What's New Archives
2008 Quarter 2, April
AstriCon
September 22-25, 2008
Phoenix, Arizona USA
AstriCon is the official conference for the wildly popular Asterisk® PBX and telephony platform. AstriCon includes a wealth of information for those who are getting started with Asterisk, as well as those who have already discovered the power of open source telephony. For 2008, Astricon remains in Phoenix, Arizona, but will be located in a high-rise hotel instead of spread out across a large resort. The Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa will be home to the 2008 Astricon Conference. www.astricon.net
Switchvox SMB 3.5 & AA60 Switchvox Appliance
Digium® has released Switchvox™ SMB 3.5 and the AA60 Switchvox Appliance. Switchvox, designed for small to mid-sized businesses, is the most widely used communications system based on Asterisk, the open source project headed by Digium and strengthened by the contributions of hundreds of developers around the world. Switchvox SMB 3.5 introduces features and enhancements that larger companies require. The AA60 Switchvox Appliance was designed specifically with the needs of small business in mind, highlighting the expanding market for the Switchvox product line.
Switchvox IP PBX products deliver the advanced functions typically associated with expensive, proprietary systems, but also provide unique, innovative features that bridge the gap between the business phone system and the power of Web 2.0. Integration with leading CRM applications Salesforce.com and SugarCRM as well as Google Maps is included through Switchvox SMB's Switchboard interface, and customers can easily create custom mashups that leverage other Web applications in seconds with no programming knowledge required.
In this way, when individuals receive calls, they can have useful information from internal company databases or external Web applications automatically displayed, e.g., a real estate agent sees the properties his caller has expressed interest in, a hiring manager sees the blogs and Facebook page his caller has created, and a doctor's receptionist sees insurance information for his caller-all in real time. It is these types of powerful features that drive the expansion of Switchvox's target market, both up-market to larger businesses and down into the smallest organizations which can truly benefit from this type of efficiency boost.
New features in version 3.5 of the IP PBX software make it easier for administrators or resellers to set up larger systems more quickly than ever before. Bundling Switchvox SMB 3.5 on Digium's AA60 Switchvox Appliance makes for an even more reliable communications solution and saves valuable space in a small office environment.
"Our customers want customized solutions-one size doesn't fit all," said Dave Michels, president of Buffalo Communications, a VoIP solutions provider based in Denver. " Switchvox's flexibility allows us to deliver exactly what customers need-the features that end users want with a level of system control calibrated to meet the needs of each company. Switchvox SMB 3.5 automates the time-consuming tasks associated with setting up a phone system for the larger organizations we're installing Switchvox in, and frees us up to focus on delivering even more value."
Highlights of Switchvox SMB 3.5 include:
- Integrated phone management
- Multi-level administration
- Batch direct inward dial (DID) mapping
- Batch caller ID configuration
- Enhanced phonebook panel
- Type to find extensions
- Small form factor
- Increased reliability
- Full coverage by the Digium Exceptional Satisfaction Program
- VoIP ready
- Support for PSTN connectivity
"Digium has always led the pack when it comes to providing next-generation features that elevate the PBX out of the phone closet and into an inherently connected, more powerful communications platform," said Joshua Stephens, general manager of business products at Digium. " With the latest release of Switchvox SMB, we're addressing a real need to provide solutions to larger and larger organizations as they become increasingly interested in what open technologies and voice over IP can do for them. And the release of the AA60 Switchvox Appliance shows that the technology that appeals to the big boys can be affordable for even a small home office."
WestCON GROUP announces CollaborationPoint Open Source
Westcon Group, Inc., the leading specialty distributor in networking, convergence, security and mobility, is now offering Digium's complete line of Asterisk-based telephony solutions to its worldwide community of reseller customers. The ground-breaking partnership enables Westcon resellers to deliver open source-based, non-proprietary VoIP solutions to small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) more economically.
The entire line of Digium's solutions is now available through Westcon's CollaborationPoint Open Source program, including the Switchvox™ IP PBX, Asterisk Appliance™, Asterisk Business Edition™ software and appliances, and Digium's complete line of analog, digital and voice processing telephony cards for Asterisk servers and appliances. By offering Digium solutions, Westcon resellers are now able to compete more effectively on price, performance and features, bringing greater value to the end-user community.
"Digium is the undisputed leader of open source innovation and is breaking new ground in providing SMBs with the means to integrate reliable and affordable IP communications platforms that meet the needs of evolving business," said Dan Pirro, group commercial sales manager of Westcon Group, Inc. " This partnership delivers greater competitive advantage to Westcon resellers as they look to provide businesses with customized and affordable, open source-based communications options where none previously existed."
