This white paper discusses telecom expense management (TEM) services that can help businesses reduce communication and technology costs through an independent telecom consultant. It provides an overview of the challenges businesses face in managing decentralized and growing telecom expenses. The document then describes the TEM services offered by ABILITA, which involve auditing existing telecom systems and recommending optimizations to realize immediate savings and establish an efficient long-term management process. Potential benefits of TEM services include cost savings, streamlined processes, effective personnel usage, competitive vendor pricing, and technology investments to maintain a competitive advantage. The paper addresses common concerns about hiring external consultants and argues that not conducting regular audits means losing 10% or more of annual telecom
IT Financial Transparency: EMC’s Successful Journey to Achieving Enterprise C...EMC
This white paper documents EMC IT's progress from planning for financial transparency to executing enterprise-wide chargeback, transforming them into a service provider adept at mapping IT investments to corporate priorities.
Capgemini ses - smart grid operational services- utility mobile it adoption...Gord Reynolds
The document discusses the benefits and reasons for utility companies to adopt mobile solutions. Key points:
1) Utility companies face challenges like aging infrastructure, workforce, and stricter regulations, which increases the need for mobile technologies to improve productivity, decision making, and operational efficiency.
2) Mobile technologies allow field workers to access enterprise systems remotely, complete tasks faster, and exchange information in real-time, reducing costs and cycle times.
3) Implementing mobile solutions can streamline operations, improve asset management, customer service, and employee satisfaction for utility companies. Selecting the right mobile applications tailored to their industry needs allows utilities to address challenges and maximize their existing investments in back-end systems.
The document discusses how shared services and information technologies are transforming private corporations and examines if public sectors could benefit from similar initiatives. It provides details on how shared services projects have delivered progress over 20 years by consolidating resources across businesses and countries. While originally focused on cost reductions, they now aim to add more value. The document also discusses key factors for successful transitions like having executive sponsors, change management processes, and redefining civil servant skills for new citizen-focused tasks.
The document discusses strategies for reducing operational expenditures (OPEX) in the telecom industry in Pakistan. It outlines several approaches such as carefully managing product portfolios, improving marketing efficiency, focusing on productivity, effective asset management, pre-paying site leases, multi-dimensional planning, controlling labor and non-headcount costs, tower sharing, compact base station technology, and using solar power. Adopting these OPEX reduction strategies could help address financial challenges currently facing the Pakistan telecom sector and enable further investment and growth.
IT Financial Management (ITFM) as a ServicePete Hidalgo
ITFMaaS (IT Financial Management as a Service) provides benefits such as cost avoidance by not needing to hire additional staff, speed and flexibility in providing services once contracted, and potential cost effectiveness depending on the services selected and contract terms. Potential ITFMaaS services include managing the ITFM tool, performing service costing and benchmarking, and providing ongoing consultation. Pricing models may include time and materials or fixed fee approaches. Selecting the right services depends on an organization's specific ITFM needs and maturity.
This document discusses Ernst & Young's approach to helping clients reduce IT costs through an IT Cost Reduction journey. The approach involves 6 steps: 1) data discovery and analysis to understand current IT spend, 2) benchmarking IT costs against industry peers, 3) identifying opportunities to reduce costs, 4) developing initiatives to realize those opportunities, 5) executing the initiatives, and 6) achieving cost transparency, improved efficiency and lower costs. The document provides examples of the type of data collected and analyzed in step 1, benchmarks used in step 2, and a framework for calculating unit costs of IT services.
IT Financial Transparency: EMC’s Successful Journey to Achieving Enterprise C...EMC
This white paper documents EMC IT's progress from planning for financial transparency to executing enterprise-wide chargeback, transforming them into a service provider adept at mapping IT investments to corporate priorities.
Capgemini ses - smart grid operational services- utility mobile it adoption...Gord Reynolds
The document discusses the benefits and reasons for utility companies to adopt mobile solutions. Key points:
1) Utility companies face challenges like aging infrastructure, workforce, and stricter regulations, which increases the need for mobile technologies to improve productivity, decision making, and operational efficiency.
2) Mobile technologies allow field workers to access enterprise systems remotely, complete tasks faster, and exchange information in real-time, reducing costs and cycle times.
3) Implementing mobile solutions can streamline operations, improve asset management, customer service, and employee satisfaction for utility companies. Selecting the right mobile applications tailored to their industry needs allows utilities to address challenges and maximize their existing investments in back-end systems.
The document discusses how shared services and information technologies are transforming private corporations and examines if public sectors could benefit from similar initiatives. It provides details on how shared services projects have delivered progress over 20 years by consolidating resources across businesses and countries. While originally focused on cost reductions, they now aim to add more value. The document also discusses key factors for successful transitions like having executive sponsors, change management processes, and redefining civil servant skills for new citizen-focused tasks.
The document discusses strategies for reducing operational expenditures (OPEX) in the telecom industry in Pakistan. It outlines several approaches such as carefully managing product portfolios, improving marketing efficiency, focusing on productivity, effective asset management, pre-paying site leases, multi-dimensional planning, controlling labor and non-headcount costs, tower sharing, compact base station technology, and using solar power. Adopting these OPEX reduction strategies could help address financial challenges currently facing the Pakistan telecom sector and enable further investment and growth.
IT Financial Management (ITFM) as a ServicePete Hidalgo
ITFMaaS (IT Financial Management as a Service) provides benefits such as cost avoidance by not needing to hire additional staff, speed and flexibility in providing services once contracted, and potential cost effectiveness depending on the services selected and contract terms. Potential ITFMaaS services include managing the ITFM tool, performing service costing and benchmarking, and providing ongoing consultation. Pricing models may include time and materials or fixed fee approaches. Selecting the right services depends on an organization's specific ITFM needs and maturity.
This document discusses Ernst & Young's approach to helping clients reduce IT costs through an IT Cost Reduction journey. The approach involves 6 steps: 1) data discovery and analysis to understand current IT spend, 2) benchmarking IT costs against industry peers, 3) identifying opportunities to reduce costs, 4) developing initiatives to realize those opportunities, 5) executing the initiatives, and 6) achieving cost transparency, improved efficiency and lower costs. The document provides examples of the type of data collected and analyzed in step 1, benchmarks used in step 2, and a framework for calculating unit costs of IT services.
The document discusses implementing an IT financial management (ITFM) tool. It outlines the benefits of implementing an ITFM tool, such as increased cost transparency, improved efficiency, and better decision making. It then describes the key steps in the ITFM tool implementation journey, including assessing the current state, defining services, identifying data requirements, establishing governance, designing the cost model, evaluating tools, and implementing the tool and roadmap. Some challenges of implementation are also reviewed, such as data quality issues, lack of governance, and lack of education on ITFM methodology.
The document discusses three key perspectives on IT financial management - Cost Optimization, Cloud, and Financial Discipline. It identifies three "measures that matter" to each perspective: Cost of Service, Budget Variance, and Innovation Ratio. Organizations need to build a discipline around cost optimization through continuous improvement, and get CIO, IT leadership, and finance onboard when developing strategies.
