Registry Operator's Proposal - BUSINESS CAPABILITIES AND PLAN

D13.2.8. Staff size/expansion capability. Plans for obtaining the necessary staff resources, capacity for expansion, hiring policy, employee training, space for additional staff, staffing levels needed for provision of expanded technical, support, escrow, and registry services.

As previously stated, the resources required for the three scenarios will differ primarily in the staff requirements. As the volume of the registrations increase over time in the three scenarios, the number of technical and customer service staff will increase. At the 90% Confidence level, the customer service and IT staff increases from 8 to 10 people by 2002 and remain constant through 2004. At the 50% Confidence level, customer service and IT staff increase from 8 to 10 in 2002, to 12 in 2003, and to 14 in 2004. At the 10% Confidence level, the staff increases from 8 to 10, in 2002, from 10 to 14 in 2003 and from 14 to 18 in 2004.

Senior management, liaison to the sponsoring organization, legal and accounting labor are not expected to increase from 4 FTEs in our demand scenarios as the volume of work for these personnel is not expected to increase significantly with the number of registered users.

We anticipate drawing upon our already existing resources regarding staffing policies and basic equipment needed for basic office functions. In addition, we will also be able to draw on our principals’ experience with operating registries and registrars for handle strategic, operational and financial issues as they arise.

Please see section D13.2.11 for further detail of the operating expense items.