Open Source IP PBX’s
I have seen millions of dollars spent on IP PBX’s (VOIP) for features that are very basic and customization that could be performed better on a less expensive platform. I can honestly tell you that I have done installations of the Asterisk PBX which is free and depending on the size of the installation it really does not demand much in hardware.
If you don’t believe me, download it yourself and in minutes you can have a pure IP PBX solution and place calls within the hour. Asterisk server does everything that most enterprises request and more. There are so many developers on the Asterisk project that all requests get added to source fairly quickly. Voicemail, voice-to-text, and even advance call routing are all features that come with Asterisk base system. Unified messaging free, go figure and trust me when I say that Asterisk is easy to support. I have worked on Nortel PBX’s as well as Cisco Call manager solutions and Asterisk is simpler, cheaper and at the same time complex.
Another PBX which isn’t free, but based on a Windows platform is 3CX. What makes 3CX and Asterisk solutions appealing is the support for SIP. More vendors develop products with sip functionality than they do for Skinny(cisco) and Unistem (Nortel). Which means more flexibility and cost effective solutions for your business needs. Want a video/voice phone? Google one in minutes. Open source means freedom, but unlike most things that are free, support is accessible for fractions of the cost and all of the documentaiton is free.
Next time your establishment wants to look a VOIP, do them a favor and demo Asterisk. I am sure they will be impressed by the performance and the price tag.
-Professor