Asterisk (News - Alert) creator Digium, Inc. has added a new level to its Authorized Reseller Partner Program, the affiliate partner level. This will act as an entry-level tier for resellers who are interested in selling Digium Unified Communications (News - Alert) and IP Telephony solutions, without a required minimum annual revenue commitment.

The privileges being offered to the affiliate partners include access to Digium’s (News - Alert) ongoing partner communications, as well as the partner portal encompassing marketing toolkits, videos and sales and technical training.

When affiliate partners advance to the levels of Registered and Select partners they get additional benefits including discounts, demo kits, sales and marketing support and enhanced technical and sales training. Through this tiered approach partners grow their businesses with Digium’s Switchvox (News - Alert) VoIP phone system and Asterisk custom telephony solutions.

“Digium is committed to providing our partners with an easy way to get started in the growing Unified Communications and IP telephony market,” Jim Butler, Digium’s director of worldwide channel sales, said. “This new Affiliate level gives us the opportunity to expand and grow our partner base and offer more flexibility within our program. This is the first of many enhancements we are making to our partner program, with our focus on making Digium the first choice for partners interested in growing a profitable business with our award-winning unified communications platform.”

Founded in 1999, Digium provides open source communication offerings that cost almost 80% less than their proprietary counterparts. The company offers Asterisk Business Edition and Switchvox IP PBX (News - Alert) software to power a broad family of products for small, medium and large businesses. According to a recent TMCnet report Digium has recognized Dicar Networks as a top reseller for the second quarter of 2008.