Polycom, Inc., the global leader in standards-based unified communications (UC), today announced that Mary Barnes, a principal engineer in Polycom’s UC Technologies and Solutions Architecture organization, has been named executive director of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). The IAB is a vital element of the global community devoted to making the Internet work reliably, securely, and efficiently.
“The IAB provides oversight over the evolution of the Internet architecture, so users around the world can have a better and safer Internet experience on their computing device of choice. I look forward to helping the IAB fulfill its mission.”
In this role, Barnes will oversee the day-to-day workflow of the IAB, which assesses how fundamental changes in protocols and policies may affect privacy, the Domain Name System, network management, and other core aspects of the Internet.
As executive director, she will also spearhead efforts to streamline and broaden communication with groups such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and its technical management arm, the Internet Engineering Steering Group. In addition, Barnes will be responsible for ongoing operational duties such as monitoring the status of IAB projects, organizing conferences and meetings, managing and editing requests for comments and IAB documents, and maintaining real-time communications with key stakeholders through social networks and other channels.
“The very way we communicate and collaborate is changing to become more visual and mobile because of the new capabilities the Internet is bringing to people through the devices they use all day, every day,” said Barnes. “The IAB provides oversight over the evolution of the Internet architecture, so users around the world can have a better and safer Internet experience on their computing device of choice. I look forward to helping the IAB fulfill its mission.”
The efforts of various organizations, including the IAB, have helped establish an infrastructure that has made the Internet an essential part of modern life. According to the website Internetworldstats.com, 16 million people were online in 1995, compared to more than 2.2 billion people who used the Internet in 2011 – nearly a third of the total global population. In recent years, much of that blistering growth has been fueled by the proliferation of Internet-connected mobile devices. These devices are bringing to consumers new capabilities, such as face-to-face video collaboration, that previously were limited to large companies and government agencies. Part of the IAB’s charter is to evaluate the potential impact of developments like these on issues such as privacy, bandwidth, and access.
“Mary Barnes has a long, successful history in the IETF as a Working Group Chair and Editor in the Real-time Applications and Infrastructure Area,” said Bernard Aboba, IAB Chair. “Mary is also a proven manager who has taken on difficult tasks such as acting as Chair of the IETF Nominations Committee. Her organizational strengths will help us ensure that important timelines are met and projects are completed. At a time when IP-based communications technology is becoming mainstream in voice, video, and text, her perspective will be enormously valuable. We’re delighted to welcome Mary as the IAB’s new executive director.”
Barnes will also continue in her current role at Polycom, where she is responsible for developing Internet standards in organizations such as IETF, Unified Communication Interoperability Forum and SIP Forum. An active contributor to the IETF since 2001, Barnes has been involved in system architecture and product development for real-time communication systems for more than 25 years. She is the author of numerous requests for comments and currently serves as chair of two working groups within the IETF’s real-time applications and infrastructure area. Barnes joined Polycom in June of 2010. She previously spent 22 years at Nortel, where she led the IETF standards strategy for the Carrier VoIP business unit (now Genband). Prior to joining Nortel, Barnes developed real-time embedded software for GPS and video reconnaissance systems for Texas Instruments. She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.