Digium (News - Alert), the company behind the Asterisk project -- the world's most widely used open source communications software -- set a new path for itself with the acquisition of VocalCloud, a provider of cloud-based VoIP solutions.

The end result of the deal is the launch of Digium Cloud Services, where the company will offer Switchvox (News - Alert) Cloud, the hosted version of its award-winning Switchvox business phone system, and will use the new entity for the delivery of future cloud-based unified communication products and services.

"Digium's acquisition of VocalCloud is part of a focused strategy to position the company within the rapidly growing UC as a Service (UCaaS) market," said Danny Windham, CEO of Digium. "Digium Cloud Services provides the necessary foundation and infrastructure to offer new cloud-based products and services for SMBs, as well as users of the Asterisk (News - Alert) open source project. In fact, new developments are already underway."

Some of those developments were expanded on today by Bryan Johns, director of Network Services at Digium, who was asked why the company is making the move to the cloud at this time.

“Digium pays close attention to the markets and to the voices of its customers, and the addition of cloud services to its product portfolio has been a part of strategic planning for nearly two years,” Johns said. “Digium launched its Switchvox Cloud service in Q1 of this year, and that offering has been met with a lot of customer and reseller enthusiasm. The performance of the Switchvox Cloud has made it clear to Digium that an investment in the acquisition of an established cloud services provider is a good thing for the company, its investors, its customers and its partners.”

Although not completely identifying what Digium has coming up, Johns did hint at some unique offerings.

“While we are not yet prepared to speak specifically about our plans for Digium Cloud Services, we will be adding services focused at companies that use Asterisk and developers who use Asterisk,” Johns said. “We will also be expanding the Switchvox Cloud offering to include new products and new geographic markets. Stay tuned for more information. We will be bringing a number of new solutions to the market between now and the end of the year.”

Johns’ enthusiasm was shared by Stagg Shelton, president of VocalCloud."We are pleased to join forces with Digium and continue servicing SMB customers in the cloud market," he said. "It's great to see our track record of performance and reliability as the company now becomes a key component in the strategy for Digium Cloud Services. We look forward to supporting Digium's customers and channel partners."

Added Tom Keating, VP and CTO of TMC (News - Alert), “Putting Asterisk and/or UC-based systems into the cloud makes a lot of sense due to economies of scale, low cost advantages, redundancy, and other inherent cloud advantages. It seems like a win-win to me.”