Updated January 19, 2022
How much are you spending on mobile communications that you really don’t have to be spending? If you think the answer is “zero” or you really haven’t thought about it much, you may be in for an unexpected surprise. Good news, there are ways to get that number as close to zero as possible.
What You Don’t Know About Your Mobile Utilization CAN Hurt You!
The main reason it's so important to carefully manage your company’s mobile utilization is that there are so many ways to create unnecessary expenses! Here are a few ways you can optimize mobile data for your business with mobility management.
Wrong Rate Plan
Carrier rate plans change frequently. Sometimes they’re unlimited “all-you-can-eat” plans. Sometimes they reward higher volume purchase commitments. Invariably, they confuse most corporate consumers.
Many offer “pool” programs to business accounts in which phone, data, and messages can be shared among many. The trick is to balance the “pool” that is purchased so you don’t incur overage charges by exceeding it, but you also don’t spend way more than necessary. Overage charges turn what should be a fixed, budget expense into a variable one.
Departing Employees
The larger your company, the likelier it is that employees who have left your company are still using the mobile phone and the mobile service plan you gave them. Unless you’re having every bill reviewed, it’s also likely you’re still paying for that service. If the phone itself was company property you also need to revisit your offboarding process to better assure they get collected.
New Hires
New hires are usually assigned devices and service plans shortly after they start. Even companies that routinely collect devices from departing employees may neglect to recognize that they still have these available, and simply purchase new phones and add new services to the company account. Under many contracts, your company may still be paying for accounts that are no longer in use. Why buy new when you can use what you’re already paying for?
Overactive Users
When you’re paying for mobile services based on consumption, and this includes internet services, you want to know when anyone is consuming extraordinary volumes. Most users in an organization have usage patterns that are relatively similar. When a particular user stands out as consuming far more, it's time to drill down and see exactly what they’re using company resources for.
Inactive Users
As important as it is to know who is using their mobile phones and how much, it’s just as critical to identify phones that are not used. Perhaps the user really doesn’t need a mobile device because they work at a desk in an office. Perhaps the user has left the company.
User Travel Profile
Employees who travel, especially internationally, may require a different, more cost-efficient program designed specifically for them, and perhaps even for the countries they routinely visit. Without the right program, expensive special arrangements may need to be made every time they are out of country. Roaming charges represent another opportunity to lose the value of fixed expense by making them suddenly variable.
And there’s no good reason to spend on international plans for those who do not travel.
Partner with a Managed Mobility Services Expert
When you consider all these hazards and add the constant changes in the rate plans offered, it becomes obvious how much of a moving target mobile usage and best-possible-rate are. Periodic audits simply don’t suffice. And you’re not a mobile services specialist, so how do you keep track of all the changes?
What you need is an ongoing relationship with an organization that is a mobile services specialist. Calero offers Managed Mobility Services (MMS) to assure you that you are wasting as little as possible on all your telecommunications and technology expenses. Learn more about expense management with MMS.
