What is the LAMP stack of UC?
What is the LAMP stack of UC? The coalescence of LAMP—Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP—revolutionized the use of open source for enterprise Web servers and applications. Combining these 4 separate open source projects into a rock-solid foundation for web application deployment paved the way to open source becoming a staple of the infrastructure of Internet services. LAMP, by eliminating platform licensing costs, reduced the expense of deploying and especially of scaling data-driven dynamic Web services, reducing the barrier to entry and growth for Web-facing retailers and service providers, and for Web-enabled internal services for enterprises. A similar stack for UC could lower the cost of entry for the many companies, new and established, not yet deploying UC (or not deploying it universally), or possibly for filling in gaps in the IP communications they do have.
In all likelihood the open source UC stack will start with L as well—L for Linux. Most existing open source UC tools run on a Linux base (as opposed to FreeBSD, OpenSolaris, or other open source OS).
What else? Nemertes defines UC systems as providing at a minimum VOIP, Unified Messaging, IM/presence, and conferencing (audio, video, web); additional features may include contact contact functionality, mobile clients, integration with room-based video and telepresence systems, and integration with social computing platforms. Let’s look at open source options in the core categories.
A will be back too; A is for Asterisk, far and away the most popular (though certainly not the only) open source PBX solution. The Eastern Management Group, which tracks PBX sales and deployments, pegs open source PBXes at 18% of the PBX market in terms of phone lines served; 85% of those deployments are Asterisk-based. Asterisk is also the basis of many hosted VOIP services. In addition to baseline VOIP connectivity, it provides voicemail, audio conferencing, unified messaging integration, and even advanced features like test-to-speech.
X is likely to be key: XMPP, formerly Jabber, the open IM and presence platform. XMPP not only handles IM but provides a presence management foundation which other applications can hook into.
or P for email? I would be for IMAP, specifically the UW IMAP reference implementation of the IMAP protocols, or the Panda IMAP fork off that tree. P would be for Postfix, under IBM’s stewardship one of the longest serving and most broadly-deployed solutions in the open email space.
The last letter (for now)—the video/web conferencing component—is far more cloudy than the others at the moment, the offerings fewer and younger. Ekiga (formerly GnomeMeeting) is a good bet because of a strong emphasis on standards, specifically H.323 and SIP. There are others, like DimDim, and the field is far from settled.
As open source tools and enterprise requirements for telepresence and social computing continue to evolve, other letters may have to be added to round out a complete open-source UC stack (if the core components don’t stretch to accommodate them). Asterisk already supports many call center features such as predictive and bulk dialing and support for remote IP agents.
Bottom line: For organizations looking to implement UC at a scale that prices commercial solutions out of their reach, open source will be an increasingly common and important solution. Watch for and evaluate LAXIE (LAXPE?) solutions.
