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Digium Asterisk, the open source IP PBX platform, just received a major vote of confidence from a key channel partner. Synnex Corp., a distributor that supplies more than 15,000 resellers in North America, has agreed to promote Digium's Switchvox to channel partners.
The VAR Guy
March 9, 2010
2 Min Read
digiumSwitchvox_logo_200
Digium Asterisk, the open source IP PBX platform, just received a major vote of confidence from a key channel partner. Synnex Corp., a distributor that supplies more than 15,000 resellers in North America, has agreed to promote Digium’s Switchvox to channel partners. Here are the implications for the unified communications market and the emerging open source IT channel.Going forward, Synnex could be a key Digium partner for two core reasons.
First, Synnex has extensive experience as a specialty distributor of unified communications offerings. So, Synnex’s networking and voice-over-IP VARs could be a natural audience for Digium’s open source telephony offerings.
Second, Synnex is co-founder of the Open Source Channel Alliance, a group that promotes a dozen different open source solutions to the Synnex partner ecosystem. Initial OSCA members include Red Hat and a range of application providers.
No doubt, Digium has been piecing together a global channel strategy for Asterisk. The company landed near the top of The VAR Guy’s 2009 Open Source 50 report, which tracks the most promising open source partner programs (the 2010 survey is under way now). And Digium significantly expanded the partner program in November 2009.
Reality Check
Still, Asterisk remains a hidden, relatively unknown opportunity for many traditional unified communications VARs. Plenty of folks remain fiercely loyal to entrenched options from Cisco Systems, Avaya and other UC giants. But Synnex sees opportunities for Digium and Asterisk to disrupt the small and midsize business market.
Noted Bob Stegner, Synnex’s VP of marketing for North America, in a prepared statement:
“By working with Digium, we add a differentiated offering for our resellers who focus on the SMB market. Resellers will benefit from the Switchvox offering, which is an affordable, flexible, feature-rich unified communications system. Together with Digium, we look forward to expanding the footprint of this innovative solution to our reseller customers.”
Stegner, by the way, is deeply involved in Synnex’s Open Source Channel Alliance efforts.
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