by alec on August 18, 2004
Digital Identity, IM and VoIP
There’s been a huge amount of buzz around the area of digital identity recently, especially as it relates to VoIP and the interface between the Internet and the PSTN. This piece on Telepocalypse is a must read. It predicts the emergence of digital identity mechanisms as the dominant force on the VoIP enabled internet. What that means is that MSN, AOL, and the like will be the next generation communications providers.
Stuart Henshall, over on Unbound Spiral, talks about the potential for limitless exchange of personal information when IM meets VoIP and mobility.
by alec on August 17, 2004
Pingtel to be the RedHat of the IP PBX World
Pingtel has completed its transition from being a hardware company to being a software only company. This news story from TMCNet tells all.
It looks like a gutsy move, designed to give incumbents like Nortel, Mitel, Cisco, and Avaya heartburn. Instead of buying a PBX, use PingTel’s open source on a subscription basis.
But is it that gutsy? At the end of the day, many enterprises buy monthly services from their carriers for $30 to $50 per seat. The cost of the PBX is incidental to the services costs. Most of the large equipment manufacturers have programs that build the cost of the PBX right into the monthly charge.
What’s the difference between that model and the model of open source subscriptions? Not much. Pingtel’s move looks like a pricing play wrapped in open source marketing hype to me.
