Cloud PBX for South African businesses: how it works and what it costs
Updated for October 2026
Hosted Yeastar P-Series Cloud PBX, Enterprise plan, set up and supported by Outsource Digital.
A cloud PBX is an office phone system whose switchboard runs online instead of in a box on your wall. Outsource Digital sets up the hosted Yeastar P-Series Cloud PBX for businesses across South Africa, with desk phones, cordless phones and the phone app, and you can keep your number.
There is nothing to install or maintain at your office. This page compares a cloud PBX with an on-site PABX, sets out what moves the cost, and explains how the move works, step by step.
What is a cloud PBX?
PBX stands for private branch exchange: the switchboard that gives every person an extension, greets callers and puts calls through to the right desk. Older systems are often called a PABX, and they sit in a box on the office wall.
With a cloud PBX, that switchboard is hosted online. Your desk phones, cordless phones and the app on cellphones and computers connect to it over the internet, so one system can serve a single office, several branches and staff who work from home.
Cloud PBX vs on-site PABX: which is better for my business?
Both answer and route your calls. They differ in where the switchboard sits, who looks after it and how easily it grows with your business.
| Compared | On-site PABX | Cloud PBX (what we install) |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up | A box is installed and wired in at your office | The system is set up online, then the phones are connected |
| Hardware on site | The switchboard box, its line cards and the handsets | Only the handsets you want, and your network |
| Works from home or a second office | Usually needs extra equipment at each site | Yes: every office, and staff at home, join the same system |
| Adding extensions | Limited by the ports on the box | Added on the system, with no new equipment |
| Who maintains it | You, or whoever services the box | Outsource Digital sets it up and supports it |
| Power and internet needs | The box and the phones need power at the office | A stable internet line; desk phones and the router need power |
| Best for | A single site that wants to keep an existing box as it is | Businesses that want to grow, add branches or work from anywhere |
Outsource Digital's offer is the cloud: we do not sell or install on-site PABX boxes.
WhatsApp us about moving to the cloud (opens WhatsApp in a new tab)
What does a hosted PBX cost?
We do not publish prices, because no two offices are set up the same way. A hosted PBX quote is built from a handful of choices:
- How many people need an extension.
- Whether each person has a desk phone, a cordless phone or only the app.
- Any features that are available on request or as an add-on, such as the AI receptionist.
- Cabling and Wi-Fi, if desks or a warehouse need network points first.
- Porting the numbers you already have.
- The term of the agreement.
When you weigh up quotes, compare like with like: the same number of extensions, the same handsets and the same support promise.
WhatsApp us for a cloud PBX quote (opens WhatsApp in a new tab)
Do my phones work in load-shedding?
The switchboard itself keeps working, because it runs online and not in your building. When the power goes, staff can carry on answering office calls on the app over mobile data.
Desk phones and your router need power to keep working at the desk. Outsource Digital supplies UPS units and inverters to keep them running through load-shedding.
Can I keep my number and my desk phones?
Yes. We can port all your landline numbers to our system, so you keep the numbers your customers already dial. If you are new to us, you get a VoIP number straight away and can port the existing landline across, and the old lines stay on until the move is confirmed.
Many desk phones can stay too. Yeastar states the P-Series supports more than 500 IP phone models and sets them up automatically, so we check yours before suggesting anything new. When you do need handsets, we supply Yealink desk phones and cordless phones.
Which cloud PBX do you install?
For every customer, we install the hosted Yeastar P-Series Cloud PBX on the Enterprise plan. Yeastar also sells the P-Series as an appliance and as software for your own server; those are Yeastar's options, and we do not offer them.
From small businesses to enterprise customers, including multi-branch enterprises, on one system.
What can a cloud PBX do for my business?
Everything below is included in the Enterprise plan we supply, unless it says otherwise.
- An auto attendant that greets callers, with menus for office hours, after hours and public holidays.
- Ring groups, call queues, transfer, call park and call pickup.
- Conference rooms, voicemail to email and music on hold.
- Call recording, and call cost reports by person and department.
- Mobile, desktop and web apps, team chat and an operator panel for reception.
