Why Telecom Expense Management Alone Fails to Completely Optimize Telecom and Mobility

, , , ,

“I need a Telecom Expense Management provider so we can ensure our Telecom and Mobility environment is fully optimized, right?”

WRONG.

Why does Telecom Expense Management ALONE fail to produce complete telecom optimization? The problem with today’s Telecom Expense Management (TEM) environment is that it fails to address the other FOUR areas impacting successful Telecom outcomes:

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT:

  • “Do I have the right technologies in place that align with our business priorities?”
  • “Are we leveraging the latest available competitive technologies to drive business?”
  • “Have we done an ROI analysis/business case on mobility policies and practices, SD-WAN technology?”

VENDOR MANAGEMENT:

  • “Are we utilizing the right vendor in this space that provides the correct services we need at the most competitive price?”
  • “Do we have the knowledge and expertise to negotiate the best contract terms and manage all the contracts associated with our vendors?”
  • “Should my IT team be distracted by resolving vendor network issues and escalations?”
  • “Have we put off vendor analysis due to fear of lacking resources to support change?”

ASSET MANAGEMENT:

  • “How accurate is our inventory of all telecom assets?”
  • “Do we have a complete and consolidate inventory of all mobile assets?”
  • “Can all reports be produced real-time?”

USER SUPPORT:

  • “Do we have the resources to provide quality end user support for both telecom and mobility?”
  • “Do we have the Project Management resources to migrate to new technologies and the ebb and flow of new projects?”
  • “Do we have the resources to manage the ongoing changes in our telecom and mobility environment? Resources to manage MDM/EMM environment?”
  • “Are we utilizing the best custom tools and process to manage our environment?”

If you’re looking for a TEM provider and not asking the above questions, you’re missing out on a big part of the equation. Help drive your business by realizing a fully-optimized Telecom and Mobility environment.

Download a full list of Telecom and Mobility activities (including Telecom Expense Management).

/by

2014 Budget Season: 3 Must-Dos to Reduce IT Operating Costs

, , , , ,

As you gear up for the 2014 IT budget season, you know there are many areas competing for IT time and attention.  According to a recent article from CIO.com, you’re also trying to secure the best talent when it comes to areas like application development, project management, and technical support.  At the same time you’re probably facing the annual budget dilemma of how to design your 2014 IT budget for more strategic impact and reduce IT operating costs.  You’re dealing with ‘keeping the lights on’ expenses that are known to eat up nearly 70% of your budget year after year.  If you want to make a real impact to this recurring problem, you need to entertain a structural change to how you organize and prioritize your IT organization.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs

, ,

Did you know that 12% – 20% of corporate telecom charges are in error and unfortunately for businesses, 85% of these charges are in the carrier’s favor? (Gartner Group)  This is the time to take charge of your telecom costs – take a close look at these 5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs.

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs: #1 – Telecom Asset Validation

You can’t determine areas of efficiency if you don’t know what you have.  It’s not uncommon for…

  • customers to be confused by carrier invoices and not understand what they are paying for
  • circuits or lines to invoice at incorrect rates
  • ongoing invoices after placing a service disconnection order
  • unneeded or unused services and features to exist
  • contracts to expire and corresponding rate increases to go unnoticed
  • long distance casual billing
  • 3rd party/slamming charges to be added without authorization

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs: #2 – Dispute Tracking and Management

Chasing down billing error corrections and credits requires timely documentation and persistence.  Most carriers have a formal process for submitting dispute and credit requests and submissions must include proper documentation.  Carriers are rarely proactive in resolving these types of issues therefore the burden is on the customer to be persistent and follow up.  Always obtain the rerate calculations to ensure you receive the full amount you are entitled to.

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs: #3 – Regular Wireless Analysis

Within the telecom environment, wireless assets are often the most dynamic.  Factors such as voice and data pooling, addition of new service, upgraded service, equipment changes, overages and other miscellaneous fees can all lend to significant monthly variances.  Monthly analysis is critical in monitoring accuracy and ensuring optimization.

