OrecX expands its partnerships, customer base

OrecX, whose open-source voice-recording technologyI wrote about a few months ago, on Tuesday announced a partnership with NICS, short for Network Integration & Consulting Services to provide simplified voice recording for utilities and public-safety organizations.

NICS has integrated OrecX technology into its RAVIN (Radio and Voice Interoperability Nest) product line to make call recording easier, and customers such as Pacific Gas and Electric are now touting the benefits.

This and other "unsexy" applications are what make the current wave of open source so exciting. Open source is making its way into nearly every area of software.

Take, for example, the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Earlier this year, Cross Check Communications was commissioned to set up and maintain a system for checking and recording trading lines on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The purpose? Sometimes orders need to be reviewed for potential errors, so it's critical that voice-recording software be used.

In this case, Cross Check chose OrecX's Oreka TR to deliver an open-source multiple-line recording program that saves and categorizes recordings for easy retrieval from any computer. Most intriguingly from my business standpoint, according to Cross Check Communications president Catherine Oliven, CBOT saved "saved tens of thousands of dollars choosing Oreka TR over any other proprietary recording system," and it took very little time (just 11 days) to discover and implement the OrecX system.

That's the power of open source. Easy discovery. Facilitated implementation because customers can try before they buy, if needed. And much lower cost.