OPEN SOURCE

Linux, Asterisk and Vicidial are all available under a license called GPL, or General Public License. As any other license it governs how the software is made available. The GPL makes the product available for free as long as you follow the specific rules of the license.

One of the specifics of the license is the availability of the code used to create the programs. This code is called source code. With it, you can make any changes you desire. One rule is that you must share any changes you make, if you choose to distribute it outside your own organization.

There are a few different licenses that follow the general notion of offering the source code without any monetary fee. These are generally referred to as OpenSource.

Asterisk and Vicidial are highly flexible applications which can be configured to work almost any way you can think of. This also allows for bad and unstable configurations which may crash or work poorly. Thus this version was released to ensure stable systems can be obtained.

In order to connect Asterisk to the public phone lines we install a phone card (not unlike to but far superior to a modem). Thus the system can function as a business phone system.

Indeed, Asterisk being a computer program and not a typical hardware phone system, makes it possible to configure it exactly the way you want. Your imagination is really the limit to what you can make it do. Having been in development and production since 1999 it is as stable and reliable as any business phone system on the market.

Vicidial has been in development and production since 2003 and is the most popular OpenSource dialer available. It offers high flexibility and is in use in some of the largest call centers around the world.

Vicidial Business is based on the GPL version but includes only tested code, and some extras that are not available in the GPL version. The reason for this is a matter of having resources to service clients and effectively providing the type of product they require. Typically one can make money on OpenSource by offering additional services like custom changes, service, training, or by using it as a facilitator for other products. By being able to include an operating system at no additional cost, a developer can offer his own computer program without the client needing to pay, for example Microsoft, for the operating system.

Vicidial is a highly technical program and has many specific requirements. Asterisk by itself requires quite a bit of know how to turn into an effective business product as people are learning on a daily basis. There is a big shortage of people knowledgeable in how to build and maintain these products. Call Center Service Group has created a standard system that reliably and predictably produces a quality product.