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Eating Our Own Dog Food: And It Tastes Pretty Good

Frequent visitors to Nerd Vittles know that we’re pretty vocal about the cardinal rule that software developers should eat their own dog food before foisting it on the unsuspecting public. Another company that shares our view is Schmooze Com®, the primary developers of the latest releases of FreePBX®.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and we wanted to share a photo from the Schmooze "phone lab" where every release of FreePBX is put through its paces. It also serves as a primary support tool for the Schmooze Tech Support team when folks finally decide they need immediate help with a technical problem, and time is of the essence.

PBX in a Flash™ continues to offer a rock-solid reliable VoIP telephony platform primarily because its developers use it and refine it through real-world deployments. As some of you may have heard, we’ve actually decided to write a real book about PBX in a Flash, and the very first thing we decided to do was to build and deploy a new server using the latest and greatest of everything so that every reader could rest assured that anything suggested in our book was not only being tested but actually being used in a production environment. That includes the latest in virtual private networks, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications, Google Voice, iNum, connections to a dozen of our favorite VoIP providers, and healthy workouts for our favorite phones including the Nortel 1535 IP color videophone and the Aastra and Digium business phone sets. We also plan to write about our user community and the PIAF Forums, both of which are really second to none. They’re an integral part of why PBX in a Flash works as well as it does because we have literally hundreds of gurus that also eat the dog food to make sure the developers haven’t missed something.

As ancient technology veterans, we’ve continued to search for the perfect fit for PIAF’s missing piece, a commercial support option for organizations that really, truly need 24×7 support when something comes unglued. If your business depends upon telephones (and most do), then Tier 3 support isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. If your in-house technology team is spread thin or enjoys an occasional vacation without worrying whether Rome will burn while you’re out cruising the Mediterranean, then commercial support as a backup is absolutely essential. And, heaven forbid, there might be something you actually don’t know about your phone system that could take it to an entirely different level. PBX in a Flash now has been deployed by major airlines, by huge government organizations, and throughout the commercial sector to support every type of business you can imagine. We also have a growing list of system integrators that deploy PBX in a Flash for their commercial clients. All of these folks need a reliable, knowledgable, available technology expert not only as a backup but also to address the unexpected. Now we’ve got it!

Philippe Lindheimer of FreePBX and Tony Lewis of Schmooze Com have been terrific business partners of ours since before there was a PBX in a Flash. Many years ago, we personally encouraged Philippe to release an aggregation so that we wouldn’t have to. Tony was equally reluctant because of his commercial deployment responsibilities. Suffice it to say, we all saw the writing on the wall with the morphing of Asterisk@Home into trixbox®. Times have changed! Fast forward five years and we have a new VoIP World. Tony’s business has grown astronomically and his commercial support of those using FreePBX as the premier web management GUI for Asterisk® is legendary.

We are thrilled to announce that Schmooze Com now is the official, commercial support organization for all PBX in a Flash systems. They will work closely with you and with the PIAF Dev Team to promptly address and resolve any problem that demands immediate attention. While the PIAF Forums will continue to offer first-class, free support for all of our users, we now have a commercial solution as well. Whether you’re a one-person Mr. Fixit or part of a large IT support organization, we think you’ll find today’s commercial support offering a welcome addition.

It’s incredibly easy to sign up and take advantage of the new service. Just visit pbxinaflash.com/support and fill out the form to set up a commercial account. Once completed, you can take advantage of the new service whenever you need it. We’re confident that it’ll take your PBX in a Flash system to a whole new level and make a lot of you that do this for a living sleep better. As always, we’re as close as your email inbox if you have comments or suggestions about the new service. Enjoy!

Free Conference Bridge. We’re delighted to announce that les.net now is offering a free, 100-user conference bridge to all of its customers. You can read all about it on the PIAF Forums.

Originally published: Monday, June 4, 2012



Need help with Asterisk? Visit the PBX in a Flash Forum.


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