FreePBX vs. Sangoma Asterisk

FreepBX is a great product if you are able and willing to manage your own PBX system. It requires some know-how to set up but once running, it works very well. There is a large community that helps answer questions, but it isn't "plug and play" so you will need to be able to research and troubleshoot your own issues (or pay for support).

Incentivized

As I stated before this is very user friendly. It makes it so just about anyone with basic knowledge of technology can use it. There is always room for improvement but this is by far the easiest program to use for phone systems that I have used in my 8+ years at my current job.

Incentivized

• Standard telephony.
• VM to email.
• Firewall
• Expandable extensions.

Incentivized

• Call forwarding that I can trust stays on even if my phone "refreshes."
• Ability to setup various call rules and save them to use as needed.

Incentivized

• Phone integration/firmware can be clunky and has a learning curve.
• Relies on crowd sourcing information as expected for open-source.
• Requires some moderate expertise for setup.

Incentivized

• Documentation is scarce, so you have to learn by trial and error.
• Not cloud-based, and there's no mobile app.
• The ability to email voicemail messages would be great.

Incentivized

User friendly. Very little training to use it

Incentivized

I have asked in the not so recent past about having my phone updated with my saved Digium "favorites" list but it doesn't seem that this is possible

Incentivized

FreePBX is as functional and easier to set up and manage, at least compared to the version of UCM we were on. The menus are more intuitive and you do not need to have Cisco command-line memorized to make things work. Plus, there is no cost overhead with an open-source software.

Incentivized

I have used many other systems such as Cisco Call Manager, Avaya Communication Manager, Nortel Meridian, small Panasonic PBX. All of them are proprietary and more expensive in both hardware and software. Digium Asterisk stacks up against them because the price of the hardware and software is lower and very intuitive.

Incentivized

• Drastically reduced our direct telephony cost as we don't need to have the hardware and support.
• Very functional and added new functionality that we did not have previously.

Incentivized

• Since Asterisk is an open-source tool, it does not require very large investments at the infrastructure level, which helps to have a quick ROI.
• There is a wide range of professionals to carry out software maintenance and support with internal company resources.
• Has no associated annual or monthly licensing costs

Incentivized