Corebanking transformation – a wining formulaSupratik Nag
This document discusses the key considerations for a successful core banking system implementation. It begins by outlining common challenges faced by banks during implementation projects. It then covers each phase of the implementation process from product selection and requirement gathering to testing, training, go-live, and post-go live support. For each phase, it provides guidance on best practices such as selecting a product that fits the bank's long-term needs, taking a phased migration approach, and establishing robust testing and support plans. The overall message is that banks must plan thoroughly across all phases of implementation and consider stakeholder buy-in, change management, and post-go-live operations to achieve a smooth transition to a new core banking system.
Smart Margin Analytics: Why Bolting on a Margin Assurance Capability to an Ex...cVidya Networks
Smart Margin Analytics: Why Bolting on a Margin Assurance Capability to an Existing Revenue Assurance System can Deliver Big Savings – a presentation by Efrat Nissimov, cVidya’s Director of Product Management at the “Big Data and Analytics for Telecom & Mobile Carriers” event in Atlanta.
Next generation IT outsourcing and the global enterprise model (GEM)WGroup
Disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and the “as-a-service” model for software, infrastructure and platforms have led to fundamental changes in how IT services are organized, managed and delivered—whether they are outsourced, insourced or a combination. The reality that IT services can be delivered to anywhere on the globe via the “Cloud” has accelerated the commoditization of IT. Ubiquitous access to IT services has lessened business units’ dependency on internal IT and shifted the IT organization’s prime role from process excellence to technology and service innovation. This article discusses through WGroup's perspective how outsourcing can create value through changing the way business is done.
The document discusses financial management for IT services. It describes how FM ensures IT solutions meet requirements and are cost-effective. FM provides cost visibility, optimization, and cost recovery. Its goals are cost-effective stewardship, fully accounting for IT spend, and assisting management decisions. FM scope includes identifying assets/activities, developing budgets, analyzing costs/benefits of changes, and developing chargeback methods. Key definitions and an overview of FM components are also provided.
Across the corporate landscape IT functions are completing their transformation to a service-orientation. Slowly but surely, “governance” has become a core mission, if not yet the core competency, of the IT organization. Governance involves many fronts and addresses many levels – there is architectural governance, IT finance and projects governance, and of course, supplier governance. All call for new skills and new structures. WGroup collectively brings decades of hands-on experience in IT supplier management to assist our clients with the multi-supplier challenge – from building the governance structures to defining sourcing strategies to facilitating contract reviews to transition management. This states how WGroup would implement a multi-supplier governance model successfully.
The IT Financial Management Cost Transparency JourneyPete Hidalgo
The document discusses Ernst & Young's IT Financial Management journey framework to help organizations improve transparency and increase satisfaction around IT costs and services. The framework is a 6 step process that includes: 1) conducting a current state assessment, 2) defining IT services, 3) calculating unit costs for each service, 4) establishing metrics and reporting, 5) implementing a chargeback model, and 6) creating a bill of IT. The goal is to break down IT costs and clearly show how they align with specific services in order to demonstrate value to the business.
This document discusses the need for insurance companies to modernize their legacy IT systems. It notes that insurers' core systems like policy administration and claims processing rely on aging mainframe technologies that are expensive to maintain and limit the companies' ability to innovate and provide customer-centric services. The risks of not modernizing include higher costs, lost market share, and inability to meet rising customer expectations for real-time digital services. While modernization projects are challenging, the benefits include reduced costs, increased revenue through better products and analytics, and reduced strategic and compliance risks. The document examines the barriers insurers face and how to mitigate risks to successfully modernize legacy systems.
Working Capital Management: The Missing Link in Payables and P2PSarah Fane
While automation is widely adopted across the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process, many companies are not leveraging technology to the full extent, and therefore not capturing the full range of benefits.
There is one area in particular where organizations are missing important opportunities. When it comes to working capital management, many still follow traditional approaches that don’t leverage digital innovation for business advantage.
This report will examine where companies are falling short and how to make the most of your investment in your P2P process.
Electricity Markets and Quality of Supply RegulationLeonardo ENERGY
Highlights:
* Asks why quality regulation is necessary.
* Explains different dimensions of quality of supply.
* Discusses elements in regulation of quality of supply.
* Presents quality standards and levels to be set.
* Discusses quality incentive schemes.
The document discusses core banking transformation, which refers to replacing, upgrading, or outsourcing a bank's core banking systems. It addresses the drivers for transformation, including internal needs like managing legacy systems and reducing costs as well as external factors like regulations and competition. Building a strong business case is important, involving both qualitative and quantitative analysis of costs, benefits, and long payback periods of 3-5 years on average. The right transformation approach depends on factors like the bank's size and complexity, and may include a complete replacement, upgrade, or outsourcing of systems.
Utilities must embrace a fresh approach to managing peak demand and system security through smart metering. This includes motivating consumers to conserve energy and shift usage away from peak times, justifying smart meter investments through broader benefits, and increasing market transparency. Most utility executives favor innovative smart metering programs to meet priorities while realizing additional benefits. Utilities must leverage smart meter investments to support demand response, grid planning, reliability, and new services.
The document discusses best practices for organizations outsourcing their managed network services to third-party providers. It recommends (1) structuring contracts to allow termination of specific services without impacting others, (2) establishing clear service level agreements with financial penalties for non-compliance, and (3) engaging in vendor management throughout the engagement to ensure quality service delivery. Outsourcing network services can reduce costs but also exposes organizations to risks, so following these practices can help mitigate risks and maximize results from outsourcing.
- U.S. Cellular reported a net loss of $45.4 million for Q4 2013 compared to adjusted income before taxes of $153.6 million in Q4 2012.
- Key priorities for 2014 include driving subscriber growth, differentiating through value propositions, and focusing on equipment subsidies and cost management.
- TDS Telecom revenues increased 23% year-over-year to $271.9 million in Q4 2013 due to growth from cable and hosted/managed services acquisitions.
Human Issues In BPO & Call Centre - SANSUSaranya Sansu
This document provides an overview of business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centers. It discusses the history and evolution of BPO, starting with outsourcing of IT functions in the 1960s. Common business processes that are outsourced include call centers, customer service, technical support, and accounting. The document then examines the types of services offered by BPO providers, including customer support, insurance processing, data entry, and technical help desks. It notes that call center work can be highly stressful due to its repetitive nature and lack of autonomy. The remainder of the document outlines the research methodology used in the study and discusses objectives, problems, limitations, and provides an industry profile of BPO and call centers.
This document discusses Revenue Assurance & Improvement (RA&I), a methodology for driving up revenues. It originated in telecommunications to address revenue leakage and has since been applied successfully in banking and insurance. RA&I includes both tactical and transformational recommendations focused on three pillars: growing the customer base, increasing share of wallet, and ensuring full charges. The methodology analyzes 18 components and uses 15 tools to identify opportunities like optimizing pricing formulas, discount management, and ensuring correct product pricing. It has achieved 1-10% revenue increases across over 65 projects in various industries. The methodology has potential for any sector with large, complex transactions and products.
