Call Accounting is a Key Component of a Good Enterprise Communications Plan
August 12, 2015
By Mae Kowalke
TMCnet Contributor
When businesses map out their communications strategy, it is easy to focus on areas such as devices that will be provisioned, systems for connecting employees, email services, phone provider and whether or not to use business VoIP, and BYOD, among other considerations.
Rarely is managing telecom expenses and call accounting a part of the planning even though costs are a key consideration that every business includes.
This is a mistake, however.
As anyone who has taken a basic psychology course will remind you, people use and abuse things they aren’t responsible for administering, things that aren’t “theirs.” Business communications definitely falls in that category. Which is why it is important to build telecom expense management and call accounting into an enterprise communications plan from the start.
“Every company should have a plan to manage telecom expenses,” warned Israel Perez-Siam in a recent blog post, mobility and interoperability manager for healthcare provider, VITAS.
“In my experience, there is a tendency for users to misuse devices which can result in overages,” he added. “To manage overages, plans and policies should be in place before deployment begins. If the company doesn’t have the resources to reconcile and manage bills internally, one must make sure to look for a Telecom Expense Management (TEM) tool that works well with your chosen carrier partner.”
This can be a lifesaver not only when it comes to unanticipated expenses, but also for other areas of an enterprise communications plan such as BYOD.
California, for instance, requires firms to reimburse employees for business use of their personal mobile devices. Without good call accounting systems in place, this can quickly become a big headache.
Areas such as unified communications and what platform to choose gets all the attention, but no good enterprise communications plan is complete without having a solid foundation for tracking calls and telecom expenses.
This needs to happen before a strategy is put into place, not bolted on later in the process. Which is why TEM and call accounting should be built into enterprise communications strategy from the start.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi