Telecom Expense Management - The Use of Software to Improve the Bottom Line

As organizations employ more remote employees and sales staff across the globe, the mobile devices these employees use as their corporate lifelines are creating numerous challenges for those charged with managing the rapidly expanding universe of telecom expenses. With new services that include voice, data, text, Internet, and video being added to bills, organizations are experiencing growing difficulties in managing the charges and in ensuring that erroneous errors do not occur. Managing the invoicing for tens of thousands of wireless devices requires specialized systems and processes to ensure that they are getting the best deal for a continually growing corporate cost.

Enter Telecom Expense Management (TEM). TEM solutions allow organizations to let software handle the complexities of millions of dollars in telecom charges each year. Many people think that TEM is a way of processing large invoices more efficiently and therefore, paying bills on time. But, in truth, such a definition misses the point. As organizations continue to evolve, telecom strategies have become far more complex than ever before. The result is a glaring need for telecom management platforms that go beyond invoice management and help companies manage their telecom resources more holistically and in real-time. Effective TEM requires a strong combination of people, process, technology, and market intelligence.

Technological developments within the TEM industry are allowing organizations to analyze and process their telecom expenses more efficiently-and accurately. One development that has enabled software developers to integrate TEM software with their carrier’s billing internal methods is e-billing. Instead of receiving endless paper statements, carriers now send bills in electronic format and correspond directly with the TEM software to analyze the charges.

Increased automation allows organizations to see more information, reconcile inventory charges, validate contract rates and streamline the payment process. When all these processes are automated, management can concentrate on optimizing telecommunications investment and focus on their core competencies.

With consumers and organizations doing more business over the Internet than in previous years, online procurement is gaining favor as another way of utilizing technological developments to create a more efficient use of TEM software. Automation of procurement is a time-saving and efficient way of transmitting orders for moves, adds and changes (MACs) to vendors, creating less errors in ordering and keeping a better handle on inventory.

Software has also evolved to support an organization’s global footprint. Some TEM applications are Rich Internet Applications (RIA); in others words, they provide more functionality than HTML applications. They are easy to deploy, compatible with any browser and can be implemented globally, creating the ideal scenario to use the software to save valuable time and money.

Most organizations view software applications as an additional business expense. In this case, however, TEM software can save up to 20% of annual telecom bills by simply creating a more efficient, automated billing, procurement, payment and analysis processes, allowing organizations to focus on larger issues within their business. Additionally, global companies with employees across several countries each with diverse carriers, languages and telecom regulation, can benefit by implementing a uniform system across all locations to avoid costly mistakes. Bottom line: TEM software is no longer an investment, but a necessity for cost savings and greater visibility to the billions of dollars spent each year on telecommunications.