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs: #4 – Monthly Invoice Audits and Cost Allocation

Comprehensive monthly audits are imperative in eliminating telecom cost creep.   Pricing errors, missing discounts, incorrect service periods, excessive technician charges, unauthorized features and add-ons are all commonplace in the world of telecom billing.  Identifying such anomalies requires attention to detail and diligence to locate an informed carrier representative who can validate the charges.

5 Reasons Telecom Expense Management is Essential to Reducing Costs: #5 Contract Negotiation

Contract negotiation should begin 3-6 months prior to the contract termination date to allow for a full evaluation of current market pricing and options.  If your contract contains an automatic renewal clause and you wish to cancel service it’s often a requirement to provide written notice 30-60 days in advance.

As you can see, Telecom Expense Management requires diligence, expertise, and time. In addition to reducing costs, Telecom Expense Management is also essential in understanding what your true telecom environment looks like.

Unsure how to pursue Telecom Expense Management in your organization? Contact a trusted expert like Renodis to walk you through the details and show you how you can save time and reduce costs on your next telecom bill!

Diane Kisch is an industry leader in Telecom Expense Management and Practice Manager for Renodis Telecom Management.

/0 Comments/by

The 7 Most Avoidable Wireless Telecommunication Expenses

, , ,

A telecommunications enterprise is a complex and multi-faceted organization that is both a strategic necessity and a likely source of economic drain.  Most companies aren’t aware of the cost outflow within their wireless telecom environment, or if they are, managers don’t have the time or resources to identify and correct the source.  The lack of focus on the daily cost management of telecom can continue and snowball into significant losses to the enterprise.

Identifying and managing these areas of loss could most certainly be a full time job.  The problem with continued waste is that most enterprises do not have resources focused on the day to day management of wireless telecom expenses.  Wireless telecom cost drains can be obvious, some can be insidious, and still others need to be drudged up to the surface.   All, however, require time and a tedious level of commitment to overcome.

As the list of unmanaged wireless telecom expenses can be lengthy, a good place to start is with the lowest-hanging fruit – those problems that are the easiest to resolve and which can reap immediate savings.   In review of wireless expenses, immediacy of savings can best be realized by reviewing some key areas of your wireless expenses, move on to dig up the stealthy issues that contribute to cost outflow.

Plan Pooling and Optimization

Own pool optimization by specifying if and when automatic optimizations occur to improve device performance – don’t let this run unmanaged.

Voice/Data/Text Overages

Unless your mobile user base has an unlimited plan for voice, data and texting, monthly overages can voraciously eat away at your budget.  Overages comprise one of the most common problems amongst mid-sized organizations today.  Research and review who your mobile user is, what he/she will be utilizing the mobile device for (cellular telephone, email, presentations, web browsing, etc.) and optimize a monthly plan that will be built around users’ needs.

Excessive Roaming Charges

If your mobile users are racking up roaming charges then it is time to re-evaluate their plan.  Move them to a global plan that will enable them to utilize their device when and where necessary.   Roaming charges nonsensically creep into expenses but can be easily avoided.

Unnecessary Add-on Features and Services

Another source of escape occurs by providing an employee with too much functionality or service that goes unused.  Allowing unnecessary add-ons such as insurance, roadside assistance, or visual voicemail will only ensure that telecom cost creep will continue to erode your bottom line.   Review each mobile user contract to determine which features are absolutely necessary for him or her to perform their duties, and eliminate the rest.

Zero Usage Devices

One of the more common problems, the management of devices that are no longer utilized, such as those that belong to terminated employees or those that have been replaced or upgraded, requires more time and effort to optimize, but can result in modest cost savings.  Having a strictly enforced mobile user policy in place that addresses zero usage device management is essential.

Unused or Underutilized Data and Text Plans

Rectifying what is actually billed with what is used is an arduous task but one that can pay big dividends.  Assess those plans that are underutilized or not used at all to determine what can be eliminated or consolidated.  Get rid of those plans that are unnecessary.  Perform an audit amongst your mobile user base to determine the exact nature of plan usage on an employee by employee basis to ensure the best plan fit.

