Almost there.  And you're probably sick of me talking about all this extra WORK I think you should do to reduce telecom expenses.  But then now you know why some people give up and outsource it to a telecom audit team.   But it's also why we built our new Clearview TEM software tool that we deliver via the web.  It's easy to learn, not too expensive and it makes all this a whole lot easier.   

But that's not what you're here to read about.  So onward and upward.   What's Step Five, you ask?   Stepping on the smart phones.  In other words -  managing your wireless expenses, mobile phone management, mobile management, whatever you choose to call it.  It means implementing a wireless policy.  Standardize what your people can buy, what plans they can utilize, what features they have, etc.  This allows you to better negotiate and track wireless costs.

As your wireless device options continue to erupt, the ability to properly manage these devices and their associated costs will continue to be a challenge to all organizations. Gartner states: "Defining corporate user requirements and policy is essential for all sizes of organizations, and although every company will need a unique policy, there are key areas that every policy should contain."

Wireless expense management is the current focus of most Information Technology and Telecommunication departments.

To help with this task, we offer a Wireless Policy template to get you started.

Stay tuned for Part Six - Talk softly but carry a big stick.  Contract negotiation......

Can SaaS Solutions Lower Your Telecom, Network, and Mobility Expenses?


Join Valicom and Aberdeen for this free webinar to find out!


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Over the past year, Aberdeen Group research has shown that as telecom, network, and mobility demands have become more complicated, the urgent requirement to manage and control expenses is no longer just a Fortune 500 problem. Mid-Market sized organizations have their own unique needs for agile and service-based telecom expense solutions that match their own operational flexibility and challenges. For instance, a typical company with $250 million in annual revenue with an effective Telecom Expense Management solution can achieve savings of $100,000 and a Full-Time Equivalent in support of telecom inventory, tech support, bill management, disputes, and contract management by moving from a low maturity solution to Aberdeen-defined Best-in-Class practices.

Presenters:
Hyoun Park, Research Analyst, Telecom and Unified Communications

Hyoun Park is the Research Analyst for Telecom Lifecycle Management at Aberdeen. In this role, he has benchmarked the behaviors of over a thousand organizations in Telecom Lifecycle Management and has provided strategic guidance to numerous Telecom Expense Management organizations and customers. This research practice focuses on the strategic planning, procurement, management, and enterprise usage of network, landline voice, mobility, and unified communications and includes aspects of the following topics: call accounting, business process alignment to telecom technologies, telecom procurement, telecom contract negotiation and filing, telecom and utility spend management, invoice processing, financial reporting, network management, and asset/service inventories.

Nancy Peckham, CEO, Valicom

Nancy began her career in telecommunications in 1983 as an account executive with Republic Telecom, a regional long distance carrier. She was named district sales manager for the Wisconsin region in 1987 when Republic Telecom was acquired by Mid American Communications. She recognized a need for independent, objective telecommunications consulting which led her founding Valicom. Since its launch in 1991, Valicom has been a leader in providing telecom expense management solutions and serves enterprise and mid-market clients in a variety of industries and verticals across the U.S.

For those companies that are currently utilizing Telecom Expense Management (TEM) services, or interested in TEM services, are you certain that the your TEM provider is focused on the areas of expertise that you need? Are they trying to be everything to everybody?   

When a company is looking for a TEM vendor to have the expertise that leads to telecom expense control through best practices, years of experience and the best tools available, be sure that they are not trying to be everything to everybody.
Have you heard the phrase, "the jack of all trades and the master of none? I read quite a bit of information posted from numerous sources. So many TEM, or pure expense management vendors talk about how they can provide Information Technology (IT) and telecom hardware, consulting services, VoIP convergence... oh and by the way we might be able to wash your car if it generates revenue. That approach is difficult to really know who your vendor is and how they might deal with you after the proposal is signed. When your TEM vendor is focused on your success and not distracted, or incented to lead you to a specific carrier or solution, because they will receive compensation on the back-end, then your company is in the best position for a successful engagement.

Before you make the selection final, be sure to know who you are dealing with and that they have the focus on exceeding your expectations regarding telecommunication invoice audit and mobile management.
Many companies have decided to utilize existing staff that have a great understanding of the company's business and industry and just need a tool  to manage telecom expenses.

Proper due diligence is the key in selecting who you partner with. Establishing your TEM vendor relationship will become the foundation for success and visible expense reduction.
Keep your focus on strategic cost reduction!

What do you really know about Mobile expense software? In most cases, telecom expenses are not often reviewed in detail unless an executive within a company questions expenses or is reviewing and planning the upcoming year's budget. Telecommunication technologies continue to emerge at a rapid pace which creates a challenge for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication departments to keep up. According to Answers.com, one of the definitions they list for education is "the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process". There are a considerable amount of TEM companies out there that have the answer for you when you need to learn how to reduce business costs, achieve cellular optimization and implement cost reduction techniques.

In some cases, we have had clients that 'do not know what they don't know' in terms of telecommunication expense management (TEM) industry best practices. For example, when a company enters into telecom contract negotiations themselves they may achieve a minimal cost savings for the business when compared to their existing contract. However, they may in fact leave money on the table when compared to what other companies are able to negotiate. Utilizing a TEM services provider like Valicom will provide the advantage of knowing what the best practices in the industry are, as well as the best pricing that leads to the ultimate cost savings for business. I am in the business of educating our clients and enhancing the telecom expense management industry. Ask yourself how you stay current regarding telecom cost management.

With today's ability to support mobile, remote, out-of-the-office workers, individuals and companies need to understand the activities or processes that should be considered to ensure efficient and cost-effective solutions to enable proper management of devices used for remote operations. We have all heard about the concerns involving corporate versus personal liability. Telecommunication Expense Management (TEM) encompasses a series of decisions to be made, including activities associated with wireless expense management. My philosophy has always included a process-oriented approach to managing processes and functions.

Due to the complex nature of telecommunications and the numerous options for wireless devices, features, voice and data plans, taking the time to understand and define the acceptable process to your company is the foundation of true wireless expense management. Not to mention, enabling the remote employee to focus on producing work instead of having to become an administrative expert. Who performs the expense analysis in your organization?

TEM companies have made it their business to map out all relative activities and have created automated work flows to provide the most efficient tools that lead directly to pure telecommunication expense reduction. If you do not have an effective process in place consider employing a TEM provider that can positively impact your business and lead to rapid cost reduction. Ask questions within your organization and I would be interested to hear about the effective process your company utilizes.