NS1
IBM NS1 Connect is an intelligent DNS traffic control platform that serves enterprise organizations and DevOps teams with real-time traffic steering, DDoS protection, and API-first automation across a 26+ PoP global anycast network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What NS1 does
NS1, operating as IBM NS1 Connect following its acquisition by IBM, provides an intelligent DNS traffic control platform for enterprise organizations and DevOps/platform engineering teams. The platform positions DNS as a real-time decision layer rather than a passive resolver, routing users to the best endpoint based on performance, availability, and geography. Core technology is built on a global anycast network with 26+ points of presence distributed across six continents, proprietary Filter Chains and ASN-based routing for granular traffic steering, real-time health checks with automatic failover, and DDoS protection capable of absorbing up to 50x normal load. An API-first architecture integrates natively with Terraform, Ansible, and CI/CD pipelines, and Cloud Sync enables multi-provider failover across AWS Route 53, Cloudflare, Azure DNS, and Google Cloud DNS.
The product portfolio centers on IBM NS1 Connect as the core platform, with DNS Insights offered as an add-on module for deeper analytics and observability. A 100% uptime SLA is provided on the Premium tier. The business model is subscription-based recurring revenue across three tiers (Essential, Standard, Premium), with optional performance and security add-ons and annual billing that offers cost savings for committed customers. Go-to-market is hybrid: IBM's enterprise direct sales force for large accounts, a self-serve PLG motion with free trial and API-driven adoption, AWS Marketplace listing for cloud-credit procurement, and the broader IBM partner ecosystem. Named enterprise customers include Netlify, Dropbox, Catchpoint, GlobalDots, and IO River, with documented outcomes including 10-15% DNS latency reduction for global users at Dropbox and 100% uptime at Catchpoint and IO River. The company is headquartered in New York, was founded in 2013, and operates with 51-100 employees as part of IBM's portfolio.
NS1 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NS1
- Website
- https://ns1.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- IBM NS1 Connect is an intelligent DNS traffic control platform that serves enterprise organizations and DevOps teams with real-time traffic steering, DDoS protection, and API-first automation across a 26+ PoP global anycast network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NS1 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DNS Traffic Management
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)
- SIC
- Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Communications Services, Nec (4899)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- IP Address Management (IPAM) & DNS/DHCP (DDI) (HDAFAMAE), DNS Security & Protective DNS (HDADABAF)
Keywords
Where NS1 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
NS1 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- DNS Hosting and Traffic Management Subscription: Subscription-based recurring revenue from DNS hosting services with tiered plans (Essential, Standard, Premium). Revenue is generated through monthly or annual subscriptions with additional add-on charges for performance and security features.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Essential Plan - Entry-level DNS hosting |
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Plan - Mid-tier with advanced features |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Plan - Enterprise-grade with add-ons |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
NS1 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IBM NS1 Connect is an intelligent DNS platform that transforms DNS into a real-time traffic control plane. It provides intelligent traffic steering across a global anycast network (26+ PoPs), DDoS protection, real-time health checks, multi-CDN steering, API-first automation, and a 100% SLA. A DNS Insights add-on extends analytics and observability over DNS infrastructure.
Product overview
IBM NS1 Connect is a unified intelligent DNS platform that transforms DNS into a real-time traffic control plane. The core offering is IBM NS1 Connect itself, which provides intelligent traffic steering, DDoS protection, API-first automation, and global server load balancing. DNS Insights is available as an add-on module to extend visibility and analytics capabilities. Together, these products enable organizations to prevent outages, optimize latency, and automate traffic control across multi-CDN and multi-cloud environments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IBM NS1 Connect
Quantifiable outcome
- 10-15% reduction in DNS latency for global users
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use NS1
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
NS1 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
NS1 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- IGITcoreIGIT collaborated with NS1 and Cisco in August 2024 to expand DNS security offerings. This strategic partnership combines NS1's intelligent DNS capabilities with IGIT's solutions and Cisco's security infrastructure to deliver comprehensive DNS security to enterprise customers.
- CiscocoreThree-way partnership with IGIT and NS1 to expand DNS security offerings. Cisco's security infrastructure combined with NS1's DNS platform creates integrated security solutions for enterprise customers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NS1 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare is a direct competitor offering authoritative DNS, anycast network, DDoS protection, and traffic steering as part of its integrated edge platform. NS1 explicitly integrates with Cloudflare ("Cloudflare handles the traffic, IBM NS1 Connect controls it"), highlighting their direct overlap in DNS and traffic management for enterprise customers.
