Switchvox Now in the Cloud

The folks at Digium have been quite busy, in 2012 the firm released a new gateway product to ease customers into SIP and a new line of IP phones. Although the IP phones (targeted at its Switchvox users) were only released mid year, Digium reports it sold more than 60,000 units in 2012. Switchvox phones are SIP endpoints, but offer added capabilities for improved integration and simpler provisioning on its Switchvox platform. This month, Digium released a hosted version of Switchvox called Switchvox Cloud.

Switchvox is a software-based solution sold as an appliance. It offers a reasonably broad UC feature set for small and mid-sized organizations, a highly intuitive web-based interface for users and administrators, and it provides nearly all of its features in a single simplified user license (2012 Research on Digium).

As hosted services continues to grow, it is forcing business model changes for most premises-based vendors. NEC, Avaya, Mitel, and ShoreTel now have hosted options. Digium now joins the lucrative effort with its own Switchvox solution available now as a service. Switchvox Cloud is a near identical implementation of its premises-based solution. It is aimed at business customers with fewer than 30 seats, but can scale much higher.

Hosted UC is becoming a crowded market, but Digium has a few aces up its UCaaS sleeve. The core software is indeed feature rich, and all of it is being made available for $35/mo (no term commitment). Yes, $35/mo which is on the lower side includes a DID number, unlimited domestic calling, HD voice, ACD, mobile clients, call recording, and unified messaging. The service is available through Digium's 1,400 North American resellers. The IP phones are sold by the dealers, and offer a tighter integration to the service than found in most hosted alternatives.

Digium has been testing the service and channel program for several months. Channel partners receive a residual commission on the sale, and the profit break-even point is about 12-14 months. Switchvox Cloud is effectively an online version of its AA65 appliance - meant for the same side organizations. The hosting takes place in two resilient eastern data centers. The new offering should appeal to small organizations, particularly with distributed teams looking for simplified solutions.

At this time, Digium is only offering the service over Internet bandwidth. No softphones are currently supported. To facilitate migrations, Digium will convert Switchvox databases (free of charge) for users wishing to move to/from the cloud. The service is designed for general use - including ACD, but is not intended for contact center operations. In addition to the $35 seat, there is a $15 seat intended for common area phones.

The service has lots of potential as it matures. Future enhancements could support softphones and hybrid (cloud and premises) implementations. It isn't unreasonable to expect future services that include SIP trunks and managed services for appliance customers.