Talk about a disruptive solutions provider. Foehn Ltd., a UK-based systems integrator, has completed its first ever Skype for Asterisk enterprise deployment. Why should other VARs care? You're about to find out.



Talk about a disruptive solutions provider. Foehn Ltd., a UK-based systems integrator, has completed its first ever Skype for Asterisk enterprise deployment. Why should other VARs care? You’re about to find out.

Plenty of small and midsize businesses quietly depend on Skype for instant messaging and low cost (or free) voice communications. Yes, The VAR Guy himself makes plenty of Skype calls each week. Meanwhile, Asterisk — the open source IP PBX — has gained critical mass as both a hosted and on-premise phone solution.

In early September, Digium announced a Skype for Asterisk software module that “enables businesses to take advantage of l0w-cost calling to landlines and mobile phones, and free calling to registered Skype users.

Sounds great. But can VARs make a living off Skype for Asterisk? It might be a bit too soon to answer that question. But one key solution provider — Foehn Ltd. of the UK — is celebrating a Skype for Asterisk deployment for the Symbian Foundation.

According to a prepared statement:

“Foehn turned this innovation into reality in just six weeks at the London

headquarters of the Symbian Foundation. The Symbian Foundation`s own mission is to enable an open ecosystem that collaborates to create complete and rich user

experiences for mobile devices.”

James Passingham, technical director at Foehn, says his company has been designing and implementing enterprise Asterisk solutions for over five years. The company claims to have successfully deployed large-scale Asterisk solutions, with integration references in call centres, financial services, higher education, online media and charity industry verticals across the UK and also in Portugal, Spain and Costa Rica.

What’s next? The VAR Guy will go looking for answers at Astricon, an Asterisk conference scheduled in Arizona this October.

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