In my last blog entitled "To SaaS or Not To SaaS...??," I provided just a few of the advantages of utilizing on-demand telecom expense management software. Those outlined were just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few others.  

Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, can be easy-to-learn and simple-to-use, while still possessing robust capabilities. Through online training and client support teams, the user can expand their use of the tool as their knowledge increases. Upgrades are installed automatically as they are rolled out, usually at no additional charge. SaaS telecom expense management solutions can scale up or down with the users’ volume requirements. And SaaS TEM technologies come at a much lower price point than more traditional TEM solutions. Thus SaaS is a low-cost way to access the low hanging fruit of expense reduction without the infrastructure, IT support, and high learning curve required with on-premise software.

There is also the issue of deployment time. According to recent analyst research, it can take anywhere from 8 – 10 months to implement traditional telecom expense management applications. This can be dramatically reduced to days or weeks with SaaS because of the ease of deploying a web-based solution vs. on-premise or outsourced options. Custom reporting can be easily configured and installed at any time, as the product is delivered online. In addition, SaaS tools can capture and analyze usage and fixed costs from billing and produce exceptions reports, outlining potential errors and other savings opportunities. Clearview, Valicom's self-service telecom expense management software, offers these benefits and many more! 

While there are many benefits, there are some potential drawbacks of telecom expense management software-as-a-service. To learn about these disadvantages and how you can mitigate them, register for Valicom's whitepaper entitled "Can TEM SaaS Solutions Lower Your Telecom Expenses For Mid-Market Companies?" OR register to watch the streaming telecom expense management webinar sponsored by Valicom about this topic.
 

• Process
• Organizational
• Knowledge Management
• Performance Management

• Technology
• Professional Services
• Managed Services
   

How much money can your organization stack

I had the privilege of meeting with a Telecom team and their Manager recently.   I had been asked by them to come and demo our new Telecom cost management software tool, Clearview-as-a-Service (CaaS).   

The team was a really solid group.  They ticked off some impressive stats, achievements and successfully completed projects.   I was impressed. 

During the demo, I began to talk about the bible of all things Telecom - the Customer Service Record (CSR) and how the information pulled from the CSR was absolutely accurate, stored and reported on.  I noticed a few of the analysts squirm, but kept going.  At one point, the group's manager blurted out "Geez, I don't think we've ordered CSRs in years.  We know we should, but just calling the vendors to order them is a huge ordeal.   When the CSRs finally roll in, we need someone to translate the data and enter it into our spreadsheets - with the volume of lines we have, it could take one of my people over a  month, working full-time to read and enter the data.  I don't have that bandwidth or  that kind of time."

I like that he was being honest.   He understood  the value of the CSR - the need to have exact circuit/line numbers, locations, amounts, quantities and on and on - but acknowledged that the job was just too big to accomplish with his current team.   In this economy, he certainly was not going to get the approval to hire on more staff, either.  

All this CSR information, just sitting out there waiting to be analyzed - and it hadn't been tackled in years.

I wish you could have seen his smile when I told him that we would order all the CSR's, and dump all of their data into our auditing tool for them.   Hello accurate inventory!   Hello ability to deep dive audit!   They took a huge step toward telecom expense control and cost reduction.      

I just love a happy ending....    In just 60 days with us, they are going to begin to see a difference.   Honesty is definitely the best policy.