Individuals have moved on to smart-phones and texting, but talking is always a primary communication tool for businesses. Such is the reason most companies manage an office phone system. And while open source software has carved out a market in the computing industry, it also making a push as a major player in telephony. These phone systems can run on OSS and there are plenty of reasons to make the switch.
Based on the many advancements of open source software, from its operating systems to the popular web browsers like Firefox, it’s not hard to see why it has become a competitor in telephony. A 2008 survey from Gartner showed an increased rate of OSS items used for infrastructure, as well as for replacing proprietary products. The underlying theme is businesses, and their IT personnel, are not only more comfortable using OSS, but are actively implementing it.
Reasons to incorporate OSS to a company’s telephony are not hard to visualize. By placing the IP-based voice system on its LAN and/or WAN network, calls can be sent anywhere in the world to traveling employees because of the IP protocol. It also eliminates the need of two separate systems for voice and data. The savings are immense as maintenance and hardware upgrades are no longer required, nor the requirement of proprietary phone equipment. Additionally, the calls themselves, especially between divisions in separate geographical locations, are much lower. And don’t forget the dissolution of vendor lock-in practices.
The only basic requirements are finding a suitable OSS telephony provider and configuring the company’s infrastructure to the system. Supervision of the IP solution will eventually be handed over from provider to company giving it valuable control. Because the open system model of the Internet is always churning out new applications and OSS supports superior integration to future telephony technologies, it makes for an opportune switch for any business.