Two separate invites arrived within hours of one another. Adtran and Digium — two networking companies in Huntsville, Alabama — invited The VAR Guy and other members of the media to swing by for separate updates and briefings this week. Alas, The VAR Guy couldn’t make the trip. But the Adtran and Digium stories are worth sharing from afar. Here’s why.

No doubt, Adtran and Digium each are successful…

All About Adtran

Let’s start with Adtran. The company is publicly held and profitable — even as it competes with Cisco Systems and other larger companies in the Ethernet, router, VoIP and wireless industries.

In its third quarter 2009, Adtran’s sales were $128 million — down about 10 percent from $137 million in Q3 2008. But look at the bigger picture and you’ll discover Adtran remains solidly profitable ($21.6 million Q3 2009 net income) in a difficult economy.

Next, talk with Adtran customers and partners — which The VAR Guy has done — and you’ll discover high respect for Adtran.

Dialing Digium

Meanwhile, the mood is equally positive down the road at Digium, which promotes Asterisk — the open source IP PBX. Instead of building traditional phone systems, Digium positions Asterisk as an ISV platform. True believers include Altitude Software — which specializes in Contact Center Applications.

Digium landed near the top of The VAR Guy’s Open Source 50 — which tracks the open source industry’s most promising partner programs. And during a recent sit-down with The VAR Guy, Digium CEO Danny Windham disclosed that the company is profitable, growing and channel focused.

Talent Pool

Oh, and in case you don’t know the back-story: Windham and several other Digium leaders are Adtran veterans.

Still, let’s not over-play the Adtran-Digium competition. Both companies are successful in their own markets. And The VAR Guy would have gladly made the trip to Huntsville, Alabama this week to see both companies — but the timing just didn’t work out.

While most networking pundits keep a watchful eye on Silicon Valley and Cisco Systems, The VAR Guy recommends keeping tabs on Adtran and Digium. Both held up well during the recession.

Imagine how they’ll perform — along with their channel partners — in a good economy…

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