Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform bringing together chat, video conferencing, file storage, and third-party app integrations as part of Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Teams is the dominant enterprise collaboration platform globally, with over 360 million monthly active users and deep integration across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. For South African telecoms resellers, the real opportunity lies in Microsoft Teams Phone — the cloud PBX capability that enables PSTN calling through Direct Routing or Operator Connect. Partners can build recurring revenue through CSP licence resale, managed voice deployments, and Teams Rooms hardware solutions. With Microsoft 365 already widely adopted in SA enterprises, the Teams Phone add-on represents a natural upsell motion. Licensing is available through Axiz, Tarsus on Demand, and Westcon-Comstor as CSP distributors.
Microsoft Teams is the unified communications and collaboration platform at the heart of Microsoft 365. Launched in 2017, Teams has grown to become one of the world’s most widely deployed enterprise communication tools, combining persistent chat, video conferencing, file storage, third-party app integrations, and — critically for the telecoms channel — a full enterprise telephony capability through Microsoft Teams Phone.
Parent Company: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, USA
Monthly Active Users: 360 million+ (2025)
Platform: Part of Microsoft 365 suite
SA CSP Distributors: Axiz, Tarsus on Demand, Westcon-Comstor
Microsoft Teams Phone (formerly Teams Phone System) transforms Microsoft Teams into a full cloud PBX. It enables users to make and receive PSTN calls directly within the Teams interface — eliminating the need for a separate desk phone or traditional PBX in many deployments.
For South African resellers, the Teams Phone opportunity sits at the intersection of two trends: the widespread adoption of Microsoft 365 across SA enterprises and the migration away from legacy on-premises PBX systems. Partners who can offer Teams Phone add-ons to existing Microsoft 365 customers have a built-in addressable market — one that does not require displacing a competitor, but rather extending an existing platform the customer already pays for.
Teams Phone supports three connectivity models for PSTN calling in South Africa:
Operator Connect is a Microsoft-managed programme that allows certified South African telephony operators to become certified Microsoft Operator Connect partners, allowing them to offer Teams-native calling as a managed service. This is particularly attractive for enterprise customers who want a fully cloud-managed Teams calling experience with local PSTN connectivity, without the complexity of Direct Routing.
Key characteristics of Operator Connect include operator-managed SBC infrastructure with no on-premises hardware for the customer, provisioning and management handled through the Teams Admin Centre, SLA-backed service with 99.99% uptime commitments from certified operators, and suitability for organisations seeking a fully managed, cloud-native calling solution.
Direct Routing allows organisations to connect their own PSTN infrastructure to Microsoft Teams Phone via a certified Session Border Controller (SBC). This gives businesses far more flexibility than Operator Connect — partners can use any SIP trunk provider, implement complex call routing rules, and integrate with existing telephony infrastructure such as analogue devices, fax machines, or legacy contact centre platforms.
For SA partners, Direct Routing is well suited for organisations with complex telephony requirements, and businesses that want to retain flexibility in their PSTN carrier relationships.
Microsoft Teams was launched in March 2017 as a direct competitor to Slack, and later became the primary collaboration platform bundled with Microsoft 365. Its growth accelerated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with daily active users growing from 32 million in March 2020 to over 145 million by April 2021. By 2025, Teams had surpassed 360 million monthly active users globally.
Teams’ primary differentiator is its deep integration with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem — SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, Power BI, and Azure Active Directory all surface natively within Teams. This gives organisations a single-pane-of-glass for communication, collaboration, and productivity.
For the South African channel, additional differentiators include the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) model which enables partners to earn recurring monthly revenue on Microsoft 365 + Teams Phone bundles, Microsoft’s extensive partner ecosystem with dedicated programmes for Modern Work, Security, and Surface hardware, Teams Rooms certified hardware solutions for meeting room deployments from partners including Yealink, Poly, Logitech, and Crestron, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot integration which adds AI-powered meeting summaries, real-time transcription, and intelligent call analytics.
Microsoft’s partner programme for Teams-related services in South Africa is administered through the Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme (formerly Microsoft Partner Network). Relevant specialisations for Teams-focused partners include Modern Work, Calling for Microsoft Teams, and Meetings and Meeting Rooms for Microsoft Teams.
South African partners typically engage with Teams through the CSP programme, which allows them to resell Microsoft 365 subscriptions — including Teams Phone add-ons — directly to customers. CSP partners earn a margin on recurring subscription revenue and often bundle their own professional services (deployment, migration, ongoing support) on top of the Microsoft licences.
Partners with Direct Routing or Operator Connect practices can differentiate further by providing managed voice services as part of their Teams offering — turning a software resale motion into a recurring managed service revenue stream.
Microsoft Teams licences and Teams Phone add-ons are available through the following CSP distributors in South Africa:
Operator Connect is a Microsoft-managed programme that allows certified telephony carriers to connect their voice services directly to Microsoft Teams via the Teams admin centre. Unlike Direct Routing, Operator Connect requires no customer-managed Session Border Controller (SBC) — the carrier handles the infrastructure, making deployment faster and simpler for businesses and their IT partners.
Operator Connect uses pre-certified carriers integrated directly into the Teams admin centre with minimal configuration. Direct Routing allows businesses to connect any SIP-compatible carrier or on-premise PBX to Teams Phone via a certified Session Border Controller (SBC), giving greater flexibility but requiring more technical setup and ongoing SBC management.
Microsoft Teams Phone can replace a traditional PBX for many businesses, providing inbound and outbound PSTN calling, auto-attendants, call queues, and call recording — all within the Microsoft 365 environment. However, businesses with complex telephony requirements (such as analogue devices or specialised contact centre workflows) may still benefit from a complementary solution alongside Teams.
To resell Microsoft Teams licences in South Africa, you need to join the Microsoft CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) programme, either directly as a Direct CSP or through an indirect CSP distributor. Major Microsoft licensing distributors in South Africa include Axiz, Tarsus on Demand, and Westcon-Comstor.
Teams Phone is available as a standalone add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium plans. Microsoft 365 Business Voice bundles Teams Phone with a Calling Plan (including PSTN minutes). For businesses using Operator Connect or Direct Routing for their PSTN connectivity, the Teams Phone add-on without a Calling Plan is the appropriate licence.