Leading Asterisk developer Digium Inc. has snagged a licensing deal with a subsidiary of Japanese telco giant NTT in what it sees as a major breakthrough for the open-source PBX system in that critical market.
Until now Asterisk Business Edition, Digium’s premium version of the software, has been English and that’s held back its potential use in Japan, according to Jim Webster, director of software technologies at Digium. Under the agreement, NTT Software Corp. will develop its own version of Asterisk Business Edition for use in its ProgOffice PBX product for Japanese small and medium-sized businesses.
“It will help raise the knowledge and awareness of Asterisk in Japan in that Asterisk will now be seen as something that’s ready for mainstream use,” Webster said.