Through Westcon's CollaborationPoint Open Source program, resellers will be able to access sales support, pre-sales engineering and post-sales support, advanced selling and configuration tools, authoritative market analysis and up-to-date product information designed to increase reseller profitability. In addition, all Digium products are backed by its Exceptional Satisfaction Program (ESP) money-back guarantee.
"By partnering with Westcon, we will be able to bring more affordable Asterisk-based VoIP solutions to the mass market and expand our mainstream channel coverage," said Steve Harvey, Digium's vice president of worldwide sales. " The Digium line of telephony products, along with Westcon's Asterisk-friendly ecosystem, will help Westcon resellers more confidently address new market opportunities by offering complete, open source-based communications solutions that compete with proprietary solutions on features, performance and price."
To learn more about CollaborationPoint Open Source, please visit the program portal at opensource.westcon.com.
2008 Quarter 1, January
Digium Wins Big!
InfoWorld recognizes Asterisk® 1.4 as the best IP PBX in 2008
Selected by InfoWorld Test Center editors and reviewers, the annual awards, presented this year on January 8, identify the best and most innovative products on the IT landscape. Asterisk® is the most widely used open source telephony software with more than 1 million downloads. in 2007 and more than 100 million users worldwide.
InfoWorld reports, "a complete IP PBX released as open source under the GNU Public License, Asterisk is built to run on commodity hardware, providing considerable cost savings when compared with commercial alternatives, and it leverages the open source community for additional testing, bug fixes, and feature development." For a full list of award recipients, see www.infoworld.com.
"InfoWorld tests upwards of 200 IT products every year, and we see many, many good ones," said Doug Dineley, InfoWorld's Test Center executive editor. "Our Technology of the Year award winners represent not only the cream of the crop, but the best products in the most important product categories. From the top AJAX development tools and SOA middleware to the best blade servers and VoIP systems, these are the products at the leading edge of IT."
Mark Spencer, creator of Asterisk and Digium's chief technology officer, commented: "The InfoWorld Technology of the Year 2008 award is an enormous acknowledgement of the work and success of the worldwide Asterisk community. Asterisk wouldn't be in a position to rival some of the biggest vendors of proprietary voice technology today if it weren't for the inherent strength of open source and the dedication of the community developers."
** On December 19th, 2007 Digium® announced the one-millionth download of Asterisk in 2007. 2007's Q4 was also Digium's 24th consecutive quarter of growth and profitability. **
Digium|Asterisk Events in 2008
Digium|Asterisk World™ at Spring VON
March 17-20, 2008
San Jose, California — USA
Digium|Asterisk World is the premier open communication event for the channel that encompasses the world of open source platforms and applications in the realm of IP communications. Whether you are a service provider, VAR, systems integrator or someone who is rolling out IP communications internally, Digium | Asterisk World is the place to be. www.digiumasteriskworld.com
To exhibit, contact Christopher Erb at christopher.erb@pulvermedia.com
VoiceCon Orlando
March 17-20, 2008
Orlando, Florida — USA
Digium|Asterisk World™ at VON Europe
June 2-5, 2008
Amsterdam, Netherlands — Europe
NXTcomm
June 16-19, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada — USA
Astricon
September 22-25, 2008
Phoenix, Arizona — USA
AstriCon is the official conference for the wildly popular Asterisk® PBX and telephony platform. AstriCon includes a wealth of information for those who are getting started with Asterisk, as well as those who have already discovered the power of open source telephony.
For 2008, Astricon remains in Phoenix, Arizona, but will be located in a high-rise hotel instead of spread out across a large resort. The Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa will be home to the 2008 Astricon Conference September 22nd - 25th.
Digium|Asterisk World™ at Fall VON
October 27-30, 2008
Boston, Massachusettes — USA
VoiceCon San Francisco
November 10-13, 2008
San Francisco, California — USA
Make a Wish
From November 16th to December 20th, 2007, Digium's employees raised over $13,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, including a $3,000 match by Digium. As part of the fundraising, Mark Spencer had to kiss a real pig, and was not too thrilled about it. Check out the video at www.makeadigiumwish.com
New Asterisk Training Program
Training program updates to build on already successful program.
Over the first quarter of 2008, Digium will deliver 15+ Bootcamp classes all over the world. Digium has consistently maintained a 4.5 Customer Service Rating with it's attendees, and will continue to strive for excellence. Our existing Bootcamp materials have been updated in order to be current with our technology.
