Bring Expenses under Control with Telecommunications Expense Management
IT and telecom expenses are typically among the largest for any organization. Effectively using telecommunications expense management tools can lead your business to significant costs savings. Here are some of the activities typically involved in telecommunications expense management initiative:
- An evaluation of your telecom consumption. A typical menu of telecom services can include local, long distance and wireless phone, VPN, PBX, conferencing, email and data expenses. Getting a handle on these variables is what telecommunications expense management is all about.
- Establishing business-wide telecom policies. Once you know your menu of telecom services, it is wise to establish policies for their use. Telecommunications expense management helps to ensure that all employees use the same carrier and equipment and can greatly reduce costs.
- Creating a centralized telecom management team. Establishing a person, or group, that is dedicated to telecommunications expense management can facilitate cost savings for your business. Ensuring your telecom team knows your inventory, approved carriers, discounts and policies prevents individual departments and locations from impacting the telecom budget.
- Identify unused or underutilized services. For many companies savings can quickly be obtained by closing unused accounts or eliminating costs related to non-essential services. With employee turnover and job reductions, many companies are paying for phone lines and services no one is using.
- Contract review and renegotiation. A thorough review of your contracts and associated costs will often reveal several easy cost savings options. Renegotiating contracts with your carriers to obtain more favorable terms is an essential component of telecommunications expense management.
Tags: Cost Reduction, cost reduction strategies, Expense Analysis, Spend Management, telecom expense management, Telecommunications Expense Management
