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Telecom Expense Management: Bringing Wireless Assets into the Fold

By MAE KOWALKE TMCnet Associate Editor for Channels

Companies using a telecom expense management solution often tend to think of this tool as merely a way to manage traditional phone bills. That was true in the past for telecom expense management, but is now changing. Telecom expense management is now a vital tool not only for traditional telecom expenses, but for all communications expenses. One often overlooked benefit of telecom expense management is its ability to simplify and clarify the process of provisioning mobile phones and wireless services.

Because mobile phones are now ubiquitous in the business world, telecom expense management has adapted to include oversight of this growing area of communications asset. Whether a company assigns mobile phones to some or all of its staff, telecom expense management is a necessary tool for keeping track of these assets.

Think of a traditional phone system and how telecom expense management helps keep things in order. This will provide some insight into why telecom expense management is necessary for wireless assets too. Telecom expense management involves the whole telecom lifecycle including inventory management, provisioning, tracking services, and negotiating service contracts. All of these telecom expense management components apply to mobile phones and wireless services. Sometimes these aspects of telecom expense management are even more critical for wireless than for traditional telephony.

Without telecom expense management, it is all too easy for a company's wireless assets to fall into mismanagement, resulting in unnecessary costs. If it's possible for minor, traditional telephony oversights to add up to 15 percent of a telecom budget, think how much more can be lost without telecom expense management when wireless assets aren't managed. Unlike with traditional telephony where devices are located and used in the office, making telecom expense management relatively easy, wireless assets are by their very nature mobile and harder to track.

Rather than throwing up its hands and letting wireless assets descend into confusion, companies utilizing telecom expense management can bring these new assets into the fold and keep track of expenses with the same control as with any other communications asset. Telecom expense management can help save money not just for desk phones and landline service, but mobile devices provisioning, wireless service contracts, and controlling a geographically dispersed inventory.

When it comes to effectively aligning a company's business goals with its people, processes and technology investments, telecom expense management is the way to go. Today, that means choosing a telecom expense management solution that handles not only traditional telephony but wireless as well. Staying in the black and staying nimble: both are possible with telecom expense management.

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Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke's columnist page.