The Systems Unit coordinates the planning and development of technologically innovative instruments to be used in the management of the ccTLD .it Registry; the maintenance and updating of the Registry network, of client-server systems and services given to Maintainers (website, DNS, e-mail, distribution lists, phone helpdesk, etc.); a service of technical helpdesk for maintainers and Internet end-users in general; management of hardware and software orders. The Systems Unit also carries out pure and applied research, and the experimentation of new technologies. One such project was “Electronic archiving”, which produced software for the acquisition and indexing of documents (paper and electronic) and involved a consequent reduction in the paper archives of the Registry and enhanced access by means of electronic querying. The project “Study of the Diffusion of the Internet in Italy through the use of domain names” had the aim of the analysis of the spread of Internet use in Italy at national, regional, provincial and municipal levels, and Macro-Areas (North, Centre, South) – it examined the various subject categories registering domain names and possible technological divides. Among the activities regarding the experimentation of new technologies there is the study and development of automatic registration systems based on synchronous communication protocols; the integration of communication services by means of the ENUM protocol; the creation of security systems based on digital certification and advanced authentication mechanisms; the experimentation of DNSSEC and IDN protocols.