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The research gurus at Gartner released a report today stating that the mass move of businessess to Windows 7 is going to mean a serious hit to IT budgets. The need to migrate from Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000 to Windows 7 in a tight time frame will create an extra budgetary and resource burden on companies from 2011 to 2012. “We estimate that large and midsize organizations worldwide will migrate approximately 250 million PCs to Windows 7, during the migration timeline..." said Charles S mulders, managing vice president at Gartner.
This spike in spending will come not only from expected software costs, but also from hardware upgrade costs and IT consulting expenses. And that money in your budget has to come from somewhere. Unless you have a giant pool of profits sitting around, which in this economy isn't likely, where is it going to come from? We have a suggestion. One of the best ways to make money appear out of nowhere is to NOT SPEND IT. Cut costs somewhere else, and re-allocate. It's magic, like pulling a rabbit out of your hat. And one ripe spot to cut business expenses is in telecom. If you can reduce telecom expenses through a telecom audit, or managing your wireless costs better, maybe find a few invoice errors that add up to savings.... then you can spend that money on some new PCs. Valicom can help you do that. We've been saving businessess money on telecom costs for almost twenty years. Want to know what we might be able to save you through strong telecom expense management? Just contact us for a free consultation and see if we can help fund your Windows 7 upgrade.
In an earlier blog dated July 20, 2010 entitled "What are Mid-Sized Organizations Doing About Controlling Telecom Expenses?," we left you with the question: "What are the keys to telecom expense management (TEM) program success for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs)?"  Well, according to the AOTMP report entitled "The Value of TEM to the SMB," the following are the keys to TEM success for SMBs: * "Focusing on program activities presenting the greatest opportunity for savings" * "Implementing TEM tools, such as TEM technology and supporting program initiatives.” These tools and technologies include licensed software, hosted solutions and SaaS options. * “Securing program support from skilled resources, which may include internal staff, consultants and/or third party subject matter experts, to drive program initiatives.” This report further drives home the significant economic benefit of implementing a TEM program for SMBs. AOTMP states that “SMBs with a TEM program save 22% more than companies who do not.” The majority of middle market companies spend anywhere from $150k to $5M in annual telecom expenses. 22% savings on these expenses would equate to $33,000 - $1,100,000 in annual savings for these companies. Now wouldn't you like to add those savings to YOUR bottom line?!! To read more about this topic, click on this link to register for Valicom's whitepaper entitled "Can TEM SaaS Solutions Lower Your Telecom Expenses For Mid-Market Companies?" OR go to this link to register to watch the stream of the webinar sponsored by Valicom about this topic. Enjoy!
A  ccording to Healthcare IT News - physician adoption of smartphones is experiencing exponential growth, as reported in " Point of Care Communications for Physicians," a new study from Spyglass Consulting Group. The report reveals 94 percent of physicians are using smartphones... This represents a 60 percent increase from 2006, based on Spyglass' findings in a similar study published that year. They are migrating to the new wireless devices to help them manage their data flow, connect with colleagues and improve patient care. It also allows them to better allocate their time, as they no longer have to check various avenues of communication - voice mails, email, SMS messages, text, etc - but can have it all delivered in one place. This means less opportunity for critical patient data too fall through the cracks, generating better, more efficient care.
For us, the possible recipient of this improved physician performance, this is great news. But for the IT and finance departments at your local healthcare clinic or hospital, it means one more line item in the budget to manage. And a pile of wireless devices and data plans to juggle. All of which costs money, often more money than it should... This is where efficient telecom expense control, wireless device management, and employee wireless policy solutions become critical. Implementing a telecom expense management (TEM) software platform to organize and audit those telecom costs can save up to 30% of annual wireless telecom budgets, freeing that money up to pay for other things. Like healthcare! Read the full article here. And feel free to download a copy of our Wireless Policy Template or check out a demo of our TEM software platform Clearview.
Kick the Tires, Honk the Horn, won't cost you a thing....
 We know that you'd never buy a car without checking it out, looking under the hood and taking a test drive. And while Valicom, with our twenty year history and record client satisfaction scores, isn't exactly "Honest Al" over at the local car lot, we'd still like to offer you the same courtesy. In February, we led the TEM industry by releasing our third-generation telecom audit platform Clearview as a Software-as-a-Solution (Saas), giving small to mid-sized businesses a new tool to reduce telecom expenses. It can also be used by telecom expense reduction analysts or telecom consultants to help them deliver results. Now we've made it even easier to try out Clearview by launching a short online demo, so you can see just what you're missing. And Clearview is designed to do just that - give you a " clear view" of your telecom spend. Delivered securely online, it allows you to review your telecom invoices for errors, see wireless expenses - like mobiles phones and data plans, organize all your telecom assets in one place, track changes, additions or deletions, and in general make order from chaos. And in doing so, you'll save TIME and MONEY, which is really the whole point. So if you'd like to take a test drive of Clearview, just head on over to our website and we'll give you the keys....
" Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein As we discussed in Part One of “Living in the Past”, businesses should strive to keep an eye out for new tools and technology that can make their jobs easier. And I don’t mean easier as in “I get to leave for the golf course half an hour early”, I mean easier like “We saved 30% of our telecom spend over last year, because now we can actually SEE what we’re doing”. Most likely that Excel spreadsheet you’ve been using to manage your telecom expenses and wireless inventory isn’t doing anything more for you now than it was five years ago. Albert would tell you that it’s time to move on… So you ask me, “If I ditch my spreadsheet, how am I supposed to keep track of all this stuff?”. Remember hearing about SalesForce.com, this great tool that is delivered via the web, and accessible from anywhere? Well, guess what. Just recently, that technology has been creeping into telecom expense management too. Via hosted solutions, or software-as-a-service, you can upgrade from spreadsheets to a fully functional, easy-to-learn TEM platform that allows you to view telecom inventory, track telecom invoices, manage telecom vendor relationships, get a handle on order change management and optimize your wireless spend… The options are as deep as you want to go. Imagine having a customizable dashboard that can display widgets showing exactly the data YOU want to see. You can even pull them out to use when you have to present to your managers or company board, or if you’re a consultant, to your client. Gain efficiency by keeping all your data in one place, and gain flexibility through users with various levels of access, so they only see what they need to see. Streamlining like this can save a ton of time, and as we all know ( Without Einstein even having to tell us!) Time = Money. And that’s really the only equation you need to know. 
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Try a short demo of Clearview. With Clearview – you can see to the bottom of your telecom expenses.
“You can't do today's job with yesterday's methods and expect to be in business tomorrow”
– Unknown Most of us have probably heard this sensible business advice, but are you taking it to heart in your current work processes? Maybe not… We all know that it’s a lot easier to use tried and true tactics, going down the same path every day, rather than tackling anything different. Heaven forbid - you might have to learn something new! But the price you pay for stagnation can be huge. New techniques arise, best practices evolve over time, fresh technology comes out…. Your competitors are probably on board. The 25-year old guy in the corner cube who wants your office is probably on board. You better get on board too, or the boat is going to leave without you. So what kind of neat shiny new things am I talking about? Well, I’ll give you an example. A HUGE example. Granted, this doesn’t have much to do with telecom expense management or telecom invoice auditing, but we get to that in Part Two. This one tool helps to illustrate how the software-as-a-service technology is changing the face of business. Something you can use to automate workflows, and reduce costs for your business. But, this example is at work in your sales department… Ever heard of SalesForce.com? If you’re in IT or a CFO, I forgive you if you haven’t. But, if you work in sales or customer service, you’re in trouble if you don’t know. It’s only the fastest growing, most heavily adopted, and slickest customer relationship management tool out there. Best part? It’s web-based. Delivered online, real-time with a password, it means you can access your data from anywhere, anytime - even at 3 am when your flight out of O’Hare is cancelled for the third time. At a convention in Singapore? No problem. One click, and all your customer data is at your fingertips. On vacation in Costa Rica? Just log in and there are all the campaign stats for that email you sent out last Tuesday. Sure beats that crummy old rolodex sitting on your desk, doesn’t it? And with this new technology comes an avalanche of new best practices, tactics, ideas, collaborative plug-ins allowing access to third-party data and services, and so much more. Probably something you'd want to know about, and be using to save your business money, before Jimmy-in-the-Cube figures it out and you end up working for him. So, now that you get a taste of the type of tools available, stay tuned for Part Two to see how it can be applied to your telecom expense reduction tasks. Whether you’re an IT staff managing wireless expenses, a CFO looking for business cost reduction options, or a telecom consultant wanting a way to increase your capabilities while saving time and money, we’ve got a new toy for you…
Can SaaS Solutions Lower Your Telecom, Network, and Mobility Expenses? Join Valicom and Aberdeen for this free webinar to find out!  STREAM ONLINE TODAY 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.
During my 25 years of experience in running IT and telecommunication in manufacturing, complex services, consulting and government, most of the companies when asked did not know how much they spent annually on telecommunication services. This includes wireless devices, wired devices, data and voice circuits and their total telecommunication related inventory. Knowing the answer to that question is the first step in achieving true bottom-line business cost reduction. When a company is not aware of their telecom spend or is not organized in a way to make this possible then strategic cost reduction is not easily achieved. The key to any process improvement or strategic telecom cost reduction initiative is to understand all the components that make up the telecom expense control. Then you focus on the components that consume the most resources or expenses and generate options that lead to a reduction in annual telecom expenses and improvement in telecom services. This should not be a difficult process with the right telecom expense management system. Does your company have an automated tool that provides expense analysis? Contact Valicom today for more information!
Benchmarking is an extremely helpful process for companies as they prepare for a Telecom Request For Proposal (RFP). However, many organizations don’t take advantage of it?
