The partnership started with the renewal of the ‘slightly outdated’ SIDN website, followed by the redevelopment of the portal for registrars (domain name providers). In 2015, we worked together on the websites for SIDN Fund and SIDN Labs. SIDN also got a new identity that year, which called for a complete redesign of sidn.nl. Large and smaller projects followed, a few every year.
online security
Nicole: “For me, the best project we created together was the campaign website for more awareness of your personal online security: ‘hackman.nl’. For this, ethical hacker Rickey Gevers took up the challenge to hack actress and presenter Lieke van Lexmond and gave tips for safer online behavior. The website had beautiful visual moving elements and cool online quizzes with which you could test your own online behavior.”
.nl-suggestiontool
One of the more impactful projects was the improvement of the flow for searching and registering a .nl domain name on sidn.nl. “When you type a .nl domain name in the Whois search bar, you immediately see whether a .nl is available or not,” explains Nicole. “If it is still available, you can choose one of our sales partners to register the domain name. If the name has already been registered, the .nl suggestion tool will provide you with interesting alternatives in real time that are available. You can also ‘play’ with the suggestion tool to find your ideal .nl domain name alternative.”
a giant leap forward
According to Nicole, the introduction of the new whois flow and the .nl suggestion tool in 2017/18 meant an enormous process improvement for SIDN users and for registrars. “It was a big step forward, which we were really able to take thanks to the collaboration with Us Media. At the end of 2021, we gave a big boost to the user-friendliness and yield of the total whois flow, and the conversion towards the registrars improved significantly. The further development of the whois flow and the suggestion tool is still ongoing. We make improvements every year and connect new data to the .nl suggestion tool for even better suggestions.”
keeping .nl-domain secure
In the years that Us Media contributed to the success of SIDN, the scope of the organization has expanded further. SIDN has built its reputation since 1996 as the manager of the .nl domain, but in recent years SIDN has also made a significant impact in the field of cybersecurity and online identity. “We see a social role for ourselves in keeping the internet safe and privacy-friendly,” says Nicole. “We do this with great new products and services in the field of cybersecurity and online identity. Not because we want to earn money from it; SIDN is not for profit. We do everything we can to keep the .nl domain safe, so wherever we see gaps, we try to develop solutions, sometimes transferring them to suitable market parties, such as we did with CyberSterk, the all-in-one security service for SMEs that we launched in 2019 and which was acquired in 2021 by Guardian360.”
We do everything we can to keep the .nl domain safe. Wherever we see gaps, we try to develop solution
data-minimalisation
Technology partner Us Media - of course - played an important role in the development of the website for the Cybersterk security service. In the field of online identity, too, a great project is in the making that SIDN will realize together with Us Media: a new website for the rebranding of IRMA. “IRMA is an ID app developed by Privacy by Design and SIDN,” says Nicole. “As a customer, you can log in easily, securely and in a privacy-friendly way with the app, demonstrate who you are and give permissions. Your personal data remain on your own mobile and are not stored centrally, so you remain in control.” According to Nicole, the advantage for companies is that they can let customers log in and identify themselves without having to store unnecessary data themselves. “We want to encourage companies and organizations to opt for data minimization: collecting as little data as possible is more customer-friendly, more efficient but above all safer!”
securing and closing the gates
Security is a recurring theme at SIDN, if not the core business of the company. “Online we close all gates as much as possible to secure the NL zone,” explains Nicole. “As a result, we often have to look very carefully for all kinds of detours in order to get everything linked together and connecting perfectly. For example, we want to offer our customers certain reports that they can access via a customer portal. We run those reports internally, but we can only make them available externally via an ‘intermediate platform’. That kind of complex infrastructure and the high level of security that we strive for - we can’t reach that level with just any development party. We really need a technical partner with a lot of technical knowledge and experience, including in the field of security.”
That kind of complex infrastructure and the high level of security that we strive for - we can’t reach that level with just any development party
full-fledged sparring partners
SIDN has found that technical partner in Us Media. Nicole: “We are a hardcore ICT company with complicated challenges. CEO Joël Wijngaarde of Us Media and his team are full-fledged sparring partners for our technical people. They speak a language that I do not fully master, but I know that I can completely trust that Us Media understands what matters and what we need. I personally have a pleasant weekly meeting about service calls with client service manager Anne-Jet Buiten. And when larger projects are underway, we meet every two weeks as a team to discuss progress. This agile method fits perfectly with our own way of working at SIDN.”
a celebration next year
That is how it has been going for years, with complete satisfaction. A bond has been formed between the team members of SIDN and Us Media, which we occasionally celebrate. For example, Nicole organized a pleasant boat trip on the Utrecht canals for the 5-year collaboration anniversary. With a hilarious bingo on board. “That was a memorable trip, we laughed so much then. Next year our partnership will be 10 years old. We will definitely celebrate that again!”