Keeping in step with providing the best customer experience possible, we are in the process of establishing a new Learning Management System that will take into account localized registration procedures in collaboration with our 2008 Authorized Training Partners. For starters, from within the LMS, one will be able to select and participate in a CBT environment, access the latest Videos on Demand of our SwitchVox™ product line, and access entry level Asterisk® 101 courses. Moreover, we are creating a 2 Day-Mini Bootcamp that will focus on the needs of the financial decision makers from the SMB owners to the Enterprise leaders.
The Digium Authorized Training Partners will be able to access their training materials from the Digium Training Portal. One of our newest ATPs is David Duffett. David's company, TeleSpeak Limited, located in London, will be among the first localized Bootcamps to be delivered, focusing on the UK specific Asterisk requirements.
Continuous improvement of the existing dCAP Test Pool with new questions/answers from around the globe is a top priority. Authorship validation will be given to those who participate and have their questions selected by a Digium sponsored panel. Once this activity is completed, Digium will be able to host the dCAP on-line. Please submit your questions/answers in English to ssalins@digium.com.
Any training tools or successful training stories that can be shared are welcome and valued by all. The Digium Training Team looks forward to meeting you and will continue to offer the dCAP at selected events.
New Products
AEX2400 // An express analog gateway
The Digium® AEX2400 is the PCI-Express compatible version of our popular TDM2400 card. The AEX2400 is a full-length PCI-Express 1.0-compliant modular gateway card for connecting analog telephone stations and analog POTS lines through a PC. It supports a combination of up to six quad port station or trunk modules for a total of 24 lines. The AEX2400 eliminates the requirement for separate channel bank and T1 interface cards, with industry-leading performance and price. An optional hardware echo cancellation module, Digium's VPMADT032, provides 1024 taps (128 milliseconds) of echo cancellation for superior voice quality on both trunk and station interfaces.
TE121 & TE122 // Select a new single span communications channel
The TE121 and TE122 are single span, selectable T1 (24-channel), E1 (32-channel), or J1 (24-channel) cards. The TE121 is a PCI-Express 1.0-compatible version of the TE120p. The TE122 is an update to the previously released TE120p. Both cards improve upon the TE120p by offering expansion capabilities. The cards can be combined with Digium's VPMADT032 echo cancellation module to deliver 128ms of echo cancellation across 30 channels in E1 mode or 24 channels in T1 mode.
One Stop Shop
Digium® Unveils Business-Class Digium®|Asterisk® Marketplace
Digium® launched the "Digium®|Asterisk® Marketplace" on January 8th to give the Asterisk® community of end-users, developers, small businesses and enterprises a one-stop online destination for all their open source VoIP deployment needs. The Digium|Asterisk Marketplace enhances Digium's Technology Partners web portal to allow companies that are not yet Digium partners to advertise their products to the Asterisk Ecosystem.
Visitors to the Digium|Asterisk Marketplace will be able to search the company listings by keyword to easily find Asterisk-compatible products such as phones, network infrastructure devices, and application software, as well as services such as VoIP and PSTN providers. The website opens up a new, direct line of communication between independent vendors of Asterisk-related products and the entire Digium|Asterisk ecosystem.
"The Digium website generates thousands of hits per day as Asterisk adoption continues to grow in business environments around the world," said Jim Webster, director of technology partnerships for Digium. "We expect the Digium|Asterisk Marketplace to become a premier destination for companies evaluating and selecting offerings to help build complete Asterisk-based solutions. Digium is excited to be working with leading technology partners and vendors to make it easier than ever for businesses to create open source telephony solutions."
To learn more about the Digium|Asterisk Marketplace please visit www.digium.com/marketplace/, or e-mail marketplace@digium.com.
Switchvox Family
Communication is the key to keeping your business running smoothly, and with a Switchvox™ system you can count on having the flexibility you need at a price you can afford. Switchvox is a complete business phone system in software. This means you can say goodbye to the monolithic PBX of the past. Now you can have the freedom to grow from a single office to a global network without breaking the bank. And because Switchvox systems are compatible with today's high speed data networks and traditional telephony infrastructure, you can change at your own pace.
There is an award winning Switchvox system that can meet your needs. Switchvox Free Edition (that's right, FREE!) can be downloaded and setup quickly. Free Edition gives you the chance to see what a Switchvox system can do for you. After you fall in love with your Switchvox system, you can easily upgrade to Switchvox SOHO or Switchvox SMB.
