Open Source is still on the rise

It will be a year ago, tomorrow, that Digium announced 1 million downloads for 2007. This morning Digium announced that Asterisk was downloaded 1.5 million times in 2008, more than any other year in company history and 50 percent higher than last year. For a company that is less than a decade old, that’s pretty impressive.

We believe this is more than a trend… Companies whose legacy systems are needing to be replaced because they are getting old and downright failing on them, are continuing to turn to open source to get the features and benefits that Asterisk based systems bring to the table. Want a conference bridge? It’s there. Want flexible voicemail? No problem. And cash strapped companies are attracted to a less expensive, easily customizable open source platform in the current recession. It’s worth noting that Digium says in their release that as the economic crisis worsened, Asterisk downloads rose by 32 percent from September through December, compared to a year ago. These are just some of the reasons that further legitimize open source and the Asterisk revolution. Next time you make a phone call to your broker to dump that worthless stock, you’re booking a flight on a Zepplin, or calling your favorite ice cream shoppe for the flavor of the day, think to yourself: “Is this an Asterisk system on the other end?”

***Editors note: I don’t know if Culvers uses Asterisk, as mentioned in the ice cream link above, but I do love a tasty burger, and I love their custard. Try their caramel cashew sundae, you won’t regret it. Click here for a store near you.**🙂