Wireless Costs Will Surpass Fixed Telecom Costs

Challenge No. 4: Wireless costs will surpass fixed telecom costs

Once, mobility was thought to be an investment in personal productivity. Today, organizations use mobile devices as an investment in corporate competitiveness. Employees need to do more than simply talk on the phone with their peers, customers, partners and suppliers. They need to be able to collaborate from anywhere while having real-time access to back-end application data.

Challenge No. 5: The CIO's role in TEM

Your telecom network is likely decentralized, which makes it incredibly difficult to manage. Decentralized purchase decisions and limited oversight of these expenses can result in spending 10 to 25 percent more than you need to on telecom expenses. Breakdowns in internal processes present yet another challenge. Organizations rarely have effective systems for recording telecom contracts, service order move, MACD activity, bill validation and detailed expense reporting.

CIOs should take a lead role in centralizing management of telecom expenses, leveraging economies of scale for purchasing decisions, procurement processes and the operational costs to manage these expenses. While you can delegate some of the work of evaluating TEM suppliers, CIOs play a key role in ensuring true apples-to-apples comparisons. TEM solutions are difficult to evaluate; your experience and expertise are needed to find the one that best supports your unique environment.

Once you select a solution, be sure to set milestones in the implementation process. With TEM solutions, the issues center less on getting the technology to work and more on getting the information needed to implement. As CIO, you can help clear obstacles in locating these information sources. You'll also help set the standards for how systems will interface, how dashboard reporting will monitor savings results, and what business intelligence will drive improved decision making.