Does management mean mere monitoring and handling? It definitely doesn’t. Management has to look at optimization of resources. Telecom management also strives to optimize your telecom network. So, what is optimization all about? What happens in telecom network optimization? Well, simply put, optimization here refers to reaping maximum benefits of the telecom services.

How, exactly, can you optimize your organization’s telecom network? You need to start with making sure you procure the best service and plan. VoIP management typically performs pre-deployment testing to see if the solution fits in your scheme of things. This is a kind of an acceptance testing that is becoming a norm when establishing a proper telecom network.

Next, you have to monitor the performance of your telecom network closely. You have to make sure that the network functions as per your needs.

Once you have established that the network has been configured based on your needs, you have to ensure that it continues to function smoothly. You have to troubleshoot problems effectively and on time.

Making sure that the network performs to its optimum and finding out ways to improve its performance forms a part of the optimization process.

Now, what do you need to optimize your business network? A good understanding of your telecom needs and infrastructure and an expert knowledge of telecom technologies are integral to telecom management. More often than not, organizations lack this sort of expertise. This is the reason why they should go for professional telecom management. A professional team will not only optimize your current network but will also prepare you for future needs.

Jack of all trades cannot perform like a master. In a business, you cannot expect to run everything on your own; you have to let professionals take care of certain things in your business. Telecom management is definitely one of such things. As I have said several times earlier, you should outsource the management of your telecom network. Why? Allow me to explain.

1. Outsourcing telecom management will help you recover money that you lost because of errors in billing and other areas.
2. A professional team will analyze previous and current bills to identify the errors in billing and stop them from occurring in future.
3. It will analyze usage and bills to ensure that you don’t pay for what you don’t use.
4. It will check misuse and over-use of your telecom services.
5. It will help you organize your inventory in such a way that it offers you maximum benefits.
6. It will provide you information about different vendors, their plans, and their tariffs to help you pick the best offer.
7. It will help you make sense of the telecom contract, simplifying terms and conditions for you.
8. It will provide for continuous monitoring of the network’s performance and will ensure that the downtimes are minimal.
9. It will offer efficient and timely troubleshooting support in case of a problem with the network.
10. It will ensure that the telecom plans align with your business’ telecom needs.
11. It will help you reap the maximum benefits of the network.
12. It will analyze future needs and make strategic planning accordingly.

Outsourcing this service will not cost you a fortune. A telecom management team will offer you services based on what your business’ needs are, thus fitting within your budget.

The world today cannot function without wireless technology. Businesses are no longer location-specified; they are increasing becoming global thanks to the convenience offered by emerging technologies. While all businesses understand the importance of the wireless network, several are wary of investing in it. This is because of the challenges in managing such a network. Managing wireless services is not everyone’s cup of tea. That is why it is recommended that you outsource it.

Let us look at why organizations are not equipped to handle wireless management.

• Complex network: Not everyone can understand the complexity of the wireless network. Unlike the conventional wired network, this network puzzles people with non-tangible things like protocols and topologies. Most businesses lack the expertise to handle the wireless technology.
• Difficult to modify: It is not easy to upgrade or accommodate changes in a wireless network. Again, the problem arises from the lack of knowledge about the technology.
• Difficult to track: The wireless network makes it difficult to keep a track of all the devices on the network and their respective usage. This makes it difficult to analyze needs and control expenses.
• Difficult to optimize: Wireless services are not depended on the functionality of physical connections. Environment factors can affect the performance of the wireless network in a big way. This makes it difficult to reap the maximum benefits of the system.

The above-mentions points are reasons you should outsource wireless management. Telecom consultants have the requisite know-how of handling wireless services and they know how to optimize their performance.

The management of the telecom network is important, but how do you go about it. A widely accepted and structured way of telecom management is the Telecom Lifecycle Management (TLM). Simply put, TLM refers to the management of the entire lifecycle of an organization’s telecom services.

TLM essentially covers the following phases of the telecom lifecycle:

• Procurement and contract negotiation: TLM employs order management to take care of these.
• Inventory Maintenance: Inventory management forms an integral part of TLM.
• Invoice Processing: TLM introduces automation in the processing of invoices.
• Audits and Analysis: TLM continuously monitors the performance of the telecom network. It also keeps a track of the telecom expenses and usage.
• Reporting and Documentation: TLM releases reports to help analyze the current usages and the future needs. It helps strategize plans for the future.

TLM offers not only a structured management of the costs and expenses but also the management of the technical aspect of the telecom network. This way of management helps you understand your telecom network better. It looks not only at maximizing the cost savings but also at optimizing the performance of the telecom services.

TLM is implemented by following the best practices of the industry, the most-effective software, and expert knowledge to deliver comprehensive management of voice, data, and wireless services to a business. As of now, TLM seems to be the best method of telecom management. Most good telecom consultants offer services based on the TLM structure. You can opt to hire one or more of their services.

If your business has a telecom network, you need a structured way of managing it. The internal telecom management often ignores several aspects of the telecom services. Expense management is always at the helm of affairs in any form of telecom management but procurement, inventory, and usage are not typically looked into. One of the biggest reasons that makes professional management of the telecom network important is because it looks into every facet of the telecom services and goes on to reap optimum benefits of them.