The environment of physical energy and non-energy commodity trading and marketing has grown increasingly complex, marked by globalization bringing about rapid changes in supply and demand patterns, increased regulatory scrutiny and evolving trading and reporting rules, volatility along the entirety of the physical supply chain, and increasing uncertainty as to future price movements. In order to react to these changes quickly and appropriately, participants in these markets must increasingly rely on a sophisticated infrastructure of software and technologies to ensure a complete view of their trading positions and external market conditions that can quickly and severely impact their values. The core component of these now requisite trading and marketing technologies are energy and commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) systems. As market complexity has increased and multi-commodity trading has become more common, CTRM solutions have had to become more sophisticated and provide a greater depth of capability in order to capture and value the unique characteristics of the multitude of physical commodities being transacted along the physical supply chain, from source to market. Given the capabilities of these CTRM systems, they do represent a significant investment for any trading or marketing organization, generally trailing only the large scale ERP solutions, like SAP, in terms of costs to purchase and implement. Allegro Development, one of the world’s largest CTRM solutions providers, engaged Commodity Technology Advisory to conduct a survey of a number of their clients to determine their views as to the value of their investment and the operational and financial impacts of deploying Allegro’s CTRM solution. This report summarizes the results of that survey and discusses the key considerations for any company seeking to develop their own assessment of the value of their CTRM technology investment via a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation.
Maximizing_treasury_management_corporate_bank_integrationRandy Paine
Electronic file transfer between companies and banks allows automated exchange of payment and treasury management files, improving processing efficiency. This helps free up treasury staff time and reduces errors from manual processes while strengthening controls. Companies can choose from different file transfer methods and protocols to exchange files with their banks and maximize the benefits of treasury management software solutions.
This document lists the names of 18 authors and their associated books, focusing on young adult and teen fiction writers such as Jodi Picoult, Suzanne Collins, John Green, Stephenie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, and Sara Shepard.
The document discusses implementing an IT financial management (ITFM) tool. It outlines the benefits of implementing an ITFM tool, such as increased cost transparency, improved efficiency, and better decision making. It then describes the key steps in the ITFM tool implementation journey, including assessing the current state, defining services, identifying data requirements, establishing governance, designing the cost model, evaluating tools, and implementing the tool and roadmap. Some challenges of implementation are also reviewed, such as data quality issues, lack of governance, and lack of education on ITFM methodology.
The document discusses three key perspectives on IT financial management - Cost Optimization, Cloud, and Financial Discipline. It identifies three "measures that matter" to each perspective: Cost of Service, Budget Variance, and Innovation Ratio. Organizations need to build a discipline around cost optimization through continuous improvement, and get CIO, IT leadership, and finance onboard when developing strategies.
Corebanking transformation – a wining formulaSupratik Nag
This document discusses the key considerations for a successful core banking system implementation. It begins by outlining common challenges faced by banks during implementation projects. It then covers each phase of the implementation process from product selection and requirement gathering to testing, training, go-live, and post-go live support. For each phase, it provides guidance on best practices such as selecting a product that fits the bank's long-term needs, taking a phased migration approach, and establishing robust testing and support plans. The overall message is that banks must plan thoroughly across all phases of implementation and consider stakeholder buy-in, change management, and post-go-live operations to achieve a smooth transition to a new core banking system.
Smart Margin Analytics: Why Bolting on a Margin Assurance Capability to an Ex...cVidya Networks
Smart Margin Analytics: Why Bolting on a Margin Assurance Capability to an Existing Revenue Assurance System can Deliver Big Savings – a presentation by Efrat Nissimov, cVidya’s Director of Product Management at the “Big Data and Analytics for Telecom & Mobile Carriers” event in Atlanta.
Next generation IT outsourcing and the global enterprise model (GEM)WGroup
Disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and the “as-a-service” model for software, infrastructure and platforms have led to fundamental changes in how IT services are organized, managed and delivered—whether they are outsourced, insourced or a combination. The reality that IT services can be delivered to anywhere on the globe via the “Cloud” has accelerated the commoditization of IT. Ubiquitous access to IT services has lessened business units’ dependency on internal IT and shifted the IT organization’s prime role from process excellence to technology and service innovation. This article discusses through WGroup's perspective how outsourcing can create value through changing the way business is done.
The document discusses financial management for IT services. It describes how FM ensures IT solutions meet requirements and are cost-effective. FM provides cost visibility, optimization, and cost recovery. Its goals are cost-effective stewardship, fully accounting for IT spend, and assisting management decisions. FM scope includes identifying assets/activities, developing budgets, analyzing costs/benefits of changes, and developing chargeback methods. Key definitions and an overview of FM components are also provided.
Across the corporate landscape IT functions are completing their transformation to a service-orientation. Slowly but surely, “governance” has become a core mission, if not yet the core competency, of the IT organization. Governance involves many fronts and addresses many levels – there is architectural governance, IT finance and projects governance, and of course, supplier governance. All call for new skills and new structures. WGroup collectively brings decades of hands-on experience in IT supplier management to assist our clients with the multi-supplier challenge – from building the governance structures to defining sourcing strategies to facilitating contract reviews to transition management. This states how WGroup would implement a multi-supplier governance model successfully.
The IT Financial Management Cost Transparency JourneyPete Hidalgo
The document discusses Ernst & Young's IT Financial Management journey framework to help organizations improve transparency and increase satisfaction around IT costs and services. The framework is a 6 step process that includes: 1) conducting a current state assessment, 2) defining IT services, 3) calculating unit costs for each service, 4) establishing metrics and reporting, 5) implementing a chargeback model, and 6) creating a bill of IT. The goal is to break down IT costs and clearly show how they align with specific services in order to demonstrate value to the business.
This document discusses the need for insurance companies to modernize their legacy IT systems. It notes that insurers' core systems like policy administration and claims processing rely on aging mainframe technologies that are expensive to maintain and limit the companies' ability to innovate and provide customer-centric services. The risks of not modernizing include higher costs, lost market share, and inability to meet rising customer expectations for real-time digital services. While modernization projects are challenging, the benefits include reduced costs, increased revenue through better products and analytics, and reduced strategic and compliance risks. The document examines the barriers insurers face and how to mitigate risks to successfully modernize legacy systems.
Working Capital Management: The Missing Link in Payables and P2PSarah Fane
While automation is widely adopted across the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process, many companies are not leveraging technology to the full extent, and therefore not capturing the full range of benefits.
There is one area in particular where organizations are missing important opportunities. When it comes to working capital management, many still follow traditional approaches that don’t leverage digital innovation for business advantage.
This report will examine where companies are falling short and how to make the most of your investment in your P2P process.
Electricity Markets and Quality of Supply RegulationLeonardo ENERGY
Highlights:
* Asks why quality regulation is necessary.
* Explains different dimensions of quality of supply.
* Discusses elements in regulation of quality of supply.
* Presents quality standards and levels to be set.
* Discusses quality incentive schemes.
The document discusses core banking transformation, which refers to replacing, upgrading, or outsourcing a bank's core banking systems. It addresses the drivers for transformation, including internal needs like managing legacy systems and reducing costs as well as external factors like regulations and competition. Building a strong business case is important, involving both qualitative and quantitative analysis of costs, benefits, and long payback periods of 3-5 years on average. The right transformation approach depends on factors like the bank's size and complexity, and may include a complete replacement, upgrade, or outsourcing of systems.
Utilities must embrace a fresh approach to managing peak demand and system security through smart metering. This includes motivating consumers to conserve energy and shift usage away from peak times, justifying smart meter investments through broader benefits, and increasing market transparency. Most utility executives favor innovative smart metering programs to meet priorities while realizing additional benefits. Utilities must leverage smart meter investments to support demand response, grid planning, reliability, and new services.