Benchmarking is well worth the effort and cost to obtain assistance from a Telecom Expense Managerment or IT/Telecom Consultant to provide benchmarking on your existing telecommunications services. Not only can it provide you with a clear picture of where your services can be from a pricing standpoint, but also help you make RFP savings estimates by service type. This can further allow you to provide direction of where to apply the most effort during the RFP and telecom contract negotiations to maximize strategic cost reductions. It’s always good practice to have goals for how you would like your pricing and contracts to look when the RFP efforts are completed. Here are some tips on what to expect from the benchmarking of specific services. Local Services: These LEC services, including POTS, PBX Trunks, DID Trunks, Centrex, PRI T-1, Point to Point T-1, Analog circuit, etc., are all benchmark dependant on location. With the local POTS, Trunks, and PRI’s you’ll be able to have a nice range within each state of what the pricing would look like on the low and high ends. Keep in mind that some circuits such as Point to Point T-1’s often have too many variables to get that detailed, such as, the specific end point addresses, mileage between them, and distance from the LEC Central Office. Long Distance: The pricing here is more of a commodity, and typically will have a fairly close range of what can be expected based on your volume. It's especially important to have solid benchmarking on the International and Instate rates, as that is where the vendors often have the most variance in pricing. Data/Internet: This benchmarking effort is largely based on location and discounts provided. There’s typically a fairly large range here depending on service, size, and other specific variables. Wireless: Benchmarking of Wireless services such as, Cellular, Data Devices, Aircards, and Telemetry, is typically based off of a few metrics. Cost per minute, cost per KB/MB, and cost per device. Benchmarking here can be very accurate based on device quantity and discounting structure. I encourage you to take advantage of the valuable tool of benchmarking when you are planning you’re next RFP.
Let the experts at Valicom take your business cost reduction to the next level! Mike Krogman
Project Manager
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!
In my constant quest to grow and expand my knowledge I like to look for resources that I can refer to for our clients and for our company. Recently, I stumbled upon an industry expert named THINKstrategies. They provide On-demand strategic consulting services. Since Valicom recently announced the launch of our software-as-a-service (SaaS), Clearview®, or Clearview-as-a-Service (CaaS), I have become more interested in educating myself on emerging SaaS offerings. I have setup several different Google alerts to look for news and new offerings relative to SaaS. I was curious to know whether there were any directories that tracked software-as-a-service that would enable people to go to one place to obtain these types of technology solutions. I was pleasantly surprised to find a vast array of information about SaaS contained within THINKstrategies website. IT and Telecom professionals are always searching for better tools to manage their functions. I would encourage you to visit their site as a resource especially in your quest for more knowledge regarding Telecommunication Expense Management companies and to reduce business costs. There is constant pressure to do more work with less people and leverage the latest SaaS technology. Clearview® is one of those tools you should consider putting in your tool box.
By Sara Demien Depending on the size of your company you may have employees ordering telecommunications services without any knowledge of how these services are billed. If the services are not ordered correctly you will be paying higher costs than needed. Here are some tips and suggestions to avoid unnecessary telecom expenses when ordering new services. - Know your contracted carriers and their pricing. Make sure the carrier places the new services under existing contracted pricing.
- If you have a separate long distance contract with a carrier it is important to request that carrier as the long distance provider.
- Just as important, contact the contracted long distance carrier to inform them of the new service and line numbers.
- Ask for waived installation fees. Most Carriers have the ability to waive part or all of these fees.
- Some carriers have service level agreements on installation times. Follow the installation and if service level agreements are not met ask for credits.
- Centralize ordering for employees or consultants who are trained and have access to contracts.
Following these tips will result in reduced telecom costs as well as the manpower costs to fix them.
When Valicom began in 1991, we were founded on the values of carrier independence, ethics, and integrity. Today, there are a small number of IT, finance or sourcing executives who express concern over telecom expense management (TEM) providers who are not carrier agnostic. Most companies seems to have a lack of education and awareness as to why carrier independence is important when working with a telecom expense management provider. There are several reasons why independence is important when hiring a TEM provider to perform telecom consulting services. Telecom expense control companies who are vendor agnostic will perform more thorough telecom audits because uncovering billing errors and finding other telecom cost reduction opportunities does not create a conflict of interest with the carriers. In addition, the choice of carriers and plans is done in the best interest of the client since there are no financial ties to the telecom suppliers.
Just as you wouldn't hire a carrier to perform a telecom audit or recommend a telecom vendor it is not in your best interest to hire a TEM provider who represents a telecom carrier to provide cost reduction services or perform telecom contract negotiations. Telecom cost management providers who are not independent will be motivated to switch you to one of their carrier plans whether or not it is in your best interest. Many telecom expense management providers who are agents or resellers of wireless services receive activation fees for switching companies to the wireless providers they are representing and are not incented by your existing provider to perform wireless optimization services. In some cases, telecom expense management companies who are financially aligned with vendors do not disclose that they are receiving compensation from telecom carriers which becomes a matter of ethics.
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