How to Rein in Telecom Expenses Without Hindering Long-Term Growth

Take control of mobile management

Mobile devices are an invaluable component of any company's long and short-term plan to optimize worker productivity and create an effective and cost-efficient mobile work force. Mobile device usage has grown more significantly than any other communications category within the enterprise and it’s predicted to continue to grow at record rates. If not properly managed, however, mobile devices can create excessive costs and increased risks of data and device loss.

To offset these risks, it's imperative that organizations implement mobile management solutions that can manage and track usage, monitor and control applications, enable user self-provisioning, device wipe and kill—just to name a few. Device management solutions also enable rate plan optimization and pooling. They also allow you to monitor usage and enforce mobile policies, which are two areas that can dramatically lower mobile costs.

Often overlooked, device management solutions can greatly reduce help desk calls (and the associated productivity costs) and increase user uptime. Put simply, strong mobile device management solutions optimize cost management, improve operational effectiveness, and mitigate mobile data and application risks in both shrinking and expanding economies.

Understand your inventory

Surprisingly, most organizations do not have an accurate record of their communications assets (that is, ports, trunks, T-1s, handsets, air cards, modem lines and numbers). Without an accurate inventory, the ability to effectively manage the enterprise's communications environment and its associated costs is questionable. With inaccurate inventories, some companies err on the side of caution and incur communications expenses greater than necessary.

Others maintain inventory and service levels well below what is adequate, which negatively impacts communications effectiveness and organizational productivity. In either case, these conditions can have a significant impact on costs. More importantly, inaccurate inventories can have a profound effect upon an organization’s ability to manage business downturn and/or growth cycles.

Questions and considerations

While it may seem unnecessary, organizations should routinely ask if they are managing the appropriate level of fixed and mobile communications assets. Consideration should be directed toward carrier agreements. Are they protective of your current business environment and scalable for potential future requirements? Businesses should carefully consider their ability to scale back or ramp up quickly, along with the ability to re-provision and realign voice and data communications resources based on current business activity.

Clearly, the challenges of reining in communication costs are many, and these are only a few of the important considerations regarding an enterprise’s communications contracts, inventories, mobile policies and practices. In light of the dynamic business environment, organizations who take a fresh look at these issues will be better prepared for the challenges of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow.

Albert Subbloie is founder, President and CEO of Tangoe. Albert is recognized as a telecommunications technology and Internet pioneer. Prior to Tangoe, Albert was among the first to develop and market voice and data solutions for integrated sales, marketing and customer service activities. Albert founded Information Management Associates (IMA) in 1984 and guided the company's growth to more than $50M in sales and 300 customers in seven offices worldwide. Albert is credited with one of the patents for reverse auction theory, the leading Internet paradigm in most shopping Websites today. Albert received a degree with honors in Economics from Trinity College. He can be reached at albertsubbloie@tangoe.com.