The document discusses best practices for organizations outsourcing their managed network services to third-party providers. It recommends (1) structuring contracts to allow termination of specific services without impacting others, (2) establishing clear service level agreements with financial penalties for non-compliance, and (3) engaging in vendor management throughout the engagement to ensure quality service delivery. Outsourcing network services can reduce costs but also exposes organizations to risks, so following these practices can help mitigate risks and maximize results from outsourcing.
- U.S. Cellular reported a net loss of $45.4 million for Q4 2013 compared to adjusted income before taxes of $153.6 million in Q4 2012.
- Key priorities for 2014 include driving subscriber growth, differentiating through value propositions, and focusing on equipment subsidies and cost management.
- TDS Telecom revenues increased 23% year-over-year to $271.9 million in Q4 2013 due to growth from cable and hosted/managed services acquisitions.
Human Issues In BPO & Call Centre - SANSUSaranya Sansu
This document provides an overview of business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centers. It discusses the history and evolution of BPO, starting with outsourcing of IT functions in the 1960s. Common business processes that are outsourced include call centers, customer service, technical support, and accounting. The document then examines the types of services offered by BPO providers, including customer support, insurance processing, data entry, and technical help desks. It notes that call center work can be highly stressful due to its repetitive nature and lack of autonomy. The remainder of the document outlines the research methodology used in the study and discusses objectives, problems, limitations, and provides an industry profile of BPO and call centers.
This document discusses Revenue Assurance & Improvement (RA&I), a methodology for driving up revenues. It originated in telecommunications to address revenue leakage and has since been applied successfully in banking and insurance. RA&I includes both tactical and transformational recommendations focused on three pillars: growing the customer base, increasing share of wallet, and ensuring full charges. The methodology analyzes 18 components and uses 15 tools to identify opportunities like optimizing pricing formulas, discount management, and ensuring correct product pricing. It has achieved 1-10% revenue increases across over 65 projects in various industries. The methodology has potential for any sector with large, complex transactions and products.
The environment of physical energy and non-energy commodity trading and marketing has grown increasingly complex, marked by globalization bringing about rapid changes in supply and demand patterns, increased regulatory scrutiny and evolving trading and reporting rules, volatility along the entirety of the physical supply chain, and increasing uncertainty as to future price movements. In order to react to these changes quickly and appropriately, participants in these markets must increasingly rely on a sophisticated infrastructure of software and technologies to ensure a complete view of their trading positions and external market conditions that can quickly and severely impact their values. The core component of these now requisite trading and marketing technologies are energy and commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) systems. As market complexity has increased and multi-commodity trading has become more common, CTRM solutions have had to become more sophisticated and provide a greater depth of capability in order to capture and value the unique characteristics of the multitude of physical commodities being transacted along the physical supply chain, from source to market. Given the capabilities of these CTRM systems, they do represent a significant investment for any trading or marketing organization, generally trailing only the large scale ERP solutions, like SAP, in terms of costs to purchase and implement. Allegro Development, one of the world’s largest CTRM solutions providers, engaged Commodity Technology Advisory to conduct a survey of a number of their clients to determine their views as to the value of their investment and the operational and financial impacts of deploying Allegro’s CTRM solution. This report summarizes the results of that survey and discusses the key considerations for any company seeking to develop their own assessment of the value of their CTRM technology investment via a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation.
Maximizing_treasury_management_corporate_bank_integrationRandy Paine
Electronic file transfer between companies and banks allows automated exchange of payment and treasury management files, improving processing efficiency. This helps free up treasury staff time and reduces errors from manual processes while strengthening controls. Companies can choose from different file transfer methods and protocols to exchange files with their banks and maximize the benefits of treasury management software solutions.
This document lists the names of 18 authors and their associated books, focusing on young adult and teen fiction writers such as Jodi Picoult, Suzanne Collins, John Green, Stephenie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, and Sara Shepard.
Este documento define y explica los términos clave relacionados con la tecnología y la electricidad en inglés y español. Algunos de los términos explicados incluyen antivirus, batería, cable, computadora, disco duro, ecología, electricidad, hardware, mouse, procesador, software, tecnología y virus.
Slideshow on the challenges overcome by Source for Change in setting-up and running a BPO from rural India. Also shows why businesses should venture into rural areas for setting up service delivery operations.
A description of the projects and activities of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a multidisciplinary, independent non-profit think tank for Israel policy research and education, bringing together the best minds in the political, strategic, diplomatic and legal arenas, in Israel and abroad.
Focus Edu-Care offers educational courses and programs through a franchise model. Under the franchise agreement, franchisees would be able to offer Focus Edu-Care's portfolio of courses at their own centers. Franchisees would need to meet infrastructure requirements including classroom and office space. Focus Edu-Care would provide initial training, course materials, and ongoing operational support. The agreement period is initially 3 years and franchisees would be entitled to share course fees. Initial investment includes a training fee, center infrastructure costs, and working capital. Focus Edu-Care solicits franchise inquiries for centers in North India.
- Jerusalem has experienced rapid population growth since 1967, with the Arab population growing faster than the Jewish population. As a result, the percentage of Arabs in Jerusalem has increased while the percentage of Jews has decreased.
- The city's boundaries and jurisdiction have expanded and contracted over time. Currently, Jerusalem has an area of around 126 square kilometers and a population of over 690,000 people in 2003, around two-thirds of whom are Jewish.
- Population growth in Jerusalem is driven by natural increase among Arabs and migration patterns, with many Jews leaving the city while Arabs remain or move in from the West Bank. This has implications for the religious and ethnic demographics of Jerusalem.
This short video shares images and music from Jerusalem while thanking viewers for watching. It credits stock images and music used from various sources and notes that the video was created by an individual.
The document provides an overview of important religious sites in Jerusalem, including:
1) The Temple Mount area, which contains the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
2) The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built where Jesus was crucified and buried. It is jointly managed by several Christian orders and contains Jesus's traditional burial site.
3) The Mount of Olives, where Jesus spent time and the Garden of Gethsemane is located, containing olive trees and churches commemorating Jesus's prayer before crucifixion.
CorpoTel is an American telecom expense management company that offers consulting and managed services to help clients reduce telecom costs. Their services include auditing invoices, managing contracts and vendors, optimizing networks, and providing reporting and analytics. CorpoTel takes a customized approach depending on the complexity of the client's environment and needs. They aim to become the client's strategic partner by efficiently managing global telecom spending through their expertise and proprietary expense management platform.
This document introduces Corpotel's telecom expense management services. It discusses who Corpotel is, the background and need for telecom expense management, Corpotel's service portfolio including consulting, outsourcing, and subscription options, their engagement process with a risk-free trial approach, and next steps to define a pilot or assessment. The goal is to help clients identify opportunities for savings and cost reduction in their telecommunications budgets.
Whether you own small business or are in charge of the financials for a large company with 5000 employees, corporate telecom & roaming expenses are likely a cause of significant stress.
For companies with employees traveling internationally, the ability to stay connected with mobile devices today is imperative. Outsourcing those services to telecom consultant is also an imperative today for companies of all sizes.
A simple review of your monthly costs may highlight that there are significant savings to be made. Alert specializes in ensuring significant savings on telecom and international roaming costs and can tailor specific solutions for our corporate partners.