- Akamai (Edge DNS / App & API Protector): Akamai offers Edge DNS, Global Traffic Management, and application security products that directly compete with NS1 Connect's intelligent DNS and traffic steering capabilities. Both target large enterprises requiring high-availability, globally distributed DNS infrastructure with intelligent routing and DDoS mitigation.
- UltraDNS (Vercara): UltraDNS is a direct competitor in the enterprise authoritative DNS and traffic management market, offering global load balancing, geo-routing, and DDoS protection. NS1 and UltraDNS compete for the same enterprise customers requiring high-availability DNS outside of hyperscaler ecosystems.
- Constellix (Tiggee): Constellix is a direct peer in the intelligent DNS and traffic steering market, offering real-time traffic routing, health checks, and multi-CDN optimization. Both companies target similar DevOps and enterprise buyer personas with API-first DNS management and global anycast infrastructure.
- Infoblox: Infoblox is a leader in DDI (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) for enterprise on-premises and hybrid environments, with overlap into DNS security and traffic management. NS1's historical DDI heritage and continued IPAM-adjacent capabilities make Infoblox a directly comparable peer, particularly in enterprise network operations.
Broad incumbents
- Amazon Route 53: AWS Route 53 is the dominant cloud-native DNS service bundled into the AWS ecosystem. While NS1 integrates with Route 53 via Cloud Sync for failover, Route 53 represents the broad incumbent alternative that most AWS-native customers will default to, competing head-to-head on cost and ecosystem convenience.
- Microsoft Azure DNS / Azure Traffic Manager: Azure DNS and Azure Traffic Manager are bundled cloud DNS and traffic management services competing with NS1 within Microsoft Azure environments. As a broad incumbent, Microsoft can offer these capabilities at minimal incremental cost to Azure customers, applying pricing pressure to NS1 in Microsoft-centric enterprises.
- Google Cloud DNS: Google Cloud DNS is a managed authoritative DNS service within the Google Cloud Platform, competing with NS1 for cloud-native enterprise workloads. NS1 integrates with Google Cloud DNS via DNS-AID, but Google's bundled offering applies direct competitive pressure on price and procurement convenience.
- F5 (Distributed Cloud / BIG-IP DNS): F5 offers BIG-IP DNS (formerly F5 BIG-IP GTM) and Distributed Cloud DNS for global server load balancing and traffic management. As a broad incumbent in application delivery, F5 competes with NS1 in enterprise GSLB and intelligent traffic steering use cases, particularly for customers with existing F5 infrastructure investments.
Emerging players
- DNSFilter: DNSFilter is an emerging player focused on DNS-layer security, content filtering, and threat protection, with partial overlap to NS1's DDoS protection and security capabilities. While more focused on security/RBI use cases, DNSFilter represents a relevant emerging competitor in the DNS security segment of the market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NS1 social profiles
Digital presenceNS1 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NS1 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
NS1 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NS1 M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NS1
What does NS1 do?
IBM NS1 Connect is an intelligent DNS platform that transforms DNS into a real-time traffic control plane. It provides intelligent traffic steering across a global anycast network (26+ PoPs), DDoS protection, real-time health checks, multi-CDN steering, API-first automation, and a 100% SLA. A DNS Insights add-on extends analytics and observability over DNS infrastructure.
Is NS1 a public or private company?
NS1 is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was NS1 founded?
NS1 was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is NS1 based?
NS1 is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does NS1 make money?
One revenue line is on record: DNS Hosting and Traffic Management Subscription.
Who are NS1's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cloudflare, Akamai (Edge DNS / App & API Protector), UltraDNS (Vercara), Constellix (Tiggee) and Infoblox. Broad incumbents are Amazon Route 53, Microsoft Azure DNS / Azure Traffic Manager, Google Cloud DNS and F5 (Distributed Cloud / BIG-IP DNS). DNSFilter is listed as an emerging player.
Does NS1 have an API?
Yes. IBM NS1 Connect provides a REST API for managing DNS through APIs and infrastructure-as-code, enabling developers to automate zone creation and policy updates, push DNS updates in real time, and give application teams controlled access through custom tooling and delegated management. The API supports integration with Terraform, Ansible, and CI/CD workflows for consistent, reliable deployments. Developer documentation is at developer.ibm.com/apis/catalog/ns1--ibm-ns1-connect-api/Introduction.
What industry is NS1 in?
NS1's product category is DNS Traffic Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAIAI, Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing, with a secondary code of HDAFAMAE, IP Address Management (IPAM) & DNS/DHCP (DDI). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 3576.