It should come as no surprise that the convergence of IT and telecommunications is now taking place faster than ever. We have known for quite some time that this convergence was going to become a common occurrence among organizations across the globe.
As IT and telecommunications converge, profitable benefits are gained. Still yet, though, we have seen an increase in cloud service-related expenses due to issues with usage errors, especially those related to employee onboarding and off-boarding. For now, let's take a close look at how your organization can boost productivity and better manage cloud expenses with TEM software.
Understanding the Problem
Over the past few years, many organizations have combined a variety of IT services. Some are paid for based on usage while others are paid for according to a flat-rate. As you can imagine, this results in an extremely complex view of cloud expenses. How much is being spent on each IT service? Are there IT services that are costing too much? Should a different pricing plan be switched to due to frequent overage charges?
In order to answer the questions mentioned above, organizations must develop a method for gaining visibility across all of their cloud service accounts. More so, they must create a realistic usage chart that pinpoints how much usage each department should be using. If a department is using a certain cloud service more than it should, then limits should be set to ensure overage charges do not make themselves present on invoices; this helps keep cloud expenses to a minimum. It is also important to look for cloud service features that are being paid for but not used.
The Solution
Telecom expense management (TEM) software serves as a viable solution to the problems outlined above. Even better is that many organizations are already using TEM software; the problem is that they aren't using it to their full advantage.
TEM software gives you a bird's eye view of cloud service usage trends as well as expenses. The best way to use TEM software to one's full advantage is to study the core competencies of the software that have been established by the TEM vendor. Having a full understanding of these competencies can allow organizations to use the software to:
Identify billing errors
Pinpoint contract discrepancies
Proactively manage increases in expenses by monitoring usage
Identify features that are not being used
Establish holistic lifecycle management of cloud services
Analyze BI-enabled business insights
Maximize purchasing power
Ensure collaborative use of cloud assets
As mentioned before, employee on-boarding and off-boarding relating to cloud services is a huge problem in that mistakes can be extremely costly. It is essential that enterprise managers make sure their employees have access to the appropriate cloud services and applications they need to perform their jobs with the utmost productivity. As employees leave the company, though, these managers must make sure employee-specific subscriptions are stopped so as to not be overpaying for cloud services that are no longer being used. TEM software simplifies this process by helping managers pinpoint which services are being paid for according to each employee.
By seeing which cloud services each employee has access to, this can help managers determine if subscriptions are being paid for in which employees don't actually use the apps.
For Example: if 20 employees have a subscription to a cloud service that allows them to create reports, with each subscription costing $1.99 a month, yet these employees don't need report creation capabilities (only report viewing capabilities), then their subscriptions should be canceled.
Paying for a single subscription solely for the report creation specialist is all that is needed. Identifying and canceling unnecessary subscriptions can save enterprises thousands of dollars each year.
Lastly, TEM software can help manage cloud expenses by identifying exactly which services are being paid for. There are many service providers out there that make false claims in regard to free services. They may promise to provide a full suite of services for a flat-rate, yet when looking at the billing invoice, it becomes clear to see that on top of their flat-rate there are other fees for certain apps and services; TEM software can determine billing errors and help ensure organizations are not paying for services they didn't expect to be charged for.
Understand What You're Gaining With TEM Software
With TEM software from Valicom, you are gaining empowerment, simplicity, and growth. This software can decrease operational inefficiencies by making sure your employees have the cloud solutions they need to perform at their highest rates of productivity.
TEM simplifies the streamlining of various forms of process automation, which leads to higher profit margins and enables your company to grow. You'll have access to valuable hidden insights that can be used to proactively manage telecommunication and cloud expenses. Most importantly, you'll be able to accurately monitor employees' use of cloud services, decrease the abuse of these services, and reduce service provider billing errors.
About the Author: Jeff Poirior
Jeff brings 25 years of telecommunications and information technology management experience in voice and data networking, server support, and telephony and security; with a significant emphasis on customer service. Prior to joining Valicom, he was chief of the infrastructure support section for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Jeff was the vice president of operations for CC&N, overseeing telecommunications, help desk, data and desk side support services. Prior to that, he served as the associate director of technical resources for Covance, responsible for managing systems and network operations supporting 1700 users in Wisconsin and Virginia. He has also led data center operations at Magnetek Electric, supporting mainframe systems, client/server applications, telephony systems, and computer-aided design. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University and a master’s degree in business administration from University of Phoenix. In addition, Jeff is a past board member of the Wisconsin Telecommunication Association.