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The University of Pennsylvania and Digium Join Forces to Develop a Campus-Wide Unified Messaging Platform Using Asterisk; The Unified Messaging Functionalities Provide Integrated Voicemail, Email and Fax Capabilities Controlling Rising Infrastructure CostsHUNTSVILLE, Ala. & PHILADELPHIA --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 22, 2006 -- Digium(R) Inc., the original creator of Asterisk(R) and pioneer of open source telephony, and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), today announced the joint development of a campus-wide unified messaging component using Asterisk, the industry's first open source telephony platform. Recognizing an opportunity to take advantage of next-generation telephony solutions and the vast potential for adding functionality for their users, Penn has been able to increase the availability of modern communications products to their campus community while, at the same time, control rising infrastructure costs. Working with Digium and utilizing the open source solution, the University's Information Systems and Computing (ISC) group developed and implemented a unified messaging component that provides high-function, enhanced media services such as departmental voice systems, voice messaging, automatic call distribution, and operator services. To ensure functionality, the ISC extended the solution with a robust unified platform that pulls messages from email and voice mails into a single data message store. This unified messaging solution combines voice mail, e-mail and fax mail into a central mailbox where users can send, retrieve and manage all their messages using any communication device. "Our traditional system created two copies of a message, making user management difficult. Users were reading messages in one place and having them appear unread in yet another," said Dikran Kassabian, senior technology director for the University of Pennsylvania's Information Systems and Computing group. "The appeal of Asterisk was not only the fact that the University was able to download the software for free, but more importantly, the fact that the solution can be developed and customized in a way that is more convenient for our users, as well as users of Asterisk at other organizations who want a single standards-based message store for access from email clients and telephones." Penn's ISC team is running the networking and telecommunications operations for the 269-acre campus, providing integrated data, telephony and video services to over 30,000 community members including university faculty, students, and staff. Using Asterisk and the IP network, the University now has a cross-trained staff operating one common infrastructure in a way that works cost effectively and reliably for the University. "The open source platform is a great way for organizations such as the University of Pennsylvania to provide flexible and highly functional services in a cost effective way," said Kevin Fleming, senior software engineer for Digium and co-maintainer of Asterisk. "We look forward to continuing our work with the University towards modernizing and building their next generation technologies." About the University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania, the country's first university, is an Ivy League institution with a distinctive past. Founded in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin, its 12 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools are located in Philadelphia on an attractive urban campus that today serves a diverse community of more than 20,000 students from throughout the nation and around the world. Ranked consistently among the top 10 universities in the nation, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence in graduate and professional education, with a number of its schools ranked at or near the top in their fields. About Digium Digium is the original creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the industry's first open source PBX and Asterisk Business Edition, the professional-grade version of Asterisk. Used in combination with Digium's PCI telephony interface cards, Asterisk offers a strategic, highly cost-effective approach to voice and data transport over IP, TDM, switched and Ethernet architectures. Digium provides quality hardware and software products that enable telephony applications including legacy PBX, IVR, auto attendant, next generation gateways, media servers and application servers. Digium also offers a full range of professional services including consulting, technical support and custom software development services. Additional information can be found at www.digium.com. About Asterisk Code for Asterisk, originally written by Mark Spencer of Digium Inc., has been contributed to from open source software engineers around the world. It supports a wide range of TDM protocols for the handling and transmission of voice over traditional telephony interfaces, and VoIP packet protocols such as IAX, SIP and H.323. It supports US and European standard signaling types used in business phone systems, allowing it to bridge between next-generation voice-data integrated networks and existing infrastructure. The Digium logo, Digium, Asterisk, and the Asterisk logo are trademarks of Digium Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respected owners. |
