with one of the options and started implementing her improvement plan immediately, with Bacar serving as an advisor during the implementation process.
Although her graduation ceremony is planned for August 24th, Bacar already finished her thesis a week ago. Her holiday hasn’t started yet, however, because she’s busy working on the MSc yearbook.
Shell wasn’t happy with the state of the internet domain names of its various business units. They asked Amina Bacar, a MSc student in Informatics at TU Delft, for advice. Shell liked her proposal so much that they even started the implementation before she finished her project.
Shell’s business units could use any name they wanted to and they did. Some business units didn’t even use the name Shell in their internet addresses, according to Amina Bacar, from Mozambique, a MSc student specializing in management of information systems. “Shell has companies in more than a hundred countries and most of the companies have several products,” Bacar says. “So you can imagine the huge number of internet sites the company has.”
Furthermore, each country has its own naming authority, which is responsible for creating new internet domain names and maintaining existing domains. Unfortunately, these various naming authorities apply different rules: In some countries you need approval from the chamber of commerce to claim an internet address that includes your company name, while in other countries, you can register a trademark that isn’t even yours.
There is no global rulebook available, listing each countries particular rules. “For each country I had to find the information on the internet. Therefore, I only looked at European countries, but even in Europe, rules for registering internet domain names are quite dissimilair.”
To overcome these problems, Shell should have a central unit that maintains a database with Shell internet site names and enforces a name policy for the entire company, according to Bacar. Moreover, if possible, this unit should register and maintain domain names by contacting naming authorities and, when necessary, local registration agencies. Before Amina joined Shell, a third party provided this service. In future, however, the application will only be contracted out in countries where it proves much easier to do so, like in Spain, where applications must be written in Spanish.
Busy
By talking to employees of Shell’s Intellectual Property unit, Bacar discovered that applying for a trademark and for an internet domain name has many similarities. Therefore, she advised that this unit should also be the focal point for registering domain names. Previously, the various locations of Shell Services International, the company’s information technology business unit, had maintained contact with the third parties that handled domain names. Bacar herself was a student on work placement at Shell Service International, in Leidschedam.
To gather sufficient information about how various business units dealt with the domain names, Bacar interviewed Shell employees all over the world, mostly by telephone. “It wasn’t always easy to speak to people because they were very busy. However, I could almost always convince them of my project’s importance, so they’d make some time for me,” Bacar recalls. “Most Shell employees were already aware of the problem before I arrived.”
Having completed her interviews, Bacar presented four options for improvements to Shell, they agreed with one of the options and started implementing her improvement plan immediately, with Bacar serving as an advisor during the implementation process.
Although her graduation ceremony is planned for August 24th, Bacar already finished her thesis a week ago. Her holiday hasn’t started yet, however, because she’s busy working on the MSc yearbook.
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