Tactic 9. Run With the In Crowd

The IXP peering business is a strange one in that the value proposition is out of the control of the IXP operator. Whether an ISP will peer – and if so how much traffic will be exchanged – is out of the hands of the IXP operator. Whether that peering will last for the duration of the IXP contract is out of the hands of the IXP operator. In fact, the amount of traffic that an IXP peers, and whom they would like to peer with, is sometimes even outside of the visibility of the IXP operator. Many ISPs consider peering relationships, traffic volumes, and even the list of peering targets to be proprietary and confidential, making building the value for all participants very difficult. Since all IXPs have to work around this information blindness issue, the data collected from the field becomes even more valuable.

Observation: Only half of a peering relationship needs to be exposed to determine a peering relationship.

Observation: Ninety percent of the desired market intelligence is available only through informal contacts. No reputable marketing firms can deliver this kind of information, and there will always be information that you would like to have but will be unable to obtain.

Valuable information about the ISPs in the peering ecosystem includes things like:

• contract terms and duration for colocation, transit, transport, etc.
• ISP peering locations
• peering relationships (current, planned, projected)
• traffic volumes between players (current, projected)
• financial stability
• desirable target peers
• transit prices
• ISP POP locations
• transport prices, both current and future
• ISP future deployment plans
• peering challenges and pain points

Market intelligence gathering requires constant reconnaissance missions, including travel to networking conferences around the world, and in particular to forums that attract target peering coordinators.

Of particular interest to the IXP operator are the customer perceptions of the IXP in the peering ecosystem:

• What are the customers and prospects saying about your IXP?
• What are competitors saying about your IXP?
• What are the trends in the IXP and colocation markets?
• What are the market price points?
• How are the competitors positioned?

Engaging the customer early and often offers several benefits. First, one can collect information and be an early problem solver. The purveyor of this information in the ecosystem is positioned to help ISPs entering the market. Collecting this information highlights opportunities and discloses vulnerabilities – and presents an excuse for a personal relationship and further contacts. The appropriate meeting at the appropriate time armed with the appropriate information can make an IXP. These behind-the-scenes tactics are sometimes referred to as “Guerilla Marketing.” An IXP that fails to collect this information is flying blind, will learn of opportunities late or never, and is vulnerable to being blind-sided by a more agile competitor.

Value of the IXP = f(p, r, v, m) - c

p: The population

r: The routes available

v: The volume of traffic exchanged

m: The market perception of the IXP

c: The cost of participatioon at the IXP