Role Of Telecom Expense Management in Company's Cost Control

Telecom Expense Management is the practice of controlling a company's wireless, landline and data requirements.

FREMONT, CA: Whether your company is small and starting or an enterprise with headquarters in many countries, telecom is essential. As such, the expenses are an essential cost. But there's a difference between expected and necessary. Luckily, there are often opportunities to control costs.

What is Telecom Expense Management? And how is it done?

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Telecom Expense Management is the practice of controlling a company's wireless, landline and data requirements. For smaller enterprises, that might be a single landline and a small number of mobile devices, along with whatever carrier plan fits their needs and spending requirements. Landlines, devices, and carrier plans often factor in location and department needs for larger businesses.

Telecom expense management (TEM) diverges from company to company. Some elect to manage the process in-house, which can be resource-intensive. Others outsource to TEM providers, adepts that specialize in this practice. A company with no cost management controls around its telecom needs is not set up to succeed.

But having those controls is just a step in the right direction. The way a company handles telecom expenses determines the success of its program. Here are a few instances of areas in TEM that make this profusely clear. 

1) Device Management

A company is looking to offer its rapidly growing sales team mobile devices. Exploring their options, they discover the best carrier for their needs and order 45 phones with a nationwide coverage plan. Most of the phones will go straight into the hands of the reps, but ten are held in reserve as spares. When a phone inevitably requires repairs, it often takes days to learn it's not fixable. The company plans to utilize one of the spares after unloading the old one after transferring all the necessary information and software to the new device.

Challenges

There are a few. First, this company may limit itself to the best plan it can find. It's not their flaw. They aren't in the TEM industry, but it will cost them.

Second, having so many spare phones is an idle asset disaster. Based on the quality of the device, that reserve could readily cost $10,000. Planning for the worst is often a good idea, but too many spare devices on the books aren't doing your company any good.

Third, all devices should be wiped out before they are disposed of. That goes double for a corporate device that may have sensitive company information on it.

One of the advantages of telecom expense management is not having to worry about excessive spending around device management. The right provider can support a mobility program by helping with carrier negotiations, avoiding a mountain of idle assets, and keeping proper life-cycle-management protocols.

2) IT Support

A company wants to offer mobile employees with in-house Support. While primarily thinking the current members of the IT department can satisfy this need, a conversation with the department head discloses mobile devices aren't in anyone's wheelhouse. Not wanting to slow down, the company rolls out IT Support as they begin the search for another head. This Support is circumscribed to 9 to 5 on weekdays only. 

Challenges

Expecting the department to take these additional support duties is expecting too much. Regrettably, Support for computers and Support for phones aren't easily translatable. In brief, supporting TEM requires expertise.  

Also, internal Support stretches the IT team thin while restricting employee access to specific hours. Accidents can happen at any time. If a phone fails late Friday, it may carry until late next week before the issue is solved.

The right TEM provider can provide expert Support with better hours of coverage. Outsourcing TEM also eliminates the burden on IT staff. Cost control is usually held high, but employee time savings is another advantage of telecom expense management.

3) Platform Solution

A company decides on a TEM giver that offers everything a business could need: 24-hour Support, device management, alliance with software providers, and a hefty bit of cost-savings. Leastways, that's what it says on paper. Outsourced Support is frustrating for the reps trying to troubleshoot device issues.

Additionally, employees and managers must juggle multiple logins for disparate systems to navigate all the software and its administration. The software itself is far from user-friendly. For all the cost-control promises, there often seems to be a reason for missing that number.

Challenges

One of the clear advantages of telecom expense management should be preventing headaches, not creating them. Support issues are a major red flag. If the TEM experts don't feel to be solving problems, they aren't the experts your employees require. 

Many TEM providers have old systems sewn together from several mergers and acquisitions. These can create frustrating experiences for employees and administrators alike, not to mention security issues. A stitched-together platform has multiple entry points or more vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit. 

Lastly, if a TEM provider isn't delivering on its promises, they're not the TEM provider for your company. Thankfully, the TEM space is replete with competitors, and one of them may offer the solution that fits your needs.