Call Accounting, Telecom Expense Management Crucial for UC Mobility
August 28, 2014
By Michelle Amodio
TMCnet Contributor
Smartphones have unleashed the employee from their desk, so much that a lot of the workforce is out and about conducting in-person business while being able to maintain a “desk presence” right from their devices. While it’s certainly helped give productivity a boost, it also means the IT folk have a bit of a headache when it comes to managing said devices.
Unified communications (UC) has allowed businesses to trim their telecom expenses exponentially especially where mobility is concerned. How are IT departments tackling the data usage and phone monitoring? Mobile device management (MDM) is one part of the solution, but it’s just the beginning.
MDM encompasses several areas, all of which serve the same general goal – making sure gadgets, changing the way employees work, are a help rather than a liability.
It behooves organizations to develop a strategy that will offer employees capable devices, apps, and services, and allow information to flow freely so that employees can easily access it. Providing the ability and flexibility to adapt to individual needs produces good long-term results, and it can be done if a company focuses on the bigger picture and not just the gadgets that make up the landscape.
Beyond MDM, there is telecom expense management and call accounting. Telecom expense management works together with call accounting, invoice validation, contract management and performance management, usually in one solution. When used effectively, TEM can decrease costs by improving efficiency and automating many telecom management functions. A telecom expense management solution should provide a single interface to manage all wireless assets and services, automated approval workflow, payment policy administration and visibility into the status of each and every transaction.
The challenge is that without proper management, telecom expenses can quickly spiral out of control. Where productivity thrives, expenses saddle companies with a huge burden.
A dedicated telecom expense management platform can do a lot more than just show you how much you’re spending on your telecommunications and mobile devices. It can also offer strategies on how to use telecom most effectively, saving both time and money.
Ambitious businesses require a telecom expense management solution that can help them harness mobile UC, but also achieve global visibility of their communications.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi