TEM Solutions Lack Call Accounting Capability
June 20, 2011
By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor
A number of companies today is implementing Telecom Expense Management (TEM) solutions as a way to better manage their must-have operations. While many may believe that this solution is a “launch it and forget it” type of scenario, the reality is that you still need call accounting solutions in place to manage your overall approach to controlling your communications costs.
This recent ISI (News - Alert) Info piece highlights how TEM can definitely be beneficial, but it is not the end-all to managing your telecom spend. You still need
call accounting. Why? Most TEM providers do not have the ability to evaluate the calls on your invoices and verify if those calls were actually made, and if so, verify the number of billed minutes for accuracy. To get such results you need actual Call Detail Records (CDR) provided by your telephony switch or PBX (News - Alert). This is where call accounting makes a difference.
When you implement a call accounting
solution, you gain the ability to quickly review all telecom invoices, compare the calls billed according to the actual CDR and create a report that will show the calls you did not make, or those calls with different time durations than what is actually stated on your invoice. In taking this approach, you have documented ammunition before you approach your carriers for reversals of charges and refunds.
If you are operating in the SMB sector and you spend roughly $100,000 a year on telecom and you can easily identify these kinds of errors with call accounting, you could save your company tens of thousands of dollars just be identifying invoice errors. These gains generated by call accounting solutions will quickly justify any investment in this technology.
ISI offers a call accounting solution that is also promoted as a
bill verification product. Known as Carrier Call Matching, this call accounting solution can quality compare your telecom invoices against your actual CDR and then report on any discrepancies found. With such information in hand, you can drive changes in your invoices and ensure that your company is only being billed for services actually used.
Another call accounting solution, Infortel Select, is designed to enable you to monitor employee calling activity, root out fraud and identify unauthorized calling. As a result, you can easily increase productivity, improve customer service and reduce overall costs. This solution allows you to track call times, abandoned calls and monitor network congestion. While TEM solutions can go a long way to delivering value to the SMB or the enterprise, the organization still needs a solid call accounting solution to support the efforts of the TEM to be sure total value is realized.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Juliana Kenny