By Sharla Sikes

Big-time computer manufacturer Dell formed a partnership with Fonality that will bring Fonality VoIP to Dell’s business customers.

Dell is looking to capitalize on that trend, and chose Fonality and its Asterisk opensource telephony package. Fonality’s product is “easy to use” and “directly installable,” making it a good choice for PC behemoth Dell to include in its small and medium business packages.

Fonality, meanwhile, can capitalize on Dell’s 28 percent U.S. market share and brand recognition, piggybacking the Fonality name along with Dell’s.

Fonality customized its IP PBX software for Dell, and is made for businesses with less than 150 employees. The system runs on a Dell Optiplex 330 PC, and Fonality’s Dell-specific software is based on its trixboxPro.

Some of the product’s key features include Fonality’s hybrid hosted model. Customer PBXs link back to Fonality for monitoring, administration and support. Fonality’s software for Dell comes with trixNet service—customers who work for other companies using the same system can talk to each other online for free. Fonality also offers a Heads Up Display graphical desktop application for handling the calls.

“Dell customers will plug brand-new Aastra phones in,” Fonality CEO Chris Lyman explained. “Our software will auto-detect them on the network, automatically give them a new extension and reboot them.”  Initially, the system will work with Aastra 9112, 9133 and 480 iCT phones, as well as with the Polycom IP 4000 speakerphone.

Matt Asay’s CNet blog references a Dell’Oro Group group analyst quoted in The Wall Street Journal who estimates that 35 million small businesses worldwide will begin using VoIP in the next three years.

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