September 25, 2008
Skype and Asterisk Ink DealBy Michelle Robart, TMCnet Editor Skype’s (News - Alert) Vice President and General Manager of telecoms, Stefan Oberg, today revealed at his Astricon address the Skype For Asterisk (News - Alert) Beta program. This is a huge announcement as it marks the first step towards adding Skype capabilities to Asterisk (News - Alert)-based-phone systems, connecting small and mid-sized businesses to the more than 338 million registered Skype (News - Alert) users across the globe.
Skype For Asterisk Beta is a product that will integrate Digium (News - Alert) (News - Alert) and Skype technology and functionality to enable customers to make, receive and transfer Skype calls from within their Asterisk-based phone systems.
In addition, customers will gain access to many of the unique Skype features together with the immense capabilities of Asterisk.
For example, the beta version of Skype For Asterisk will enable inbound calling solutions like free click-to-call from company Web sites or virtual offices. It will also be able to manage Skype calls using Asterisk applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail.
“Throughout our individual histories, Skype and Asterisk have each disrupted conventional communication methods through innovative, cost-effective solutions,” said Stefan Öberg, vice president and general manager for Skype Telecom and Skype for Business. “We are excited to be working together with Digium to offer small and mid-sized businesses an even more powerful communications solution to conduct business worldwide.”
In response to today’s news, Technology Marketing Corporation’s President, Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) (News - Alert), writes: “What this means to Skype is the company has finally found a way to get into the enterprise in an easy way -- partnering with Digium/Asterisk which has great traction with developers, resellers, carriers, SMBs and more. Expect more enterprise use of Skype and as this happens, Skype should see more revenue from business users.”
According to Tehrani, this partnership will also allow Digium to “leapfrog” the larger telecom players and gives the company major momentum and also makes them a target for more leading-edge deals. Tehrani states that he won’t be surprised if Microsoft (News - Alert) (News - Alert) approaches the company for a UC partnership soon, if they aren't talking already. “Working together with Skype, our goal is to help businesses boost productivity and reap the rewards of feature-rich telephony software, all while saving a substantial amount of money,” said Danny Windham, CEO of Digium, the creator and sponsor of Asterisk. “The Skype For Asterisk beta program is a first step towards adding Skype capabilities to Asterisk-based phone systems and enabling them to reach more than 338 million Skype users.” For the communications community, this alliance means more flexibility and lower cost calling for consumers and businesses worldwide. Moreover, Skype users should be able to call companies over native Skype and for free.
This news could really change the game if companies integrate Skype click-to-call functionality on their Web sites.
To read more about Tehrani’s take on the Asterisk-Skype deal, please visit: http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/skype/asterisk-and-skype-collaborate.html.
Michelle Robart is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Michelle's articles, please visit her columnist page. Edited by Michelle Robart (source: http://asterisk.tmcnet.com/topics/asterisk/articles/40956-skype-asterisk-ink-deal.htm) |