This white paper introduces the opportunity for Communication Service Providers to optimize the existing network to reduce costs, thereby freeing up cash flow for re-investment, to improve end-to-end QoE to reach network performance KPIs, and to do more with their existing asset base in order to improve utilization and performance to address explosive data growth.
Wisconsin Healthcare Technology Association - Valicom PresentationValicom
Valicom's presentation from the Wisconsin Healthcare Technology Association, Fall Meeting 2015. Unlock IT Saving - three areas for major improvement within your telecom environment.
The document discusses challenges and opportunities for optimizing contact management across channels in public services. It outlines three targets: 1) optimizing channel efficiency to reduce costs while maintaining quality, 2) managing contact by shifting to lower-cost channels like web and reducing unnecessary contact, and 3) redesigning delivery processes to reduce back-office costs and enable more self-service options. While some organizations have made progress, fully achieving these goals requires overcoming cultural and process barriers, closely tracking costs by service, and designing processes around customer needs and channel costs.
The document discusses challenges and opportunities for optimizing contact management across channels in public services. It outlines three targets: 1) optimizing channel efficiency to reduce costs while maintaining quality, 2) managing contact by shifting to lower-cost channels like web and reducing unnecessary contact, and 3) redesigning delivery processes to reduce back-office costs and enable more self-service options. While some organizations have made progress, fully achieving these goals requires overcoming cultural and process barriers, closely tracking costs by service, and designing processes around customer needs and channel costs.
An Introduction To Wireless Expense Managementsimonpwood
Wireless expense management allows organizations to reduce costs by proactively managing wireless expenses, which are one of the top enterprise expenses. It provides visibility into subscriber usage and helps ensure policies are followed. Outsourcing wireless expense management to an experienced company allows internal teams to focus on core tasks while the management company handles billing, inventory, usage reports, and identifying savings through audits of billing errors, unused assets, and personal usage. Comprehensive wireless expense management is complex but can significantly reduce an organization's total cost of ownership for its mobile fleet.
Managed services take complexity off customers' shoulders while guaranteeing services work properly. They represent an attractive growth opportunity for telecom operators as prices for unmanaged connectivity decline. Operators have the assets to capture value from managed services by opening operating models and prioritizing customer problems, but many shy away from technical complexity or lack sales and delivery abilities for managed services.
Tem Event London 12th November 2009 CopyPaul Hughes
This document provides an overview of telecom expense management (TEM). TEM is a business approach that uses software and services to manage voice, data, and wireless communication expenses. It has been established in North America for over 10 years but is newer in Western Europe. Signum International is a leading mobile phone billing analysis company that offers TEM life cycle services to help organizations gain visibility into mobile and telecom expenses and identify opportunities for savings.
Telecom Billing Solutions By Sohag SarkarSohag Sarkar
This document provides an overview of telecom billing solutions. It discusses the evolution of billing systems from in-house developed systems in the 1980s to more complex third-party solutions today. The general billing process is described involving collecting call detail records from the network, rating calls according to customer plans, aggregating rated calls into invoices, and generating bills. The key components of a billing system including mediation, rating, and invoicing engines are explained. Finally, the document outlines the major functions performed by rating engines in processing usage records and preparing them for invoicing.
The document discusses the challenges facing telecom companies in upgrading their billing and revenue management systems. It notes that legacy systems cannot support the growing complexity of services and slow time-to-market for new services. Additionally, billing systems are siloed and do not integrate well with other parts of the business. The top priorities for telecom companies include restructuring roaming tariffs, consolidating revenue management systems, and adding convergence capabilities to billing systems. The document provides recommendations for both telecom companies and vendors on how to address these challenges.
The document discusses the challenges facing telecom companies in upgrading their billing and revenue management systems. It finds that legacy systems cannot support the growing complexity of services needed to compete in today's digital environment. Additionally, mergers and acquisitions have led to a proliferation of redundant billing systems. The top priorities for telecom companies are restructuring roaming tariffs, consolidating revenue systems, and integrating billing with customer relationship management. Vendors need to offer flexible pricing and cloud-based or managed service solutions to meet telecom companies' modernization needs.
The key interconnection issues discussed in the document are:
1. Incumbent operators face regulatory and technical challenges in interconnecting with new operators due to competition concerns.
2. There is debate around TRAI's proposal to abolish termination charges which currently provide significant revenue for incumbents.
3. Ensuring fair and timely interconnection arrangements between service providers is an ongoing challenge that TRAI aims to address through its regulatory framework and dispute resolution.
Managing change in telecom industry from network centric to customer-centricsayouri
This document discusses managing change in telecommunications organizations. It identifies key performance and opportunity gaps facing telecom operators, such as declining voice and messaging revenues and an inability to monetize excess network capabilities. It recommends transforming the service delivery platform to expose more network capabilities through APIs and enable third-party developers to create new services. This would create a marketplace that generates new revenue streams and improves the customer experience. The document also stresses the need to unify information technology and operational technology within telecom operators to better support digital services and innovation.
Cost Reduction Guide Issue 7 CommunicationsChris Brown
This document provides tips and advice on reducing operating costs related to business communications. It discusses how to better manage costs for fixed lines, mobiles, data, technology purchases and leases, contracts, and internal policies. The goal is to help businesses ensure their communications costs are managed effectively and efficiently. Expense Reduction Analysts is a consultancy that helps clients reduce non-core operating costs, including in communications areas.
This document provides tips to help businesses reduce operating costs related to communications. It discusses how to reduce costs for fixed lines, mobiles, data, and technology. It also discusses whether to purchase or lease equipment and how to manage contracts and policies to minimize expenses. The overall aim is to help businesses ensure their communications costs are managed effectively and efficiently.
Telecom Optimization Partners provides auditing and optimization services to review clients' telecom expenses on a contingency basis. They analyze invoices, contracts, rates, and usage to identify billing errors and propose alternative providers and plans to reduce costs. Their analysis is performed off-site using proprietary software. They develop an inventory of clients' telecom services and share cost savings for 24 months before savings are fully realized by the client.
Many businesses consider their telecom system a utility—an asset base that is just there and hardly worth thinking about. Yet that very nonchalance is a symptom of just how essential communications systems are. Ask most organizations what they would do without phone and Internet access, and the answer would likely be that their business would come to a screeching halt. The communications portfolio has become that important to businesses today—and, ironically, all too often taken for granted.
2. Telecom Expense Management 2011
Synopsis
Management‘s process for evaluating the cost benefit of engaging external consulting services can be
cumbersome. Time constraints, limited resources and business priorities can challenge the notion that
external assistance or advice is truly value add. An organization‘s portfolio of communications services
is a key component of the business. Telecommunications is usually among the top five line item
expenses for businesses. However, businesses are often reluctant to engage an outside process to
tackle these services with the objective of network/design optimization, regular variance reporting and
overall cost reduction, instead relying on vendor assistance or the status-quo.
An independent, professional telecom consultant can help businesses reduce their communication and
technology expenses without compromising on service quality.
A knowledgeable consultant can provide valuable insight into the application of technology and policy
to improve the effectiveness of the organization, while off-loading the management of the telecom
network and expenses, resulting in both monetary and operational benefit to the organization.
An effective Telecom Expense Management process enables managers to forecast, rationalize and
justify telecom spend to key stakeholders and leadership teams.
