In brief: NEC exited the on-premise UC market globally in 2024, leaving thousands of SA businesses running NEC UNIVERGE systems with an uncertain future. For resellers, this is one of the most significant migration opportunities in the SA telecoms market — and getting the transition right requires understanding the NEC installed base and the available upgrade paths.
The NEC Exit and Its Impact on SA
NEC Corporation announced in January 2024 that it was exiting the on-premise unified communications market globally, ending the manufacture, sale, and active development of its UNIVERGE PBX line. This announcement sent shockwaves through the global telecoms reseller community because NEC had one of the largest installed bases of business PBX systems in the world, with particular strength in the UK, Australia, and parts of Asia — and a significant presence in South Africa.
While NEC committed to providing ongoing maintenance support for existing UNIVERGE customers through its authorised partners, the reality is that without ongoing product development, NEC UNIVERGE systems face:
- No new features or software enhancements
- Eventual end of security patches, creating compliance and security risks
- Declining availability of replacement hardware as stocks are depleted
- Reduced pool of technicians as NEC-trained engineers move to other platforms
For SA businesses running NEC SV9100, SV9300, SL2100, or older UNIVERGE systems, the exit announcement is the clearest signal yet that migration to a supported platform is no longer optional but urgent.
NEC’s SIP Trunk Improvements: Legacy Value Worth Understanding
Before NEC exited the market, it had been actively improving SIP trunk connectivity for UNIVERGE systems, including streamlined SIP trunk provisioning tools and simplified SIP configuration interfaces. These improvements made NEC systems more compatible with SA SIP trunk providers and reduced the complexity of migrating from Telkom ISDN to VoIP SIP trunks.
This legacy of SIP compatibility is actually relevant for migration planning: most NEC systems that have already been migrated from ISDN to SIP trunks are well-positioned for replacement by modern VoIP platforms, because the network infrastructure (fibre broadband, SIP trunk accounts, IP phones) is already in place. The migration becomes primarily a PBX platform swap rather than a complete connectivity transformation.
Migration Paths from NEC UNIVERGE
3CX: The most common migration path for NEC replacements in SA. 3CX V20’s cloud-hosted model, strong SA reseller support community, and competitive licensing make it the default alternative for most NEC customers. 3CX also offers migration tools and documentation for common NEC configurations. Many NEC resellers have already cross-trained on 3CX as their primary platform.
Yeastar P-Series: Particularly suitable for NEC migrations where the client wants to maintain some on-premise infrastructure control. Yeastar’s hardware-native P-Series appliances provide a familiar on-premise deployment model with modern cloud capabilities. Yeastar also provides migration guides for NEC UNIVERGE.
Ericsson-LG iPECS (now Ericsson Korea Partners): The iPECS platform, now rebranded following NEC’s closer relationship with LG (which split from the NEC joint venture), offers a similar on-premise PBX architecture to NEC UNIVERGE. For NEC users who prefer to stay on a traditional PBX model with desk phones and analogue integration, iPECS is a natural lateral move.
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing: For enterprise NEC customers who have significant Microsoft 365 investments, a Teams-as-phone-system migration is worth evaluating. This requires an SBC (AudioCodes, Ribbon) and SA SIP trunk integration, but delivers a fully cloud-native communications platform managed as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription.
Sangoma PBXact: For customers where FreePBX compatibility, analogue line support, or open-source infrastructure is important, Sangoma’s PBXact is a credible NEC replacement. Its DAHDI interface supports analogue lines natively, which is relevant for NEC customers in areas with limited SIP trunk availability.
Practical Migration Steps for SA Resellers
Phase 1: Site assessment (1–2 days)
Document the NEC configuration: extension list, hunt groups/queues, auto-attendant flows, IVR scripts, call recording settings, third-party integrations (door entry, alarm systems, CRM), analogue lines, SIP trunks. This documentation drives the configuration of the replacement platform.
Phase 2: SIP trunk review (ongoing)
If the client is still on Telkom ISDN, include ISDN-to-SIP migration as part of the project. Obtain new SIP trunk accounts from Euphoria Telecom, Voxtelecom, or the client’s preferred provider. Port existing numbers to the SIP trunk — allow 5–10 business days for geographic number ports.
Phase 3: Parallel run (1–2 weeks)
Install and configure the new platform (3CX, Yeastar, etc.) in parallel with the NEC system. Test all call flows on the new system without cutting over. Run test calls through all queues, verify auto-attendant, test mobile apps, confirm recording is working. Resolve issues before go-live.
Phase 4: Cutover (1–4 hours, planned maintenance window)
Port SIP trunks to new platform, update IP phone provisioning, verify all extensions register on new platform. Keep NEC in place for 48–72 hours post-cutover as emergency fallback.
Pricing the NEC Migration Project
NEC migration projects typically encompass: assessment and scoping (R5,000–R15,000), replacement platform licences (variable), professional services for configuration and migration (R10,000–R40,000 depending on site complexity), end-user training (R5,000–R15,000 for group sessions), and ongoing managed service/support contract.
The business case for clients is straightforward: they’re already paying for NEC maintenance; redirecting that spend to modern platform subscription plus managed service typically delivers more capability at similar or lower cost, plus removes the long-term risk of running unsupported infrastructure.
What This Means for SA Telecoms Resellers
The NEC exit is the most significant source of qualified sales leads in the SA telecoms reseller market for the next 3–5 years. Every NEC UNIVERGE customer is a prospect. Building a targeted outreach campaign to NEC-installed sites — leveraging the simple message “NEC has exited the market; your system needs a migration plan” — is a highly effective business development strategy.
Resellers who develop NEC migration competency, including detailed knowledge of the most common NEC configurations and the specific migration steps for each target platform, will be able to close these opportunities faster and deliver better post-migration experiences than generalist IT companies who don’t know the NEC installed base.
About the Author
Mechelle Gindra
Mechelle Gindra is the managing editor and lead content strategist at Telecoms-Channel, South Africa's dedicated intelligence platform for telecoms resellers, ICT distributors, and channel partners. She oversees the editorial team's AI-assisted content production pipeline, ensuring vendor news, market analysis, and regulatory updates are accurate, timely, and actionable for the SA telecoms channel community. With deep expertise in the South African telecoms reseller ecosystem, Mechelle directs coverage of vendor partner programmes, ICASA regulatory developments, wholesale market dynamics, and channel business strategy. She is responsible for maintaining Telecoms-Channel's editorial standards, fact-checking processes, and corrections policy.
