Open source VoIP has come of age

The time is now for engineers, developers, providers and vendors of Asterisk solutions, ChannelWeb has said.

The theme of the recent Digium|Asterisk World conference in Miami was that open source VoIP PBX has come of age, according to the IT and communications industry information website.

Open source supporters at the event felt that now is a better time than ever to further establish the likes of Asterisk PBX into networking and infrastructure, Chad Berndtson writes.

According to Mr Berndtson's article, entitled Is Asterisk Channel Finally Ready For Its Close-Up?, enterprises and smaller businesses are ready to take note of what open source VoIP could do for them.

Aficionados at the event explained that this is because many organisations are currently in the process of overhauling networking and infrastructure channels, creating opportunities for open source.

John Malone, president and CEO of telecommunications management consulting firm Eastern Management Group, said that open source PBX systems have costs 25 per cent to 50 per cent less than many privately owned systems.

An official online applications store for Asterix solutions, AsteriskExchange, was recently launched by Asterix company Digium.