Asterisk IP-PBX server has so many benefits, at such a competitive cost, that many in the industry take it for granted that businesses know what these benefits are, and fail to provide the information needed by new businesses seeking to gain a better understanding of how Asterisk can benefit them. In South Africa, Asterisk is rapidly gaining market share. This article aims to answer the basic question for business “What are the benefits of Asterisk and what does open source mean?”.
Asterisk IP PBX benefits
Many of the benefits of the Asterisk IP PBX server come from the very fact that it is an open source product. Many people, especially business people, may find it hard to understand the concepts behind open source, or free software, and why, or how, anyone would use this as a business model for their product. The business models behind open source are many and varied, and I will only deal with this question as it pertains to Asterisk. So how does open source make Asterisk a better bet for businesses than proprietary PBX solutions?
Asterisk source code availability, your guarantee for business continuity
The main question that you would like to answered, as a business man when considering in investing in any solution to your business problems, besides costs, is whether the company behind the solution has a sound financial footing. Basically will it be around in the foreseeable future to provide support and continue to enhance the solution?
The answer to this question, when it comes to Asterisk, has two points. Firstly, Digium, the company behind Asterisk, makes its money from selling Asterisk compatible hardware. So they way Digium has used open source, is very similar to the approach of many other companies when it comes to creating a market for their product or service. Examples where something is given away for “free” abound. Some such examples are:
* cell phone companies giving away discounted mobile phones on contract, or
* companies that give away free Primus cooking stoves but charging for the gas needed to use the stove.
What this means is that Digium is a company that has a solid business model behind it, and it is unlikely to go out of business in the future. The second aspect to this answer, is that open source is precisely your guarantee, that should the company behind an application go out of business, the source code is available for you, or other interested parties to continue to development and enhance. In today’s world, where brand names often have a shorter life span than your average pet goldfish, there is no guarantee that a proprietary vendor will remain in business for any period of time. Just consider the take over of People Soft by Oracle and the resultant need for People Soft customers to upgrade to Oracle? Or the take over of Sun, again by Oracle? Don’t make the mistake of thinking proprietary and big, is better. It could be an expensive trap when a competitor takes them over or they simply go out of business and you are left with an unsupported application.
Asterisk’s open code base and use of generic hardware means no proprietary lock-in
With your traditional PBX vendors, the proprietary nature of their solutions means, that you have little choice when deciding to upgrade your system or implement any new features, other than having to approach them again. Usually their entry level PBX is cheap and available on a monthly rental. This appeals to many small companies as it means there is no need for a upfront capital outlay. Sadly this is usually a strategy to get your company so locked-in to the system, that as you grow you have no choice but to approach the same vendor, and it is at this point that you discover just how expensive proprietary solutions can be, every piece of hardware or software feature enhancement you require can cost a small fortune.
Besides the fact that Asterisk system are also available on contract with no up front payment, Asterisk has been designed to work with generic computer hardware meaning that you are free to buy your hardware from the cheapest supplier. You can even reuse old hardware! In addition, the specialised hardware you may need to buy to integrate into your local land line or cell phone system, is based on open specifications, which means that there is more than one supplier for compatible hardware. All this means that costs are driven down and you have more flexibility in your telephony system.
A very similar and extremely beneficial development, and one we are all familiar with, is the common PC. The PC revolution was sparked by IBM releasing the open specifications for its first PCs, enabling an entire ecosystem and industry to develop around supplying and supporting PCs. If IBM had taken a proprietary approach who know what the computing world would look like today?
Asterisk is freely and easily extensible
Another benefit of using Asterisk, is that is extremely easy to extend. It is extensible in both a hardware and a software sense. From a hardware point of view, it is easy to extend an existing Asterisk solution, without having to throw away hardware you have already invested in. Just as you can extend a PC with peripheral devices, or reuse components in a new PC, so too with your Asterisk PBX. You no longer have to toss out the old PBX hardware simply to get new features.
From a software point of view Asterisk is easy to integrate into 3rd party applications. Part of the open source philosophy, is the desire to freely integrate with other applications , and to allow other applications to integrate with Asterisk. There is a well defined software api, which allows your local IT department to really exploit the possibilities of computer and telephony integration (CTI). Due to its open source nature, Asterisk has nothing to gain by forcing you to buy a specific call management or reporting software.
Easily switch Asterisk service providers
As Asterisk is open source you are also not locked to one service provider for your Asterisk support. You are free to switch providers, and be secure with the knowledge that your new service provider will not have to deal with any proprietary extensions, hardware or software configuration. No longer do you have to live with a bad choice you made years ago. If you want better service, simply find a better service provider.
Asterisk is extremely cost effective
Of course this is the main benefit of Asterisk that first brings Asterisk to the attention of corporates and companies wishing to cut costs and improve service. The reason that Asterisk is so cost effective, is that it is disrupting a proprietary market where every vendor has its own manufacturing facilities and service provider eco-system for its specific hardware.
There are no economies of scale in production or in the development of an eco-system around supporting their products. Because of its open nature, Asterisk encourages competition amongst suppliers, lowering the cost of telephony to businesses, and at the same time increasing the level of innovation for the use of telephony solutions in business.
Conclusion
With all these benefits many smart business people have already decided to switch their infrastructure from proprietary telephony solutions to ones based on Asterisk. If your business is looking to invest in its telephony infrastructure in the near future, you would be well advised to take a closer look at Asterisk and evaluate it along with any solution proposed by your existing provider.
Author: Zane Green
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable pressure cooker
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