Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Open Source VOIP Connects to Business

Open Source VoIP is slowly making gains in enterprise adoption.
Page:

Nearly three years since Jon "maddog" Hall predicted that "VOIP using an open source solution, such as Asterisk, will generate more business than the entire Linux marketplace today," open source VOIP for the enterprise remains a wild frontier. SMB uptake has been considerable, as open source VOIP's promise of control and cost savings make it a natural fit. But when it comes to large-scale implementations, open source voice has yet to get most enterprises to listen.

That's not to say that the enterprise is deaf to the benefits of open source itself. To be sure, companies are increasingly vetting open source alternatives before considering commercial wares. But despite this interest in open source elsewhere in the enterprise, the phone system has, by and large, remained off-limits to open source experimentation.

When it comes to open-sourcing dial tone, the feeling among most enterprises is that there's just too much at stake. After all, network troubles translate to help desk calls and lost revenue, but if the phones go down, it could mean life or death. And when it comes to melding the lockstep world of traditional five-nines PBXes into the land of Patch Tuesday and the frequent reboot, calling on a commercial vendor can feel a lot more comforting than signing off on that level of responsibility yourself.

That said, the notion of an all-out VOIP implementation -- ripping and replacing to the core -- is fast fading away. Yes, dial tone has crossed the network boundary, but not pervasively. Moreover, many traditional PBX vendors are backing into the VOIP market, allowing telephony admins the comfort of tried-and-true PBXes with some of the benefits of VOIP. Introducing VOIP modules that permit VOIP trunks between locations is becoming common, yielding long-distance cost reductions without disrupting the status quo for local voice.

Largely, VOIP is becoming a PBX replacement on an as-needed basis. And such targeted installations could prove a sweet spot for open source VOIP. As the technology gathers steam, convincing enterprises of its efficacy in increments, it will most certainly join the pack of large-scale go-to VOIP candidates down the line. After all, the considerable cost savings and flexibility of open source VOIP are just too great to ignore.

Page:

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Adtran, Asterisk, BIAS, CGI, Cisco, Digium, Gateway, GrandStream, INS, Linksys, Open Source Solutions, PLUS, Promise, VIA, VMware

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Developing an Information Strategy - Strategize, Align, Govern, Execute, and Optimize
    An information strategy defines how a company will use the data it collects to achieve a competitive advantage. It is a comprehensive, constantly evolving plan that encompasses five distinct actions. In this white paper we explore how these five vital actions, as well as the technologies that enable and support them, can help organizations develop an effective and broad-reaching information strategy that drives positive change.
    Learn more »
  • Lower Your IT Costs When You Standardize on Oracle Database 11g
    As business operations become more complex, the demand for change in IT increases, along with the associated risks that must be mitigated. Today’s IT professionals are asked to manage more information and deliver it to their users in a timely manner with ever-increasing quality of service. And in today’s economic climate, IT must also reduce budgets and derive greater value out of existing investments.
    Learn more »
  • Eight threats your antivirus won’t stop - Why you need endpoint security
    News headlines are a constant reminder that malware attacks and data loss are on the rise. High-profile incidents that make big news might seem out of the ordinary. Yet businesses of every size face similar risks in the everyday acts of using digital technology and the Internet for legitimate purposes. This paper outlines eight common threats that traditional antivirus alone won’t stop, and explains how to protect your organisation using endpoint security.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments