It seems Digium is no longer interested in taking a back seat to the some of the IP PBX vendors it helped spawn with the development of Asterisk, the open source PBX.
In the last week, Digium first announced the purchase of Switchvox, the makers of an Asterisk based PBX. Only a few days later, Digium inked a deal with 3Com, who will distribute the Asterisk Appliance under the 3Com name. Both deals signal a strong move by Digium to take the lead in the SMB IP PBX race. Digium says it reviewed a number of competing IP PBX vendors before selecting Switchvox.
Speaking from experience, they made the right move. Junction Networks has partnered with Switchvox to provide easy-to-configure SIP and IAX Trunking since 2005. Our shared customers report the product is reliable, easy to manage and supported by a great team. It’s nice to see a great group of people and a great product get the recognition they deserve. It has been a pleasure for our team to work with Switchvox.
The acquisition pairs the Asterisk code makers with a superior GUI and high quality management team in Switchvox. Right now, the Asterisk based IP PBX race comes down to Asterisk vs. Fonality. If I had to make my bet, I would go with the guys who control the Asterisk code! And because Digium controls the Asterisk code, big deals such as the partnership with 3com are obviously now within their reach. It will be tough for Fonality and others to make such moves to compete with the gorilla that is now Digium.