NEC will discontinue support for on-premises telephony; what alternatives are available?

NEC, one of the most prominent names in the telecommunications sector, announced that it will gradually withdraw from the production of on-premises business telephony systems. This decision will put an end to local PBX services starting in March 2026, although several initial measures will take effect in December 2024, such as the acquisition of new systems and expansions of existing platforms.

Who is affected?

This decision impacts users of the main models of NEC's on-premises telephone systems: SL2100, Univerge SV9100/SV9500 y Univerge 3C.

The withdrawal timeline

The timeline for this transition indicates that NEC will no longer accept new orders after December 31, 2024. The shipments of the last accepted orders will be completed before March 31, 2025.

If your company uses NEC, you should know this

For its part, the company will cease providing hardware and software support starting March 31, 2026.

NEC solutions are known for being solid and reliable, especially for services that require high availability. If your company is in this group, this news may have hit hard. But don't despair! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Implementing cloud-based communication solutions brings benefits that can offset the initial challenges. These are systems that offer great flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, allowing for quick adaptation to dynamic needs and resource optimization.

Another advantage is that these solutions are managed by the service provider. This means you won't need dedicated internal staff for this task.

In this way, migrating to the cloud can streamline operations, improve productivity, and support the long-term growth of your business. Incluso de formas que los sistemas locales clásicos no podrían.

So, what options do I have?

You can choose between public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud solutions. The range of options will adapt to your organization's technical requirements, as well as business needs and budget constraints.

Public cloud services, also known as UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) systems, consist of a platform hosted and managed by the service provider. On your side, all that will be left is to integrate the phone lines and connect the users, and we're here to help with that.

If your company has services with a cloud provider (Azure, AWS, GCP, or provided by a local service provider), you could consider migrating your telephony and UC system to this hosting. You will continue to reduce operational costs and gain a lot of flexibility.

Finally, it may be the case that you're not yet ready to fully migrate to the cloud. Even so, you have the option to deploy hybrid systems where you can use your local infrastructure and plan other migration processes later, at your own pace. These systems can also be contracted as subscription services, so you shouldn't worry about large initial investments.

Embrace change as an opportunity to innovate

This strategic withdrawal takes place in a context of similar decisions already made by other major manufacturers (such as Toshiba and Panasonic). In this way, it strengthens an industry trend that is moving toward more advanced and integrated communication technologies.

Although the transition presents challenges for small and medium-sized businesses that rely on NEC's on-premises infrastructure, the initial headache can turn into an opportunity to innovate internally.

If you want to know more, feel free to write to us.