HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 26, 2011 — Digium®, Inc., the Asterisk Company, announced that its Switchvox unified communications (UC) solutions are rapidly making inroads in the K-12 and higher education markets. Switchvox is based on Asterisk, the world's most widely adopted open source communications software. This allows Switchvox to deliver a wide range of powerful features, at an average cost savings of up to 80 percent over comparable phone systems. Educational institutions can set up and configure Switchvox quickly, then easily make changes over time, such as assigning new extensions, to the system. It is widely available from Digium's many partners.

Switchvox provides powerful communications features that support teacher and staff productivity and mobility, such as integration with web applications to allow information about a student to appear when a parent calls the school, as well as instant messaging and conferencing. Schools may find certain features particularly appealing, such as support for paging, a predictive dialer, which can help alert families of delays and cancelations, and automatic call recording for certain incoming calls or ability to keep others private. The system also helps educational institutions save money and gain flexibility by avoiding vendor lock-in. Customers can choose voice over IP (VoIP) or analog lines and any IP phones.

A wide range of schools, from pre-K through higher education, and businesses that support education have selected Switchvox in recent months. A few include:

  • The Earth Institute, Columbia University (New York, N.Y.)-Brings together the people and tools needed to address some of the world's most difficult problems, from climate change and environmental degradation, to poverty, disease and the sustainable use of resources.
  • Summit Public Schools (Redwood City, Calif.)-Two high schools in Redwood City and, beginning in the fall of 2011, two in San Jose that focus on preparing all students for college.
  • University of Puerto Rico (San Juan, P.R.)-The state university system of Puerto Rico.
  • S-Trip (Toronto, Ont.)-A North American student travel company established in 1976.
  • School Improvement Network (Midvale, Utah)-Award-winning provider of online, on-demand professional development videos for K-12 teachers and educators to improve student achievement.
  • Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (Topeka, Kan.)-Operates community learning centers and alternative education programs to give students who have previously dropped out-of-school a second chance to receive a high school diploma.

"Switchvox is well received in the education market because it includes, out of the box and at no extra charge, the advanced features that IT staff need to support productivity, at a fraction of the cost of comparable systems," said Leslie Conway, global vice president of marketing at Digium. "Other unified communications vendors begin with base systems that don't include the advanced functionality that educators need today and adding those features comes at great cost to the customer. With Switchvox, customers gain the features they want, are often able to use the UC system with legacy equipment and can easily expand across campuses over time."

Pricing and Availability

Switchvox systems start at $3,195 for up to 30 users. To find out how and where to buy Switchvox, visit www.digium.com/where-to-buy. Schools purchasing Switchvox systems may use E-rate funds from the Federal Communications Commission program designed to expand access by schools and libraries to the Internet.