[Asterisk-Users] Analog FXO Card - competition

[Scott Stingel]

Hi Mark (and all)-

Just to add my 2 cents, as a founder (15 years ago) of a company that
designed and manufactured voice/telephony boards:

I think Digium is doing most of the right things.  The keys, really, are:
reliable products that are reasonably priced, constant innovation and good
customer service, all of which I think they get pretty high marks in.  You
can't guarantee 100% market share forever no matter what you do, but doing
these things well will keep you ahead.

If there is one thing that I regret myself in my own experience was not
pursuing patents more aggressively.  Although most innovative people, me
included, would naturally want to spend their time and money innovating
rather than going through the expensive process of obtaining patents, a few
meaningful patents can help you delay the onslaught of competition from at
least the smaller companies.  They also open up the possibly of licensing
your technology to others, and increase the value of your intellectual
property should you ever sell your company (or require investment capital).

We systems integrators all benefit from survival of the "good guys"- the
ones that invent meaningful things and care about customers.  I for one
would choose a somewhat more expensive board if I know that my purchase
would help to ensure that the company will be around for a while.

Cheers
Scott Stingel

PS:  I sent a question to the Ebay poster and they responded that the boards
are not Digium, they are an "OEM part".

Scott M. Stingel 
Emerging Voice Technology Inc.




> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com 
> [mailto:asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of 
> Mark Spencer
> Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 7:10 PM
> To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Analog FXO Card
> 
> 
> > The X100P also has 2 ports on it. The second port is just 
> like that used
> > on a modem, pass through unless onhook, then usually 
> disconnected. The
> > speaker is what is odd to me.
> 
> For the record, you can turn on the speaker by doing 
> "monitor=1" when you
> modprobe wcfxo, e.g.:
> 
> # modprobe wcfxo monitor=1
> 
> As for the remainder of the discussion of potential clone 
> hardware, let me
> keep my statements very brief and to the point.
> 
> When you purchase a product from Digium, you're getting more 
> than a piece
> of hardware.
> 
> First, when you buy from us, you know it's going to work.  
> All we do is
> Asterisk, and when we sell any piece of hardware, it *will* work with
> Asterisk and you *will* get the support your need (including 
> replacement
> should there be a problem).
> 
> Secondly, Asterisk's future is clearly very closely coupled to that of
> Digium.  When you purchase from us, you are investing in the 
> future of the
> product you are using.  Digium is obviously the primary sponsor of
> Asterisk, and our (and to a great degree Asterisk's) ability 
> to succeed is
> based on how well we can earn customer loyalty by advancing 
> development
> and providing high quality support, even in the face of 
> competitors who
> may try to copy our work without giving to the project.  More than any
> telecom company ever has, we are putting our fate in the 
> hands of you, the
> community, by throwing out the conventional wisdom regarding 
> intellectual
> property, and in the long run it is *you* and *your loyalty* that will
> make or break our success.
> 
> Mark
> 
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