Unfortunately, most managers responsible for an enterprise's telecom systems perceive hiring an
external consultant as an extra cost rather than a focused effort that will improve the bottom line.
They perceive an extensive drain on their time and the need to allocate internal resources when both
are fully occupied with more crucial business, as well as the perception that the process will highlight
issues and gaps which will cast doubt on their managerial and decision-making abilities.
Above all, the general perception is that external consultancy services are fault-finding exercises at best or
time-draining, unproductive and a strain on budgets which are already stretched to the limits.
The objective of this white paper is to allay these concerns and demonstrate how a telecom consultant
can help business managers look beyond cost savings and incorporate cutting-edge telecom technology
systems and tools to achieve and sustain a long-term competitive advantage in the market.
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Cost optimization is one of the key mantras for running a successful commercial enterprise, irrespective
of market, industry, size and location. Increased global connectivity and the necessity of maintaining a
competitive edge by expansion, diversification or other strategic methods, also means that
communication costs are now among the top five costs for most companies. Another inescapable fact is
that a majority of companies use different service providers for different means of communication,
even to the extent of utilizing multiple network/service providers in multiple locations, both domestic
and international.
Multiple communication services and the dependence on paper-based invoicing lead to cursory checks
of invoice totals and release of payments. One basic and inescapable fact is that telecom bills –
single-line or bulk billing – are frequently in error and without a thorough scrutiny; these errors are
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3. Telecom Expense Management 2011
easy to miss. At a conservative estimate, around 7-12% of all telecom bills are in error, showing up
with charges in excess of actual usage, or billing for services not utilized by customers.
Modern-day companies operate under enormous pressures focused on trimming costs to the barest
minimum on one hand. On the other, the lack of time and adequate personnel to monitor and track
telecom expenses proactively means that not only are companies losing substantial amounts of money,
but also that they may not be aware of these losses or realize the potential gains of having a Telecom
Expense Management (TEM) process in place.
A professional and independent telecom consultant can help you:
1. Pinpoint expense leakages in the existing telecom framework
2. Recommend measures to plug leakages and devise strategies which enable your organization
to optimize and integrate the entire telecom and technology framework
3. Negotiate better rates with service providers
4. Adopt the latest communications technology, while maintaining expenditures at acceptable
levels
5. Build and preserve a competitive advantage without forfeiting innovative business practices
and organizational excellence
6. Provide ongoing verification of savings through regular analysis and reporting
1.2 TEM Services
A TEM services package involves focused telecom consulting and optimization, with the underlying
theme of consolidated, proactive and cost-effective telecom expense and usage management. A
standard full-service consultation package includes analysis of existing inventory, billing accuracy,
contract review and vendor management.
Additionally, it involves the assessment of telecom technology needs and the design, implementation
and continued evaluation of a comprehensive telecom management framework, tailored to suit the
specific needs of your business.
Telecom consultants and providers of managed TEM services work independently of any telecom
vendors or service providers, i.e. their only principal is the company/business hiring their expertise.
The core twin objectives are: (a) realizing immediate cost savings; and (b) partnering with clients in
working out a suitable and optimized telecom and technology infrastructure for future, long-term use
and rationalized return-on-investment (ROI).
1.3 Telecom & Technology Challenges in the 21st Century
Remaining competitive in today's dynamic business environment requires aggressive expense
management processes across the entire organization. In many organizations, telecom costs rank
among the top five expense. Balancing the cost/benefit equation in this environment requires detailed
knowledge of the technology, its application, and the shifting vendor cost structures.
The rapid growth of technology and increased global connectivity has created new procedural and
operational conundrums for management:
Diversified/distributed workforces functioning in different markets/locations
The necessity for telecommuting and/or mobile personnel
Migrating and integrating multiple business operations on to a unified infrastructure platform,
while forecasting and planning for future needs and anticipating new risks and challenges
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4. Telecom Expense Management 2011
The major problems faced by companies in controlling and managing telecom expenses are threefold:
1. A majority of telecom invoices are still issued in paper format and a substantial number of
companies receive invoices from multiple providers covering a range of billing periods.
2. Billing, payments and provisioning are managed separately across multiple offices and
locations, with billing often based on individual user, service or network features.
3. Telecom expense and infrastructure management is decentralized and reactive.
Decentralization of telecom sourcing, spending and payouts leads to the inability of companies to
maintain control of expenses as well as their inventory of devices and networks. Gaps in financial and
accounting compliance can also result. Inaccurate billing results in unnecessary expenses due to
invoicing for underutilized services and duplication of services for employees who have moved out of
the organization or have been transferred to other locations.
Decentralization also increases telecom costs for several reasons: Since service and usage plans are
frequently provisioned on an individual basis, there is little or no control of purchasing and a lack of
monitoring of service contracts; there is no benefit from volume purchasing and rate negotiations;
delayed payments result in extra fees and penalty charges; and additional staff resources in each cost
center are required to manually record, track and manage expenditures, duplicating costs. All of the
above gaps can lead to 20%-30% higher telecom costs – money which can be used elsewhere for
more profitable endeavors.
2. ABILITA Telecom Expense Management Services
2.1 Service Description
The consulting and TEM services package offered by ABILITA works on a simple, dual-stage premise:
1. A complete audit of the existing telecom infrastructure, covering contract reviews, expenditure
over the previous period, billing errors, pricing and redundant/expired service plans
2. Detailed recommendations on consolidation and management of the entire TEM cycle,
immediate cost savings through credits and recovery of excess or erroneous payments,
rationalization and optimization of telecom and technology usage and spending and planning
for future telecom/technology infrastructure
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5. Telecom Expense Management 2011
Data Gathering
Regular Detailed Forensic
Reporting Historical Audit
Automation of
Comprehensive
Telecom
Inventory
Expenses
Database
Tracking
Figure 1: Managed TEM Process
At each of the two stages mentioned above, immediate, quantifiable benefits are visible, more than
offsetting the amount spent on hiring an independent consultant such as ABILITA. Part of this is due to
the flexibility and freedom provided by ABILITA‘s pricing system for services rendered (explored in
section 2.3). Another part is that the TEM solutions recommended and/or implemented by ABILITA are
neutral and independent of the network/service provider; the benefits derived and the consulting focus
are solely directed towards the client company.
2.2 Benefits & Savings
ABILITA has a proven track record in assisting enterprise clients track, optimize and facilitate proactive
management of the entire spectrum of telecommunication services and technology infrastructure. For
our clients, this has resulted in monetary and non-monetary benefits, often transforming from a telecom-
focused engagement to a strategic consulting partnership, focused on People, Process and Technology.
Overall Benefits
Effective management of procurement and billing
Accurate voice, data and network inventory
Optimized network pricing and performance through proactive reporting
Ready availability of data to negotiate competitive rates with carriers and service providers
Increased staff time available for productive business activities
Validation of enterprise processes and invoices with periodic audits
An effective plan for future technology investments that are supported with realistic
cost/benefit analyses designed to win senior leadership approval
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6. Telecom Expense Management 2011
2.3 Pricing/Fee Structure
When faced with the proposition of hiring an external consultant/firm, most companies balk at the
prospect, seeing this as an additional cost to already-stretched budgets, not to mention the additional
man-hours and resources diverted from critical business operations, preferring to continue with the
status quo or postpone the decision to a future uncertain date.