- Call centre tools: skill-based routing, queue callback, a live wallboard and SLA alerts.
- WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS and website live chat in one inbox beside your calls.
- Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Entra ID, plus CRMs such as Zoho CRM, Salesforce and HubSpot.
- Encrypted calls, two-factor sign-in and limits on international dialling to stop toll fraud.
Yeastar holds ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification, and states 99.99% reliability for its cloud with 24/7 monitoring. Those are Yeastar's figures, not an Outsource Digital guarantee.
Video calls and an outbound auto-dialler are available on request. The AI receptionist and call transcription are available as an add-on.
WhatsApp us about the features you need (opens WhatsApp in a new tab)
New in the October 2026 Yeastar update
The features below are available from Yeastar's October 2026 update. The messaging features are available depending on your plan.
- Callers you miss can get an automatic SMS or WhatsApp reply, sent from a person's extension or from a queue.
- A drag-and-drop Message Flow Designer for WhatsApp and SMS chatbots and auto-replies.
- The Yeastar for Teams plugin, for office calls inside Microsoft Teams without an extra app or desk phone.
- SMS and WhatsApp template messages sent from call flows, including to a caller who presses a key in a voice menu or queue.
- Voicemail alerts sent by SMS.
- System-wide call recording settings, and a notice played to both sides before a recording starts.
- Tighter two-step login controls for each person.
- AI call summaries in the AI receptionist's language (the AI receptionist is an add-on).
- Separate call parking groups, each with its own hold music.
How do I move to a cloud PBX?
The move is planned so that your callers never notice the change:
- WhatsApp us how many people take calls, which numbers you have and where your offices are.
- We check your internet line and office network, and sort out anything the phones will need.
- We set up the system and the phones and port your numbers. Your old lines stay on until the move is confirmed.
- After go-live we support you: a technician attends within 4 to 6 business hours, and many faults are fixed remotely.
Outsource Digital has looked after office technology for South African businesses since 2004, with in-house PBX, network, field and on-site support technicians, telephonic and online support, and service partners in all the major cities.
What customers say on Google: Midrand head office, 4.8 on Google from 215 reviews, November 2026; Nelspruit branch, 4.3 on Google from 10 reviews, November 2026.
In the video, our technician walks through a finished phone and Wi-Fi installation at a doctors' practice.
Questions about cloud PBX
What is a hosted PBX?
It is another name for a cloud PBX: the office switchboard runs online and is looked after for you, so there is no box at your office.
Is there an app for the cloud PBX?
Yes. Staff can make and take office calls on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac, and in a web browser, and customers see the office number when they call out.
Can I manage extensions myself?
Changes are made on the system, with no new equipment. WhatsApp us and our support team makes the change for you.
Does a cloud PBX record calls?
Yes, call recording is included on the Enterprise plan we supply. Yeastar's October 2026 update added recording settings for the whole system and a notice played before a recording starts.
Can one cloud PBX run several branches?
Yes. Every branch, and staff working from home, can join the same system, with calls transferred between them like extensions in one building.
What happens if the office internet goes down?
The system stays up online, and staff can answer office calls on the app over mobile data. We also install backup internet that takes over if your main line goes down.
How many people can use it?
From small businesses to enterprise customers, including multi-branch enterprises, on one system.
Do you install cloud PBX outside Gauteng?
Yes. We support companies throughout South Africa and into Namibia and Eswatini, from our offices in Midrand and Nelspruit and with service partners in all the major cities.
Do I need a long contract?
We offer month-to-month agreements and longer-term rentals on phones.
Where we work
- Cloud PBX in Midrand and across South Africa
11 Monza Close, Kyalami Business Park, Midrand, Gauteng, 1684
- Cloud PBX in Nelspruit and Mpumalanga
Shop 6G, Riverside Auto Centre, 7 Mystic River Crescent, Riverside, Mbombela, 1200
Talk to us about cloud PBX
WhatsApp us and we will reply with the information or a quote.
Or phone 011 466 8510 (WhatsApp, opens in a new tab)
Monday to Thursday, 08:00 to 16:30; Friday, 08:00 to 15:30