Switchvox SOHO comes with an easy web interface, unlimited extensions, and a host of features not seen in the Free Edition. Switchvox SOHO delivers an incredible set of enterprise class features to even the smallest offices, even when your're out of the office. Switchvox SMB is a complete communication system that can adapt to your dynamic enterprise. Switchvox SMB includes all the features of SOHO, as well as call recording, conferencing, and call queues.
If an investment in hardware is not in your budget, or you are unsure how quickly your needs may grow, Switchvox Hosted Edition may be for you. Switchvox Hosted Edition can be inexpensively deployed in a data center on a high-density server. Once you are ready for an on premise solution, such as with Switchvox SOHO or SMB, your configuration can be exported seamlessly.
With the Switchvox family of products you've got an easy to setup PBX solution, no matter the size of your company or how much you grow!
2007 Quarter 3, July
Events and Partners
Digium®|Asterisk® Events
Digium|Asterisk World™ @ Fall VON
October 29 - November 1, 2007
Boston, Massachusetts - USA
Internet Telephony East
January 22 - 25, 2008
Miami, Florida - USA
Digium|Asterisk World™ @ Spring VON
March 17-20, 2008
San Jose, California - USA
VoiceCon Orlando
March 17-20, 2008
Orlando, FL - USA
Why Partner With Digium?
Digium® has renewed its committment to its Technology Partner Program, bringing together high-quality and innovative solutions that complement Digium's well known offerings. The Digium Partner Program makes the components of a complete, unified solution available, so that customers, whether they are end-users, small businesses, or enterprises can come to one place, the Digium Ecosystem, to get all the components of their solution.
The advantages of the Partner Program can be realized by both the vendor and the end customer. Digium offers certification of partner products to ensure their compatibility with Asterisk® Business Edition as well as Digium's hardware and services. Once testing is complete, the products will be granted the Digium|Asterisk Certification logo. Customers will recognize the logo and know that those products have been tested to interoperate with Asterisk.
Just as there are many varied and innovative solutions utilizing Asterisk, so are there many different types of partners. What kind of partner are you?
- Interoperability Partner
- Software Partner
- Training Provider
- Service Provider
Hardware
New Hardware and Software High Performance Echo Cancellation Solutions
Digium®, Inc., during AstriCon™ 2007, announced a new Hardware echo-cancellation module and a software-based High Performance Echo Cancellation solution for carrier-class voice networks. These two solutions are added to Digium's existing hardware echo-cancellation modules. These new solutions improve audio quality and reduce VoIP infrastructure costs.
The new Digium High Performance Echo Cancellation (HPEC) software solution eliminates the need for the tuning and training sometimes required to control echo conditions in Asterisk-based voice systems. The HPEC is G.168 compliant and toll-quality as determined by AT&T's Voice Quality Assessment Labs using a stringent series of subjective and standardized, objective tests. Digium HPEC software outperformed AT&T's benchmark lab echo cancellers in all testing categories.
The Digium VPMADT032 hardware echo-cancellation module was created to work in conjunction with Digium's 8-port TDM800P and 24-port TDM2400P cards. The VPMADT032, like the Digium VPMOCT128 and Digium VPMOCT64 modules, provides a more successful echo-cancellation solution because it removes the burden of processing from the PC. Hardware echo cancellation is advantageous when handling large call volumes or a high number of channels that would otherwise stress the CPU and result in the potential for poor audio quality.
In addition to the VPMADT032, Digium® also recently released the AEX800 analog telephony card. The AEX800 is the PCI-Express version of the Digium TDM800P. The AEX800 is an 8 port analog interface card which supports combinations of station and/or trunk/line modules for a total of eight (8) interfaces. Like the PCI-based TDM800P, the AEX800 provides an industry first with 8 standard two-wire, RJ-11 interfaces on a single card bracket. This eliminates the need for multiple brackets, external dongles, or splitters. In doing so, the AEX800 reduces part complexity, cable clutter, and points of failure.
The optional VPMADT032 hardware echo cancellation module provides 1024 taps (128 milliseconds) of echo cancellation for superior echo cancellation on both types of analog interfaces. If the hardware echo cancellation module is not installed, the AEX800 may be used in conjunction with Digium's High Performance Echo Cancellation (HPEC) software.
Additional information and pricing can be found at: www.digium.com/en/products/
Pimp My Website
In addition to our new work space, we also recently unveiled the new version of our online home, www.digium.com. The new web site has a new look, is faster, and provides you with more functionality and information than you can shake a pixel at.