ABILITA‘s fee structure is a simple solution to these concerns, at least in terms of monetary costs. The
pricing structure is based on two possible scenarios:
One, the customer hires ABILITA to carry out a historical audit and present findings for which
regular hourly or project fees are payable;
OR
Two, ABILITA conducts a thorough audit, presents findings and submits
recommendations/solutions, which the client may accept and engage ABILITA for
implementation. In this situation, ABILITA works on a contingency fee basis, i.e. payment as a
percentage of actual realized savings.
As a prospective client, it is entirely up to you (the company) to choose one of the above two options,
suitable to requirements. Additionally, ABILITA is not associated with any carrier or service provider
and does not make preferential recommendations about choosing one service provider over the other.
The consultant will, of course, assist the client company with choosing the best and optimal service
packages from the entire range available in the market.
Cost Savings
Streamlined Processes
Effective Use of Personnel & Resources
Competitive Pricing/Services from Vendors
Investing in Advanced Technology to Maintain Competitive
Advantage
Figure 2: Benefits from Managed TEM Services
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7. Telecom Expense Management 2011
3. Management Bias & Perceptions about Telecom Consulting & TEM Services
3.1 Common Concerns & Objections
A general perception in the business world, and indeed, elsewhere, is that hiring an independent
consultant for projects is an additional burden on existing resources and time and the end-results are
not always obvious or even quantifiable to justify the time and resources allocated.
The perception about outsourced TEM services is somewhat similar; common concerns and objections to
hiring a telecom consultant and adopting a new system to rationalize costs and optimize telecom
infrastructure and usage stem from the following reasons:
Satisfaction with the current status quo – existing vendors, contracts and processes
Additional time and cost of reviewing and changing the current system
The project can be managed internally, realizing cost savings without bringing in an external
resource and paying for their services
The company is already carrying out an audit of telecom expenses or has done one in the
past and there is no need to ‗reinvent the wheel‘
An independent telecom consultant may recommend changing telecom vendors, but current
contractual obligations prevent the company from implementing such changes.
Recent contracts executed with new or incumbent provider.
Rejecting the engagement of an outside consultant based upon these reasons, represent what many
might classify as an irrational fear of change, and is one side of the coin. On the other side,
prospective clients are open to hiring the consultant and implementing the project, but certain factors
impede the conversion of initial enthusiasm into a solid decision to go ahead with the exercise. These
include, but are not limited to:
Putting off the final decision-making due to a shift in focus to the day-to-day challenges of
running a business, other priorities with more immediate value than a TEM project
Concerns about the time required to be spent on the project where there is none to spare: the
business can manage without the additional amount of potential savings, rather than adding
yet another responsibility to the already-existing overload
Psychological issues, e.g. ‗fear‘ of being found wanting or derelict in their work, when revenue
leakages are identified during the audit project; the perception that ―bigger (or more-
expensive) is better‖ and there‘s no value in switching to another service provider; and the
mistaken belief that the consultant‘s job can be managed internally and more money can be
saved by not having to pay an external party
Concerns about telecom consultants being paid to promote a particular vendor, carrier or
service provider, or that consultants will follow their own agenda and sacrifice the client‘s
interests for their own.
All of these issues are valid and certainly merit rational consideration. The underlying theme seems to
be an emphasis on individual elements and no focus on the ‗big picture‘, which is gaining substantial cost
benefits, while ensuring that the organization follows a revamped and forward-looking telecom/technology
policy as opposed to the current piece-meal strategy.
If your organization is not
executing on an active strategy to
lower costs, then almost certainly
an opportunity to reduce costs exists.
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8. Telecom Expense Management 2011
This is addressed in the following section.
3.2 Rationale for Independent Consulting & TEM Services
“We do not need or cannot adopt outsourced TEM consulting and services, because: we’re happy
with the status quo: current vendor/we do not have the required time, money or resources/ we
are restricted by contractual obligations.”
Here are some points to ponder, pertaining to hiring an independent, well-established and reputable
telecom consultant (such as ABILITA) and implementing a managed TEM system. According to a
Gartner Inc. research report1, not conducting a historical telecom audit—as a standalone activity or as
part of a bundled TEM solution—means losing at least 10%, if not more, of a telecom budget to
network providers on an annual basis. Further, the research summary2 states:
“Enterprises are challenged with the auditing of their telecommunications invoices (paper and
electronic) and reconciling network inventories. The challenge is due to the lack of resources and
staff understanding of telecommunication services terms and conditions and of billing formats. The
result has been overpayments, stranded assets and the inability to effectively manage the telecom
expenditures. Implementing a historical audit through a consulting arrangement will identify
discrepancies, identify stranded assets and recover the overpayments.”
The following sub-sections further illustrate this summary.
3.2.1 Contract, Billing, Fraud & Missed Disconnect Errors
No matter how good, affordable and service-oriented a vendor is, the fact remains that vendor
representatives are paid to increase revenues for their employers and cannot, or are unwilling to,
validate inventory or carry out a rationalization/optimization exercise.
A DIY approach, i.e. reviewing Terms & Conditions (including the fine print!) and monthly billing invoices
from multiple vendors (for LAN/WAN, voice, wireless, VoIP and more) or even a single vendor offering
multiple services, most of which are still paper-based, is a time-consuming, laborious and frankly,
monotonous exercise. Most organizations do not have the time or resources to spare and are frequently
willing to let the current status quo prevail.
An independent telecom consultant works for you, with the core objective of helping you assess current
telecom expenditures and to identify cost savings. Achieving this objective does not necessarily imply
changing vendors or altering the relationship equation with your current provider(s).
Additionally, telecom services providers are themselves part of a dynamic and competitive market,
who need to retain existing enterprise clients in an environment where carrier turmoil and network
consolidation is a common occurrence.
3.2.1a Benefits
Contracts: ABILITA‘s TEM process validates invoices against contract T&Cs and provides:
(a) Corporate discounts on meeting pre-guaranteed annual minimum revenue numbers;
(b) Reversals of charges for erroneously-recorded delayed payments;
(c) Refunds of excess payments made due to wrong rate plans being applied; and
(d) Credits for carrier failures to meet agreed SLAs and service quality standards.
1
Cullen, A., Historical Telecom Audit Is Still a Valuable Function, July 10, 2008, Gartner Research, p.1
2
Ibid., p.2
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9. Telecom Expense Management 2011
―Enterprises forfeit 12% to 18% if they do not have a proactive approach to cost management that
leverages technology and process improvement through business process outsourcing, hosted or
licensed software‖ (Aberdeen).
Billing: TEM systems help in matching billed service charges with data recorded in a master
TEM database and identifying:
(a) Closed accounts of employees who‘ve left the organization;
(b) Wrong locations or previous locations which are no longer operable and notice of the
same has been provided to the service provider;
(c) Transferred toll-free numbers;
(d) Erroneous long-distance charges; and
(e) Other and miscellaneous charges for inactive, unutilized or cancelled features.
Billing-related costs can be saved with the ABILITA system.
Fraud: Manual audits or even sample checks made by your account team cannot trace and
identify fraudulent/ unauthorized usage of telecom facilities, such as reimbursements claimed
for personal usage, overseas calls where such access is not permitted or approved by the
company for a particular number or account.
