Most companies don't realize when a particular Tuesday rolls around that it's the day they will need to buy more IP address space. They've seen the signs for months and ignored them all.
The reality is, the majority of companies have already tied up capital in more IP address space than they possibly need. That doesn't mean the issue was hidden. It means no one was looking.
If you're an ISP, a hosting company or any kind of networking company, here are the five issues you should be able to recognize before they become an emergency.
You are reusing/recycling IPs faster than usual: If your team is spending more and more time wrangling the (re)assignment, reclaiming or “stretching” IP blocks than before, that’s a sure sign of shortage and growing companies seldom realize this in time as the transition into a “new normal” is gradual.
**New customer/server onboarding delays are becoming frequent: **Ask your network team if provisioning time has become slower in the last months or so. New customer onboarding or server provisioning taking longer by days because the team needs to “first get the addressing out of the way” is another sign of an impending IP address crisis.
**You're becoming more reliant on NAT: **While NAT is an enabler for many organizations, the fact that you're using it more often than you should be, is an issue. Each time you add in a new host to be masqueraded, you stretch out your IP addressing resource.
Your 12-month growth plan already assumes that the addressing will be somehow resolved: Not many organizations realize just how much they'll wish they had more IP space at such crucial moments. If addressing is not a priority in your 12 month plan, it's a safe bet to say that you'll end up in a bind trying to do something about it.
You simply haven't done an inventory audit of the current utilization: The fact that many businesses don't know how much room they have to grow is in itself a myth. Companies are unaware of just what incredible amount of information that they have at their disposal, and the truth is, that no one knows how much space they have until they decide to want to know.
So what do you actually do about it?
Here's where most companies assume the only fix is a big upfront purchase. It isn't.
Leasing IPv4 space is the move companies overlook. Rather than tying up cash in a large, one-time purchase, you gain access to valuable, thoroughly vetted address space today while preserving liquidity for other business needs. Servers, recruiting, marketing whatever you need to scale your operation, you can acquire without further financial commitment.
It's the same model enterprises use to great effect with office space, equipment, infrastructure and more. No one buys a data center on day one. They rent what they need to grow their business and then scale accordingly.
The real takeaway
Running out of IP address space is not something companies realize all of a sudden. It is a slow bleed that they do not necessarily notice before their business suffers from lost opportunities, project delays, or implementation issues. The solution is simple. It is common, but not actively sought after.
If any of the five symptoms sound familiar, then it is probably time to take measures.
