Company Responds to Growing Market Demand for the Open-Source
Operating System
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. April 7, 1999 — Natural MicroSystems
(NASDAQ:NMSS), the technology leader in Open Telecommunications~Y,
today announced that Linux drivers are now publicly available
through the open-source code model for its Alliance Generation®
DSP (digital signal processor) boards. Developers can use these
drivers to build a wide range of telecommunications applications on
Linux from Web-enabled call centers to IP telephony gateways and
speech recognition systems.
The announcement reflects Natural MicroSystems~R commitment to
address the immediate needs of the rapidly growing Linux community,
which is accustomed to employing open-source code for software
development. Source code for the Alliance Generation® DSP
boards can be obtained via the Web at http://www.opentelecom.org.
Our method of supporting the Linux community is actually quite
unconventional for the telecommunications industry,~T stated Brough
Turner, senior vice president of technology at Natural
MicroSystems. ~STypically, when a company moves to support Linux,
it ports its existing code, but ships only binary not source code
for its product. By distributing the source code for our software,
Natural MicroSystems is providing Linux developers the tools they
need, and is doing so via their medium the Web. Our actions will
augment the existing pool of open-source software available to
Linux developers, ultimately speeding time-to-market.
Linux and the Telecommunications Market
Support for the Linux community is a logical move for
telecommunications equipment providers. This is due, in part, to
the fact that UNIX, the operating system upon which Linux is based,
has a rich history in telephony devices and applications because of
its AT&T/Bell Labs heritage. Linux provides the reliability and
stability benefits of UNIX with additional advantages:
- It is available as freeware, enabling thousands of developers
to refine the operating system more than even the largest vendors
could afford for development of their operating systems. - It provides developers additional flexibility because they have
access to actual source code. - It offers built-in cross-platform support, allowing developers
to write one set of source code for multiple platforms, including
PC, Sun SPARC, Digital Alpha and Apple PowerMac. This capability
increases productivity and speeds time-to-market.
Availability
Beta versions of a Linux driver for Natural MicroSystems~R Alliance
Generation products and a beta version of Natural MicroSystems~R CT
Access~Y for Linux are currently available via the Open Source for
Open Telecom Web site at http://www.opentelecom.org. CT
Access is a modular run-time and development environment for voice,
fax and call processing applications. Source code for these drivers
under Linux and other operating systems is also available at this
site.
In addition to providing the above-mentioned source code for
Linux, Natural MicroSystems provides the complete source code for
its circuit-switching and CompactPCI ~Shot-swap~T software at the
http://www.opentelecom.org
site. The company also offers NaturalEdge consulting, support,
integration, and testing services for Linux developers who want to
accelerate development and deployment of applications.
Natural MicroSystems: A Legacy of Leadership in Open
Telecommunications
Natural MicroSystems has a strong record of support for open
telecommunications. The company recently launched Open Source for
Open Telecom, a global initiative designed to expedite the
telecommunications industry~Rs migration to standards-based
hardware and software solutions through increased access to
open-source software. (See news release, ~SNatural MicroSystems
Launches Open Source for Open Telecom Initiative,~T February 26,
1999.) Natural MicroSystems was also instrumental in establishing
Multi-Vendor Integration Protocol (MVIP~Y), the de facto hardware
and software architecture standard for platform interoperability
and telephone switching. In addition, the company originally
proposed H.100, another interoperability protocol.
About Natural MicroSystems
Natural MicroSystems, based in Framingham, Mass., is the technology
leader in Open Telecommunications, providing hardware and software
technologies and consulting and support services for developers of
high-value telecommunications solutions. The company~Rs
state-of-the-art technology and NaturalEdge Portfolio of Services
and Support enable a growing international network of OEMs, VARs,
systems integrators and service providers to reduce time-to-market,
leverage development resources, and offer truly global
communications products. Natural MicroSystems products are
installed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded in 1983,
Natural MicroSystems developed the first PC-based telephony product
to utilize DSP technology and was a leader in the creation of MVIP
and H.100, the industry standards for interoperability in PC-based
telephony products. The quality processes at Natural MicroSystems
have earned ISO 9002 certification. More information on the company
is available at: htt! p://www.nmss.com.
Natural MicroSystems, Open Telecommunications and CT Access are
trademarks of Natural MicroSystems Corp. Alliance Generation is a
registered trademark of Natural MicroSystems Corp. MVIP is a
trademark of GO-MVIP, Inc. All other product or corporate
references may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies.
PRESS CONTACTS: Karen Connor Pamela Wheatley Natural MicroSystems CHEN PR 508/ 271-1380 781/ 466-8282 karen_connor@nmss.com pwheatley@chenpr.com