These moves are in response to a recent study by the FCC, which found that 30 million people have experienced some form of bill shock, typically $98 in overage fees, and as much as $8,553 for unspecified data usage. The FCC study also found that some individual complaints have even been as large as $68,505 in unexpected overage fees.

If this is what’s happening on the consumer level, imagine the overages phone companies routinely charge to global corporations, where telecom spending is one of the largest components of the enterprise expense budget (as much as 4 to 10 percent).

Companies typically receive phone book-sized telecom bills each month and have virtually no checks on their accuracy, and no framework to understand whether their telecom service is properly utilized. However, there are a few simple things companies can do to better anticipate, track and control their overall usage and correct billing errors while keeping pace with the latest mobile technologies.

For both individuals and companies, one must know what the baseline mobile usage figures are.  Implementing a comprehensive inventory and usage management system is central to gaining and maintaining control over mobile usage. These systems track who is using which devices, how much cost they are incurring and what their pattern of usage is. When coupled with effective policy enforcement (e.g. device/plan selection, rate plan optimization and identifying unapproved use) companies can reduce their costs, improve policy compliance and reduce bill shock risk without impacting usability.

You can’t manage or find errors in what you don’t track usage-wise. Given the rapid growth of mobile usage within corporations, it is critical to monitor different types of mobile usage for cost control, security and policy management reasons. Managing by department in particular gives line managers the insight and incentive they need to control the usage patterns of their user groups.

However, capturing the information is only the first step. It is critical that information be made available to the budget holders and the individuals that are actually using devices in order to drive maximum benefit. Everyone must understand what the base usage costs are so that discrepancies can be discovered quickly and resolved.

This process provides multiple layers of oversight that work with one another in order to understand and monitor usage. In addition to this process, companies should survey the telecom needs of their employees to streamline usage from top to bottom and to avoid being oversold by providers.

The following steps provide both short-term financial boost and long-term cost reductions. These steps can streamline the telecom budget with resulting baseline operational costs reduction.  They also provide greater oversight and reduced bill shock risk exposure while equipping your workforce with the best technology for the job.

• Survey the technology and services  in every category where you have visibility
Look at both the internal communications structure and the mobile structure of the company and the work force. Internal and external communications must be consolidated. Most of your large expenditures should be defined by contract. Review your contracts to determine if there are openings in the contracts that allow you to take action. 

• Include employees in the reduction and optimization efforts
Consider distributing the corporate responsibility of your telecom expense management. If you bracket it during the period when you need the help most, you will find everyone can gather together and push forward, leaving old habits and biases behind. 

• Negotiate with your service providers to maximize your ROI
The best way to achieve this is by hiring expertise to negotiate the price and terms of telecom contracts on your behalf. This will force providers to compete and will drive down the final cost of the contract. This is similar to hiring a consultant to do your taxes, to find the most possible deductions.

It’s easy to define telecom expense management by its goals – cost reduction and expense tracking – but when you get into the actual methods of telecom expense management you’ll discover that best practices involve a number of combined tactics to the point where many companies employ professional telecom expense management services. GILL Technologies is one such company, and it employs the following methods to keep client telecom costs down, while helping them identify critical elements in their billing and usage.

Error Detection: Erroneous charges are common for virtually every carrier and service. These include everything from miscalculated per minute charges for wireless bills to suspected fraud. Telecom expense management professionals audit billing, usage and contractual entitlements. When they don’t match up, the telecom auditor requests an adjustment to reflect the true expense.

Contract Auditing and Management: By examining the client’s real usage requirements, a telecom expense management professional can determine whether or not existing contracts provide the most cost effective solution. For example, companies routinely pay for more minutes than they actually use, or make use of certain services more than they anticipated. For example, if a client routinely goes above the usage ceiling for his company’s broadband or mobile data, the company will be subject to punishing additional charges. Telecom expense management discovers the best plans for a company’s actual needs.

Market Analysis: A skilled telecom expense management service provides an unbiased service that directs clients to the carriers that best suit their needs. Telecom expense management professionals are aware of the latest hardware, network and contract developments for carriers and can pick the most budget conscious options. In some cases the professional will recommend different carriers depending on the service, and can provide management services that allow clients to easily distribute services across multiple carriers so that if (for example) the best carrier for mobile is different from the best for broadband, the client can take advantage of both. The best management services ensure that on the client end, this is no more difficult than using a single carrier by providing a unified single point of contact.

Telecom Expense Management and Reporting Software: Best practices in telecom expense management require transparency so that the client understands company usage and savings under the management regime. The easiest solution for the client is access to specialized software. GILL Technologies provides access to its own telecom expense management software to enable clients to monitor their own usage and costs in addition to the services of a telecom auditing professional. This visibility allows management to detect misuse, understand usage patterns throughout the company, and enforce telephone, mobile and internet policies.

These are just a few of the tactics used in a combined telecom expense management strategy. It’s easy to see why top quality telecom expense management requires professional help. The cost of the service is more than offset by savings, and a quality telecom expense management company can show these savings down to the penny. It’s a net negative expense – a benefit to your bottom line.

For the past seven years Spiritel Solutions has been dedicated to helping our clients reduce telecom expenses. Our team of experts have successfully helped companies reduce their annual telecom spend by an average of 30% or more. Spiritel also provides telecom analysis and consultation that is guaranteed to lower costs for all types of voice, data and Internet service. For a free consultation, please visit us at http://www.spiritelsolutions.com or give us a call at 866-770-0300.