As I was reading some old news and features on VOIP and related topics, I ran across a feature on Asterisk, which was published about a year ago. The title is “What’s So Great About Asterisk?” and it was an article published on VOIP-NEWS. The main point of the article about Asterisk is that it is open source and that means it is far cheaper than its mainstream counterparts. On the other hand, the article points out that support may not be as reliable for Asterisk as compared to the proprietary versions. This, of course, is an essential consideration for businesses.

The downloaded Asterisk software is community-supported through email and online forums and this works for many folks, Miller said. But for mission-critical businesses he recommends them using Digium’s Asterisk Business Edition for a “fully regression tested” version of Asterisk that comes with 24×7 tech support and complete maintenance and support programs.

Large enterprises will also have to be convinced that open source PBXs, which so far have mostly been used in small and medium sized businesses, will scale to the thousands of users they need the products for.

This point of view is understandable although I would say that since the article was published, a lot has changed (for the better) with Asterisk and open source PBX in general, don’t you think?

Another point that caught my interest in the article:

Does that mean open source PBXs will soon brush the proprietary versions aside? Unlikely, though as users get more comfortable with other open source solutions such as Apache, Linux and MySQL, which are in the mainstream now, they’ll also get more comfortable with Asterix and other open source PBX solutions.

Indeed, just because something is considered open source now does not mean that it will stay so forever. And more so, just because something is open source does not automatically mean that it will not be appropriate for “professional” applications! I am sure that there will be many others who will agree with me when I say that Asterisk works just fine for many business, especially those who lean towards the small scale.

Perhaps it is a matter of analyzing and determining one’s needs first. The next step would be to determine if Asterisk (and other open source systems) could provide an answer for these needs. Go over forums and discussion groups, though, and I am sure that you will see a lot of individuals and business owners testifying for open source systems.

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