"Visitors will be able to kick off their flip flops, sit in their bean bag, and enjoy a completely new Digium.com experience," said Digium’s Shelli Langdale.
Our website will continue to expand and grow, offering the casual visitor as well as seasoned telephony veterans, partners, and resellers the best experience and up to date information.
Let us know what you think!
Show Us Your Innovation
The Digium® Innovation Award is designed to recognize developers, customers and partners for outstanding achievements that are improving business processes, overcoming technology challenges and enhancing the company's bottom line. The winners of the 2007 Digium Innovation Awards were announced on October 23rd, 2007. Winners were selected in five categories based upon their use of Asterisk® open source telephony to improve business processes and overcome technology challenges. Category winners will be recognized at a ceremony during Digium|Asterisk World™ in Boston, MA, October 30-31, 2007.
"We continue to be impressed with the ways in which developers, partners and customers are using Asterisk to tackle business and social problems that would otherwise be too cost prohibitive or time consuming to address." said Mark Spencer, CTO of Digium and creator of Asterisk.
Award Categories
- Business: Largest enterprise class installation
- ROI: Best measurable ROI from implementing an Asterisk based solution
- Pioneer: Most innovative implementation
- Most Unique: The most unique Asterisk implementation
- Service Provider: Best use of Asterisk by a service provider
Big Business: Aheeva (Montreal, Canada), selected for its Aheeva Contact Center Suite (CCS) that enables clients to establish a superior full-service contact center for a fraction of the investment required to operate a traditional telephony switch-based call center. This 1200 agent call center utilizes 28 T1s, handles over 50,000 outbound calls per day, and is based in multiple locations. The company leveraged input from the global Asterisk community and, in the true spirit of open source, gave a portion of the resulting work back to the community.
Return on Investment: OneBizTone (Laureldale, PA), selected for working with the University of Pennsylvania to develop a highly scalable unified voicemail system that can easily integrate legacy telephony services and existing electronic messaging systems and store years of voicemail messages for over 10,000 voicemail users. The new Asterisk-based system can be deployed for as little as $2000 versus traditional systems that cost $250,000 and only store hours of messages.
Pioneer: Shelton|Johns (Marietta, Georgia) was selected for using Asterisk to design and deploy a turn-key, campus-wide VoIP network for Life University that includes 500+ handsets across eight structures aggregated into a redundant Asterisk server platform with 380 concurrent call paths. The new Asterisk-based system supplies significant flexibility and a dramatic expansion of feature-sets including Follow-Me, System-wide directory and remote administration. The new system also reduced Life University’s monthly DIA and dial-tone billsfrom $18,000 to $8000, a yearly cost savings of $120,000.
Most Unique: iPLATEu, selected for inventing the first-ever social platform for motorists using anonymous, mobile-to-mobile voice messaging through license plate numbers. Created by developer Greg Beliczynski as a thesis project for NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, the iPLATEu hotline (888-iPLATEu) employs a hands-free, IVR menu system so that motorists can "plate" each other while driving safely with both hands behind the wheel. Built with Asterisk and LumenVox's 7.5 Speech Recognition Engine, iPLATEu can be used by speaking the license plate number into the IVR using phonetic words or texting the license plate number in after leaving a message. Recipients get voice messages directly to their mobile phones only if they have pre-registered with the iPLATEu website: www.iplateu.com.
Service Provider: Super Technologies, Inc., (Pensacola, FL) selected for providing Asterisk open source VoIP services to wholesale telephony service providers in 98 countries. Asterisk is used by 78% of the 7000+ internet telephony service providers using DIDX.net to buy and/or sell direct inward dialing phone numbers. The scalability and flexibility of Asterisk has enabled DIDX to guarantee lower costs to its customers and create new revenue streams worldwide.
Additional information about the Digium Innovation Awards is available at www.digium.com/en/company/awards/innovation.php.
We've Moved
Digium® recently moved from its office suites to a new corporate headquarters. The shiny new building will support our rapidly growing open source telephony business. The ribbon cutting at the new facility was attended by several local dignitaries including Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer, as well honored guests from around the globe. Digium, which has called Huntsville home since its founding in 1999, has seen meteoric growth in the last several years as the demand for open source telephony solutions increased.
"Digium is experiencing an exciting time of growth as more and more businesses realize the technical superiority, flexibility and low cost of open source VoIP solutions," said Danny Windham, president and CEO of Digium. "We are extremely thankful to both the Huntsville and Asterisk communities for contributing to our current and future success and look forward to even greater things as we set to work in our new state-of-the-art facility."