Telecom cost reduction should be at the top of every business’s priority list as the new year begins. Learn more about telecom expense management and how a few simple steps can make a measurable difference in your annual spend. A fresh new year, a fresh new start. Don’t we always think that? “If I just do XY and Z better than last year, boy wouldn’t things be great!”
Well, we’re never ones to discourage positive thinking. So to give you a kick start, we’ve cooked up five “resolutions” to get you on the right track to reducing your telecom and wireless expenses this year.
Why Telecom Cost Reduction Should Be Your First Resolution
Most businesses enter the new year with good intentions around spending, but telecom expenses are one of the most commonly overlooked areas of the budget. Unlike rent or payroll, telecom costs tend to grow quietly in the background — new lines added here, an unreviewed contract there, a few billing errors that slip through month after month.
According to Gartner, organizations that proactively audit and manage their telecom environments consistently identify savings of 20-40% compared to those that leave expenses unmanaged. The new year is the perfect time to take stock of where your money is going and put a plan in place to stop the bleeding. These five resolutions will help you do exactly that.
Resolution 1: Do a Simple Inventory of Your Telecom Assets
What do you have? Who has it? Are you using all of it? Do you NEED all of it? This is a good way to identify zero or no use users and devices, so you can cancel them.
A clean inventory is the foundation of any telecom cost reduction strategy. Without knowing what you have, it is impossible to know what you are wasting money on. Start by pulling together a list of every device, line, circuit, and service your organization is currently paying for. Then match each item to an active user or business need. Anything that cannot be justified should be flagged for cancellation or reassignment.
This process does not have to be complicated. Even a basic spreadsheet exercise can surface surprising waste, particularly in larger organizations where devices and services accumulate over time without regular review.
Resolution 2: Do a Cursory Audit of Your Main Telecom Bills
Now that you have that inventory, are you paying for what you’re supposed to be paying for? Are you getting hit with any taxes, fees, setup charges or third party bills you didn’t know about? Did you cancel anything that didn’t get cancelled? Do they owe you any credits?
Billing errors are far more common than most businesses realize. Industry estimates consistently place the error rate on telecom invoices at 12-20%, with the majority of those errors favoring the vendor. A quick audit of your most significant bills can reveal charges that should have been removed, discounts that were never applied, and services that appear on your invoice despite being cancelled months ago. Getting started with cut telecom costs 2011, plan ahead gives you a proven framework for approaching this kind of audit systematically.
Resolution 3: Check Your Contracts
When I say check contracts, I mean two things. One – are you getting billed at the rate you agreed to pay in the original contract? And secondly – when does that contract come due for renewal? That last one is important, since you can’t renegotiate from a strong position if you wait til three days before it expires.
Contract management is one of the highest-value activities in any telecom cost reduction program. Many businesses discover that they are being billed at rates that no longer match their signed agreements, or that their contracts have quietly rolled over into unfavorable month-to-month terms. Building a simple contract calendar that tracks renewal dates and key terms gives you the leverage you need to negotiate from a position of strength.
Resolution 4: Optimize Your Wireless Environment
With “all you can eat” data plans going the way of the dodo, user usage is going to become a bigger pain in your neck this year. Find out who is using wireless devices (smartphones, blackberries, tablets) and what they use them for. Do they need it? Can you pool plans together to minimize costs? Can you ratchet down some user’s plans while ramping up others based on need?
Wireless optimization is one of the fastest ways to achieve meaningful telecom cost reduction without making dramatic changes to your environment. Many organizations find that a significant portion of their wireless spend is concentrated on a small number of heavy users, while a large group of occasional users are sitting on plans that are far too large for their actual needs. Reviewing usage data and right-sizing plans accordingly can generate immediate savings. For practical guidance, check out this tip help manage telecom costs and apply it directly to your wireless optimization efforts.
Resolution 5: Get Organized
With the wave of new web-based, low cost subscription softwares to track telecom assets and expenses, there is no excuse not to use good management tools. The money you save will more than offset the subscription fees, and it will save you a lot of time and effort. And who doesn’t need more money and time!
Getting organized is about more than just cleaning up your files. It means putting systems in place that give you ongoing visibility into your telecom environment so that costs never spiral out of control again. A purpose-built TEM platform can automate invoice processing, flag anomalies, track inventory, and generate reports that make it easy to spot trends and act on them quickly. For a closer look at what this looks like in practice, watch our video blog telecom expense management and see how organizations are using TEM tools to stay organized year-round.
Make This the Year You Take Control of Telecom Costs
Telecom cost reduction does not require a massive overhaul of your organization. It starts with five simple resolutions — inventory your assets, audit your bills, review your contracts, optimize your wireless environment, and get organized. Each step builds on the last, and together they create a foundation for sustainable savings that compounds over time.
The businesses that consistently keep their telecom costs under control are not doing anything magical. They are simply paying attention, asking the right questions, and using the right tools to act on what they find. This year, make that commitment and start seeing the difference it makes to your bottom line.
