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In the past, it was easy for organizations to gain ownership of IPv4 address blocks—you would submit a request to the American Registry of Internet Numbers and provide proof that you had need of them. Unfortunately, practically every device that's connected to the internet needs its own IPv4 address. Because of the sheer number of such devices in the United States, ARIN has simply run out of numbers to provide to organizations. This has created an auction market where organizations can purchase unused IPv4 address blocks in order to integrate them into their network infrastructure.

What benefits can purchasing your own IPv4 address space bring to your organization? In general, IPv4 address blocks are a valuable asset that can be used to improve the stability of your network infrastructure. Read on for three ways that your organization can benefit from owning its own IPv4 addresses.

1. With IPv4 Addresses You Own, Your Organization Will Have a More Reliable Network Infrastructure

The main problem with using your ISP's IPv4 addresses for your networked devices is that you don't own the addresses themselves. While providers try their best to keep your IPv4 addresses unchanging, you technically have no guarantee. If your organization's network infrastructure uses hard-coded IPv4 tables for routing, a sudden change in a server's IPv4 address can lead to network failures that can be difficult to track down. This can easily lead to a network outage and lost productivity.

2. Purchasing IPv4 Addresses Is Less Expensive Overall Than Leasing Them

One way to solve the problem described above is to lease IPv4 addresses from a broker. You own those addresses for the duration of your leasing contract. Unfortunately, the cost to lease IPv4 address blocks is typically quite high—you'll save money in the long term by purchasing IPv4 addresses at an ARIN auction service instead of leasing them year after year.  

3. IPv4 Address Blocks Are an Asset That Holds Value Well

IPv6 was developed in response to the looming crisis of the world exhausting its supply of IPv4 addresses. It features a vastly larger address space that is unlikely to ever be exhausted, no matter how many networked devices are connected to it.

Adoption of IPv6 has generally been good, but there's a caveat—even if 90% of the world's networked devices supported IPv6, it's still not good enough to switch over to exclusively. Many older devices simply lack IPv6 support, which would prevent the users of those devices from connecting to your servers.

Overall, this means that IPv4 address blocks are unlikely to devalue until the entire world uses IPv6-capable devices. This turns IPv4 address blocks into an asset for your organization—if your IT department ever feels that making the leap to IPv6 only would be acceptable for users, you can sell off the IPv4 address blocks that you've purchased for a quick influx of capital.

Overall, IPv4 address blocks are a valuable asset that improves the stability of your organization's network infrastructure and saves you money compared to leasing. One important thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to work with a trustworthy ARIN auction service—the final step is transferring ownership of the IPv4 address block from the seller to you, so you'll need one that can work directly with ARIN. It's also best to contact ARIN and get pre-approved for the transfer by demonstrating that you have a legitimate need for the IPv4 address block. Pre-approval will make the process of transferring ownership much smoother and prevent any surprises along the way.