Bicom Systems is a producer of Asterisk-based unified communications and VoIP solutions serving service providers and businesses. The company develops PBXware, an open-standards turnkey telephony platform, along with integrated unified communications solutions.
Bicom Systems is the company behind PBXware — the first professional open-standards turnkey telephony platform, launched in 2004. For SA telecoms resellers and service providers, Bicom is notable for its Multi-Tenant PBX edition, which lets you host multiple isolated customer PBX instances on a single server under your own brand. This white-label, service-provider-centric approach is what sets Bicom apart from competitors like 3CX or FreePBX. In South Africa, Bicom is represented locally through partners such as Nova IX Technologies, and Centracom — one of SA’s established voice service providers — runs its hosted PBX service on PBXware Multi-Tenant. If you are a service provider wanting to build a branded hosted PBX offering without developing your own platform, Bicom Systems should be on your shortlist.
Founded: 2003 (R&D); PBXware launched 2004
Headquarters: Hollywood, Florida, USA
Speciality: Open-standards IP PBX software (service provider focus)
Key Products: PBXware, gloCOM, sipPROT, Meeting
PBXware Editions: Business, Multi-Tenant, Call Center
Deployment: On-premise, cloud, hosted by partner
White-Label: Full branding customisation available
SA Representation: Nova IX Technologies; Centracom (customer)
SIP Phone Compatibility: Yealink, Fanvil, Snom, Grandstream, Poly
Bicom Systems is a telecoms software company that began researching communication management solutions in 2003 and launched PBXware in 2004 — making it one of the earliest professional open-standards PBX platforms on the market. The company is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida and serves service providers, MSPs and enterprises worldwide.
Unlike consumer-focused VoIP startups, Bicom’s strategy has always centred on the service provider channel. Their platform is designed for partners who want to build, brand and sell their own hosted PBX and UC services, rather than simply reselling someone else’s product. This service-provider DNA runs through their product line, from the Multi-Tenant PBX edition to the fully brandable client applications.
The hosted PBX market in South Africa continues to grow as businesses move away from on-premise telephone systems. For telecoms resellers and service providers who want to own the customer relationship — rather than referring customers to Euphoria Telecom, Telviva or another branded platform — Bicom’s PBXware Multi-Tenant offers a way to build a proprietary hosted PBX service.
The economics work like this: the service provider installs PBXware on their own infrastructure (or in a South African data centre), creates isolated tenant instances for each customer, applies their own branding, sets their own pricing and manages the service end-to-end. The customer sees only the service provider’s brand, not Bicom Systems. This approach is particularly attractive for SA service providers who want recurring revenue from hosted voice without the R&D cost of building a platform from scratch.
Centracom, a well-known SA voice service provider, uses exactly this model — running their hosted PBX offering on PBXware Multi-Tenant. This real-world SA deployment validates the platform for local conditions and SIP trunk compatibility.
The Business edition is designed for single-organisation deployments, offering a full IP PBX feature set including auto-attendant, IVR, call queues, ring groups, voicemail, call recording, conference bridges and CRM integration. It supports SIP trunking from any provider and works with all major SIP phone brands.
The Multi-Tenant edition is Bicom’s flagship for service providers. It allows a single server instance to host multiple isolated customer PBX environments, each with their own branding, dial plans, feature sets and administrator access. This is purpose-built for MSPs and telcos running hosted PBX businesses at scale.
The Call Center edition adds ACD (automatic call distribution), queue management, real-time monitoring, wallboard displays, agent performance reporting and supervisor tools to the PBXware platform. SA contact centre operators can deploy this for inbound call handling with detailed analytics.
gloCOM is Bicom’s UC client for desktop and mobile, providing softphone, chat, presence, video calling, screen sharing and CRM integration. It is fully brandable, allowing service providers to deploy it under their own name as part of their hosted PBX offering.
sipPROT provides SIP-layer security including call encryption, advanced threat detection, intrusion prevention and fraud protection. For SA service providers running exposed SIP infrastructure, sipPROT adds an essential security layer against toll fraud and SIP attacks.
Bicom’s Meeting module provides video conferencing capabilities integrated with PBXware, offering an alternative to standalone platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams for customers who prefer an integrated PBX + video solution.
Bicom Systems has been developing telecoms software since 2003, with PBXware launching in 2004. That gives the platform over 20 years of development and refinement — a significant track record for an open-standards PBX. The company has maintained consistent development cycles, with PBXware 7.5 being the latest major release, introducing redesigned interfaces and enhanced usability.
Bicom’s primary differentiator is the Multi-Tenant PBX model with full white-labelling. While 3CX is the most well-known IP PBX in South Africa, its multi-tenant capabilities are more limited. PBXware was architected from the ground up for service providers hosting hundreds or thousands of customer tenants. The full brandability — from the admin portal to the gloCOM client app — means the service provider’s customers never see the Bicom Systems name. This is fundamentally different from reselling a branded platform like Euphoria or Telviva.
Bicom Systems has local representation in South Africa through Nova IX Technologies and other partners. More importantly, Centracom — an established SA voice service provider — deploys PBXware Multi-Tenant to deliver hosted PBX to its business customers. This real-world SA deployment means the platform is proven in local conditions, compatible with South African SIP trunks and voice interconnects, and supported by partners with local knowledge.
SA service providers evaluating PBXware should consider the total cost of ownership against building on 3CX or deploying a proprietary platform. PBXware’s licensing model, multi-tenant architecture and brandability often make it more cost-effective for service providers running 50+ customer tenants.
Bicom’s ideal partner is a service provider, MSP or telco that wants to build and own a branded hosted PBX business. Partners should have the technical capacity to manage server infrastructure, SIP trunk interconnections and customer onboarding. Some Linux and VoIP administration knowledge is beneficial, though PBXware’s web-based management interface is designed to simplify day-to-day operations.
Bicom Systems works through local partners rather than traditional distribution in South Africa. Nova IX Technologies provides local sales and support for Bicom products. Service providers can also engage directly with Bicom Systems through their website (bicomsystems.com) for licensing, trials and technical evaluation.
Yes. PBXware’s Multi-Tenant edition is fully white-label, allowing SA service providers to brand the admin portal, end-user interface and gloCOM client app with their own company identity. Customers see only the service provider’s brand.
Centracom, an established South African voice service provider, uses PBXware Multi-Tenant to deliver hosted PBX services to its business customers. Nova IX Technologies also represents Bicom Systems locally for sales and support.
PBXware’s Multi-Tenant edition is purpose-built for service providers hosting many customer tenants, with deeper multi-tenancy and white-labelling than 3CX. 3CX has stronger brand recognition in SA and a larger partner community. Service providers running 50+ tenants may find PBXware more suitable; smaller deployments may favour 3CX’s simpler model.
PBXware is SIP-standards-based and works with all major IP phone brands including Yealink, Fanvil, Snom, Grandstream, Poly and AudioCodes. Auto-provisioning templates are available for most popular models, simplifying large-scale deployments.
Yes. The PBXware Call Center edition adds ACD, queue management, real-time monitoring, wallboards, agent performance reporting and supervisor tools. SA contact centre operators can use this for inbound call handling with detailed analytics and SLA tracking.