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NetsEdge Research provides marketing and strategy research reports and consulting services, specializing in areas related to Internet infrastructure. NetsEdge offerings combine the formidable and unique experience and perspective of the two principals: John Katsaros and Peter Christy. John and Peter have both been active participants in the computer and communications business for over 30 years. Both were educated as engineers. John has spent his career in high-tech sales and marketing; Peter in product development and strategy. Their collaboration began in 1997. In 1993 John formed what became the Internet Research Group, a consulting practice focused on assisting Internet ventures. Internet Research Group developed innovative methodologies, capable of giving actionable marketing and strategy advice within 6-8 week projects. At the core of Internet Research Group's success and NetsEdge' continuing work, is the concept and practice of early adopter interviewing. Put simply, when trying to investigate new opportunities in a high-reward, rapidly moving environment, nothing is better than talking to the best experts you can find - someone doing something like it now. There is a lot of craft in determining who to talk to, what to ask them, and how to ask it. But the results are clear. You learn a lot more from 50 careful interviews than from a poll of 10,000 who don't have experience with what you're interested in. In 1997 Peter joined with John to extend research that Internet Research Group had done earlier in Internet caching and they collectively produced the first comprehensive, multi-client study of the caching market. The report utilized the Internet Research Group early adopter interview techniques, John's marketing insight and Peter's background in computer systems and networking. The result was a clear and comprehensive view of this emerging market, with an early forecast of the significant revenue potential. As an example of how effective the methodologies can be, going into this effort, the caching vendors believed the primary value proposition was bandwidth cost savings, since that was the basis of early caching use in Europe and Asia. The research clearly showed that the early adopters in the US saw caching as a technology of fundamental value in building out and scaling IP networks (an early view of exactly what has happened with content delivery networks). Scaling networks is of much higher value than bandwidth cost savings. This was a key insight into the market. In 1998, John and Peter followed this work with a study of "load balancing." They coined the term "Traffic Management" to capture a broader view of the potential. Caching and traffic management seemed highly related. For a second time, Internet Research Group created a successful, well-timed report in an exciting emerging market. In late 1998, Internet Research Group's caching clients asked about a stealthy MIT spin-off called Akamai. Over the next six months, Peter and John built on their background in caching and traffic management to begin work in content delivery networks, another red-hot, emerging markets. Later in 1999 Internet Research Group produced the early, definitive report on content delivery and distribution. NetsEdge Research builds on what Internet Research Group had done (Internet Research Group was sold to Jupiter Research in early 2000). Our assets include the Internet Research Group methodologies and background in key Internet infrastructure areas, as well as the extensive, deep and broad experience of Peter and John. NRG will continue to center it's efforts in the general area of Internet infrastructure - how do you overcome the weaknesses and liabilities of the Internet to enable effective utilization of the potential? NRG will produce additional research reports in important and emerging areas (beginning with a comprehensive update of the Internet Research Group content delivery report). Additionally, NRG will undertake strategic business and marketing consulting projects.