Mobile App/Subscription Slamming

This happens to be one of the most common areas of cost drain amongst mid-sized businesses with 500-5,000 employees.  In mobile app or subscription ‘slamming’, customers are switched to another telephone provider without their knowledge or permission.  These types of misleading sales practices among mobile service providers can lead to intentional fee increases and can also change the terms of service.  If not carefully monitored and guarded against, slamming practices can unknowingly increase costs and detrimentally alter contracted terms.

Tighter controls and regular audits can make a significant difference to the bottom line of a mid-sized company.  In auditing and assessing wireless expenses in corporate mobile telecom environments, these seven points are quite common among nearly 70% of companies we work with.

Get your Telecom Outsourcing Assessment now to see if any of these items apply to your business, and follow our blog for additional articles relating to Turnkey Telecom Management™ (TTM™) and Telecom Outsourcing.

Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

/0 Comments/by

Improving Financial Management of Telecom

,

Improving financial management of telecom services within your organization is never easy, but managing the financial component of telecom can be a nightmare. Multiple carriers, multiple contracts, different locations; these factors can all lead to poor financial management and cost creep. Add mobility into the picture and you get a hodge-podge mess (I use hodge-podge because a customer used that very term the other day!).

It is easy to avoid looking at the financial costs of managing telecom (much like your personal finances… I can relate), but what are the risks of doing nothing? There are plenty of reports from some of the top research names in the industry, and here are some of the key findings:

  • Telecom costs rank in the top 5 expenses for most companies (Gartner)
  • 80% of carrier bills contain errors (Gartner)
  • Telecom analysts spend on average 20% of their time identifying errors (Gartner)
  • Enterprises forfeit 12%-17% of telecom expenses without a proactive approach to telecom cost management (Aberdeen Group)

The Benefits to Financial Management of Telecom

  • Peace of mind with a complete and accurate inventory (and knowing you can go to your board of directors or executive team with an optimized environment!)
  • Profitability & lower cost of ownership through tighter financial controls
  • Time: frees up your time and allows you to focus on your core business
  • Future proofing your environment and technology to align with your business both for today and in the future

What are the components of Financial Management in Telecom?

The first step in  determining the areas of focus would be to conduct an Inventory Audit and Assessment. The following items should be sections of analysis.

Wireline

  • Service validation
  • Optimization
  • Identify and dispute all billing inaccuracies and unauthorized third party billing

Wireless

  • Assess pooling minutes, voice and data plans and discounts
  • Identify compliance vs. approved policy
  • Identify text and data overages
  • Identify subscriptions and downloads

Financial / Invoice Management

  • Invoices & Optimization
  • Maintain accurate and current inventory
  • Monitor pricing, discounts, contracts, and invoices

Service optimization

  • A/P
  • GL coding
  • Cost allocation
  • Track credits and adjustments are applied and posted

Telecom Asset Repository

Metrics and ROI Measurement

  • Month over month spending
  • YTD spending vs previous year
  • Percent of cost savings
  • Percent of total telecom spending vs overall company spending
  • Budget allocation for next fiscal year

Mobility Program Management

Corporate Help Desk 

  • Establish a process to work with internal IT staff
  • Maintain and enforce approved policy for devices, plans, etc.
  • Streamline ordering process
  • Vendor management and Level 1 troubleshooting
  • Single POC for all inquiries and issues
  • Order new / replacement devices
  • Refresh, wipe, or upgrade of devices
  • Warranty replacement or repair of devices
  • Accessories acquisition if approved

Mobility Expense Management

  • Comprehensive inventory off all devices and associated plans
  • Ongoing optimization of plans to avoid unnecessary overages
  • Management reports
  • Device asset allocation and GL coding

The bottom line is, once you do a current state review and analysis of every aspect of your telecom environment, it becomes easier to determine where you can cut costs and lower the cost of managing these services, however, not doing anything leads to a continued state of chaos.

Contact us to learn more about our Telecom Assessment.

/0 Comments/by