"There is a whole group of resellers who love to add value through their Linux expertise and integration expertise and who are willing to do that level of integration. That market is growing," Harvey said. "But most [SMB] customers don't want to mess around to get their hands that dirty to make a phone system work," Harvey said.

That's why the Huntsville, Ala.-based company is planning the roll-out of an appliance family that should prove attractive to a larger number of customers and channel partners, Harvey said.

"The most important thing we'll be getting out of the program is more sales support," said Chad Agate, co-founder of NeoPhonetics, formerly known as SIPbox, a Digium channel partner in Tinley Park, Ill.

The new channel program splits partners into three categories: Authorized Resellers, Premier Authorized Resellers and Elite Authorized Resellers, based on sales volumes. Digium offers program members a starter kit that includes a demo kit, sales collateral and tools. The vendor is also offering training and certification for solution providers that want to become Digium-Certified Asterisk Professionals, a required designation to sell the forthcoming appliances.

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