The VAR Guy

Plenty of VARs are talking about open source solutions. But several VARs have actually bet their business on Digium, the IP telephony server based on Asterisk open source code.

One prime example is NeoPhonetics of Tinley Park, Illinois. The VAR is successfully targeting K-12 schools, universities and regional businesses that are seeking simple, cost-effective telephony systems with VoIP capabilities. The VAR Guy ran into NeoPhonetics co-founder and CEO Chad Agate earlier today at VoiceCon in Orlando.

During the quick chat, Agate mentioned a recent deployment involving O’Brien Automotive Team, an auto dealership in Peoria, Illinois. The Digium solution runs across a wireless network from Meru, 150 IP phones from Polycom and 100 Hitachi WiFi handsets.

Next up, The VAR Guy bumped into Todd Hirshorn, president of VARPhonex, which offers managed VoIP and Asterisk services that VARs can re-brand and resell as their own. The VAR Guy was running to another meeting and didn’t have much time to chat with Hirshorn. But there is a quick Top 10 List on VARPhonex’s web site that explains why VARs may want to resell the company’s services.

Digium itself also is at VoiceCon. The VAR Guy caught up with Julie Webb, a channel marketing manager at the company. Although it was a brief chat, Webb indicated that business looked strong at Digium. The Huntsville, Alabama-based company is preparing to move to a larger headquarters later this year. Always a good sign for VARs who want to make sure their partners are healthy.

While big vendors—like Cisco and Nortel—continue to evangelize unified communications, The VAR Guy suspects that Digium-based solutions may offer equally lucrative opportunities in the small and midsize business sector.