Almost lost in the wake of Microsoft buying Nokia, and Verizon (finally) buying up the rest of its wireless division from Vodafone, was Digium acquiring Vocalcloud. Atlanta-based Vocalcloud is the service provider delivering Switchvox as a cloud-based service for Digium.

It has taken Digium about a year to get to this point, according to Digium CEO Danny Windham, first with a Vocalcloud partnership and extensive testing before offering a Switchvox cloud service in March 2013.

"It's been successful to a degree to where we'd both do better to serve customers together, rather than independently," Windham stated. 


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Terms of the deal weren't announced, but Vocalcloud appears to be a small company with between six and 15 employees, judging from information on LinkedIn.  

"Going forward, Vocalcloud will become Digium Cloud service, a wholly owned subsidiary," said Windham. "While Switchvox is the only cloud offering we're delivering today, we have thoughts, ideas, roadmaps about other cloud-based offerings in the future.”

Digium has no incentive to sway customers between a premise-based or cloud-based solution, Windham said – unlike its competitors. Now it can offer a seamless solution, while customers can choose and migrate between premises and cloud-based versions as needed. Managers benefit from the same user interface without having to learn a different system.

Windham said the move to the cloud dovetails with Digium's decision to build its own IP desktop handsets, designed from the beginning for easy discovery and configuration with cloud-based services in mind. It also meshes well with Switchvox's API and efforts with channel partners on how to add value by building applications using the API.

Demand for cloud-based UC services is growing at a rapid clip, with claims of growth ranging from 20 to 40 percent per year. Digium's own experience adding cloud customers starting from "zero" in March to a "very meaningful number" in six months of operation led to it "accelerate" the merging of it and Vocalcloud, said Windham.

Digium is picking up a lot of Switchvox cloud customers in the range of five to 30 seats, with a few customers that are much bigger. Currently, Switchvox is being sold through its channels and agent network under the Digium brand, with no white label product available today.

Windham was intentionally vague on Digium's plans for future cloud-based services and features, but made it clear there's more to come. "We're one day into the acquisition," he said.  "It's premature to talk about anything else."

Part of that future will likely include WebRTC and Opus, judging by Windham's comments during a phone interview. Adding other value-added services to a Switchvox-based voice cloud core will be likely, based upon this reporter's reading of industry trends.