Fraud continues to exist in the telecom environment and can result in substantial costs which are easier
to trace and pinpoint with an effective TEM process.
Missed Disconnects: These include expenses arising out of M&A activities, such as the
integration of telecom infrastructure of new or acquired entities with the existing infrastructure
of the parent/holding entity, leading to:
(a) Bills from service providers whose services have been discontinued;
(b) Charges for Internet access not cancelled by the service provider when the line/account
was cancelled;
(c) Charges for sites no longer in operation post the merger/acquisition; and
(d) Bills for cell phones used by former employees.
3.3 Barriers to Proactive Decision-making on Managed TEM Services
“We would like to implement a TEM solution, but: we don’t have the time or resources to
spare/we can do it on our own, saving on consultancy fees/we’re afraid that gaps exposed by the
initial audit will reflect poorly on us or past decisions/policy approving expensive and unnecessary
services will come back to haunt us.”
Often, telecom managers or executives with decision-making authority are gung ho about adopting an
automated TEM package and the prospect of significant cost savings excites them. However, this initial
enthusiasm dims with day-to-day work pressures, lots of second-guessing or a growing conviction that
the entire exercise can be self-managed, saving the outlay on consulting fees, even if they‘re on a
contingency basis.
This category of prospective clients differs from the previous one discussed above, in the sense that
while they see the value of utilizing an external consultant to implement and manage the optimization
project, fear or other psychological barriers prevent them from taking the final step. Alternatively
they decide on a DIY approach, which results in additional complications and leads to prospective
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10. Telecom Expense Management 2011
savings not being actually realized or realized at a diminished level, well below the level of benefits,
had a consultant such as ABILITA been hired as per the initial buy-in.
Reiterating the arguments and explanations listed in the previous section, only an exclusive, dedicated
resource with the relevant experience and expertise can facilitate the smooth transition from a
complicated, decentralized and largely manual process, into a centralized, automated and optimized
telecom management system; the benefits of which are tangible, immediate as well as self-sustaining in
the long run, with periodic checks and balances.
To substantiate, listed below are actual benefits realized by ABILITA‘s clients across multiple industries,
locations and company sizes, along with some sample cases (included in the Appendixes).
An average of 30 percent savings across hundreds of TEM optimization projects, e.g. with an
annual telecom spend of $10,000 for voice services, an immediate recovery of $3,000!
Extending this illustration to additional telecom services such as data, cellular, wireless
networks, multiple devices, users and locations, the realized savings are huge and have a
significant, positive impact on the bottom-line.
Continued expense scrutiny and reporting over a 24 month period providing a proactive
validation of billing and usage patterns.
Increased efficiency in internal accounting and reconciliation procedures with customized
reports generated automatically or as per periodic requirements.
3.3.1 Why ABILITA’s TEM Services
1. ABILITA is completely independent of service providers, equipment vendors, and all other
industry participants
2. Abilita takes no commissions, kickbacks, or agents‘ fees
3. Abilita works only for the clients‘ best interests, finding the best possible combination of
services and costs –providing truly independent communication and technology solutions
expertise.
4. Conclusion
ABILITA Telecom Expense Management Services is a powerful end-to-end solution that shows
immediate savings and benefits across the enterprise…
1. You‘ll gain the visibility and control needed to optimize the price/performance of your voice,
data and wireless infrastructure
2. You‘ll be able to refocus staff and increase accuracy as you automate invoice analysis and
auditing
3. You‘ll be able to reap the rewards of new and exciting technology through business-intelligent
analytics.
With ABILITA‘s TEM service, you won‘t just enjoy a reduction in annual telecom costs; you‘ll be able to
thrust your company ahead of the competition.
ABILITA Office
1417 Sadler Rd. #182 - Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
1 (904) 321-0483 - www.abilita.com/price
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11. Telecom Expense Management 2011
Appendixes
Case Studies
Midwest Based Manufacturing Company
This company headquartered in Chicago has one main location and two satellite locations. It employs
about 400 people and their combined voice, data, wireless and long distance spend was about
$325,000 year. Abilita completed a cost optimization study and delivered recommendations that
were implemented saving the organization over $115,000 a year.
Lowered the cost per mobile device by 30%
Structured a renewal agreement with the incumbent carrier providing a 36% discount.
Provide ongoing quarterly analysis and reporting on spend, savings received and new
opportunities to lower costs
Provide a single point of contact for telecom vendor related issues.
International Distribution (MRO) Company
This company headquartered in the southeastern US operates 350 branches located in North America,
Europe and Asia. It employs over 20,000 people and offers industrial MRO safety and electrical
products and services. Their voice, data and wireless network spend in North America was $5.5 Million
per annum. ABILITA was retained over a 3-year period to:
Perform detailed reviews of technical and commercial proposals for MPLS, frame relay, router
rental and management
Review their ATM Metro network and provided recommendations to improve resiliency of the
network
Deliverables included:
Working closely with the Tier 1 engineers to refine proposals
Optimizing the data network and router services
Intensive negotiation at the VP level for total service package.
Saving $3 Million over a 2.5 year contract
A Mortgage and Loan Foreclosure Services Company
Initially ABILITA was engaged to perform an audit of the Company‘s data services and make
recommendations to optimize them. ABILITA‘s recommendations included significant cost reductions and
the need for the Company to standardize its data services into a strategic platform that would
accommodate forecasted growth.
As a result the Company retained ABILITA to perform a Technology Review and develop a technology
plan that would help the company prepare its technology infrastructure to accommodate its growth
expectations. The review included:
Existing phone systems
Wide Area Network performance, Local Area Network performance, data center
infrastructure
Security policies and Disaster Recovery protocols
Current and future needs assessment based on user group interviews
A review of the Company‘s Strategic Plan and objectives
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12. Telecom Expense Management 2011
Subsequent to the completion of the Technology Review, the company requested ABILITA‘s assistance
with:
A network and security assessment so that it could enhance the performance of its network.
Managing the design and build of a new 5,000 square foot data center
Managing the transition of voice and data services from the old location to the new location
Managing the telephone equipment move from the old location to the new location
Local area network design at the new location
In addition, the Company introduced ABILITA to its parent company and ABILITA has completed
engagements for the parent company.
A Midwestern Regional Bank
The engagement with this regional bank (80 branches) was an all data project. ABILITA managed the
entire RFP process for the client and advised them in the signing of a $5 million data services contract.
ABILITA designed a resilient network that allowed the Bank to support current applications while
providing a solid foundation for their future network growth. Tasks included:
• Review and analysis of the client‘s existing data network infrastructure
• Recommendations on decreasing network complexity
• Eliminating single points of failure
• Determining the number and types of connections used and the recovery methods
employed
• For the head office connectivity, key options were considered and recommendations made
with regard to MLPP vs. CEF, Tasman router vs. direct to Cisco router, Single v. dual homing
gateways and Single vs. dual CPR router.
• IPSEC Implementation across geographically diverse PoPs and gateways
• Routing of circuits across diverse SONET multiplexers and fibers to ensure shared
infrastructure on the transmission layer is not replicated at the IP layer.
• Site resilience and Route diversity
• Designed a network without bottlenecks or choke points.
ABILITA Office
1417 Sadler Rd. #182 - Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
1 (904) 321-0483 - www.abilita.com/price
ABILITA | Independent Telecommunications Consulting Page 12 of 12