Asterisk was once seen as an obscure system that had little to do with mainstream communications; but that is changing as open source is gaining new momentum. According to Kelvin Chua, chief technology officer for NextIX, Inc., Asterisk is slowly creeping into the mainstream and cutting into Cisco and Avaya (News - Alert) territory. Chua recently took part in a TMCnet interview in anticipation of the upcoming AstriCon event.
Chua noted that open source is finally breaking those skeptics, some completely embracing what the technology has to offer. And, while open source was primarily an SMB phenomenon, it is slowly gaining acceptance in the larger enterprise space. The key driver to adoption of open source has been its cost per feature, and the barriers to continued growth may lie in marketing and commercial.
Chua believes the success of Google’s Android (News - Alert) has helped increase awareness and interest in open source and that the Asterisk community can capitalize on the growth of mobile communications with apps on Android or the iPhone (News - Alert). At AstriCon 2010, Chua hopes to see new ideas and old acquaintances. In his presentation, Chua will showcase groupjump.com and its relevance in the Asterisk ecosystem. The entire conversation follows:
1. How has the Asterisk market changed over the past year?
It's slowly creeping into the main stream, as far as our area is concerned, Asterisk is eating up a big chunk off the enterprise market usually dominated by Cisco and Avaya.
2. What influence has open source had on the overall communications space over the past 12 months from a product and/or competitive perspective.
Skeptics on open source are now slowly being led into the light, with some completely embracing Asterisk as a main stream solution.
3. Is open source still primarily an SMB phenomenon or has it seen increased acceptance in the large enterprise space?
It's getting there.
4. What has been the key driver of open source adoption?
It is still cost per feature. It's unbeatable.
5. What barriers remain to the continued growth of Asterisk and open source?
I think it is now more on marketing and commercial rather than technology or innovation
6. Has the success of Google’s (News - Alert) android mobile platform helped Increase awareness and interest in open source?
Very much. In fact non-geeky customers now understand the stability of open source products because of their personal experience with Android phones.
7. How can the Asterisk community capitalize on the growth of mobile communications?
It's always fascinating to be able to fully integrate a mobile phone to Asterisk, cutting costs and increasing efficiency in the workplace. I guess having apps on android and iPhone automatically attracts attention pre-sales-wise.
8. What are you hoping to see at AstriCon 2010?
Some new neat stuff, ideas, and see old acquaintances.
9. You are speaking at AstriCon 2010. What is your session about and why is it a must-attend session for attendees?
It has been a year of social media sites like Facebook (News - Alert) exploding like crazy; we wanted to showcase what we did with groupjump.com and how relevant it is with an Asterisk ecosystem. Asterisk is the missing link to a perfect social platform and we wanted to share this idea to the community.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Tammy Wolf
How to Reduce Asterisk® System Loads by 70%
How to Reduce Asterisk® System Loads by 70%