Are you sure you are handling your business’ telecom network well? How well do you know your network? Let’s find out.

• Do you understand the telecom needs of your business?
• Do you know if your current telecom plans meets your needs?
• Are you aware of the current status of the telecom inventory?
• Do you have thorough knowledge of the usage of the telecom services?
• Are you aware of the changes, if any, in your telecom plans and bills?
• Do you have knowledge about the errors in billing, and are you aware whether or not the errors have been repeated?
• Are you aware of each and every item in your bills?
• Are you sure you are not being billed for an unused service?
• Are you aware of the downtimes of the telecom services and their frequency?
• Do you have information on the problems in the telecom services?
• Can you foresee your business’ telecom needs in the future?

If your answer to one or more of the above-mentioned questions have been in the negative, you should consider outsourcing your business’ telecom management to professionals.

As a business grows the opportunities for cost explosions also grow especially in the area of telecommunications costs. A telecom management team can often help to develop the telecom needs of a business during its growth period.

Take a look at the following list:

• VoIP Needs and Benefit Analysis,
• New technology and equipment acquisitions,
• Optimization of systems and processes,
• Video or audio conferencing solutions,
• Data capacity analysis,
• Corporate reporting and compliance,
• Telecommunications security and fraud protection,
• Telecommunications network lifecycle planning and management,
• Change management,
• Project planning and implementation assistance,
• System and application upgrades and replacements.

As your business is growing, are you considering all any of these areas?  Are you bleeding money through factors like lack of fraud protection? By hiring a professional telecom management team, these areas and more can be addressed.

A professional telecom management team has the experience and knowledge to look at factors that you may have never considered - like fraud protection. The end result is a more professional appearance to your customers, your employees and to other businesses - and that ultimately has to be good for business.

One of the benefits of a good telecom management program is the windfall that a business sometimes receives. While generally not that large, there have been businesses that have benefited to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. If you analyze your telecom expenditure, what would a 10% refund mean in purely dollar terms?

No one can undertake a telecom audit with any set percentage in mind. However, you just don’t know until that audit has been completed. It may be only few percentage points or could be a high 10, 15 or even 20 percentage points.

It all comes down to telecom recoveries. If you have been overcharged, or perhaps been charged for services not agreed to or used then you may be entitled to a refund - that cold hard cash that was your money - and still would have been if you had been charged correctly.

This is just one area that telecom management can assist a business. A second area relates to the actual use of your systems. Some surveys in the past have shown that up to 40% of all telecom costs are wasted costs. This is caused by inefficient use of the system by employees. It also includes using the telecom system for personal use, one of the biggest costs to any business.

Telecom management can help a business cut overall telecom expenditure by half in some industries. How much can it help you?

Proper management of inventory is integral to the management of the entire telecom network. If your organization does not have adequate knowledge to handle the inventory, you should outsource its management. Let us look at what professional inventory management offers.

• It ensures that the telecom inventory is accurate at all times. It helps you keep track of each and every piece of equipment and  its location.
• Professional management makes it easy to update the inventory. With updates made easy, future management becomes simpler.
• It discards equipment that is unnecessary or not being used. The inventory is reviewed regularly to make sure only the necessary equipment is stored.
• Professional inventory management brings in accountability. It makes individuals or departments responsible for each asset and element of the inventory.
• It tracks and manages the expenses related to each asset. It is aware of the total money being spent on the inventory.
• It tracks the usage of each asset and provides data for overall usage management.
• Professional inventory management brings in a proper system of procurement and contract negotiation. Thus, it helps get the telecom plans best-suited for the organization.
• It enables proper and accurate invoice management. Proper invoice processing is important for any organization and a properly-managed inventory paves way to it.

A well-managed inventory helps you align the telecom services with your organization’s telecom needs. It also helps optimize the services of the telecom network. More often than not, internal management of inventory causes important resources to spend time looking after the inventory. Outsourcing inventory management helps release these resources for important work.

Many organizations are adamant when it comes to outsourcing the management of their telecom networks. They think that they can manage the telecom services on their own, that professional telecom management is expensive, and that they understand their telecom networks better than an outsider. The third perception is actually the reason they don’t outsource telecom management; they cannot trust an outside company with things that they think they understand better. Does your organization think the same? How well do you know your telecom network? Answer the following questions and find out if you are well aware of your telecom needs and network.

• Have you identified all the telecom needs of your organization?
• Does your current telecom plan meet your needs?
• Are you aware of every item in your inventory?
• Do you know how the telecom services are being used and if there is any misuse?
• Have there been any changes to the charges and the plans being reflected in the bills?
• Are you sure you are not being billed for a service that is not used?
• Are you equipped to track billing and accounting errors when and if they occur?
• Are you aware of the problems in the telecom services and the frequency of the downtimes?

Needs analysis, procurement management, inventory management, usage management, error tracking, and performance monitoring are integral to the management of a telecom network. If you are not equipped with the knowledge to handle all these aspects of your telecom network, you should go for professional telecom management. This will help optimize the benefits of the telecom services.

We have spoken about the importance of telecom management in several of our earlier posts. Today, we will look at the areas where telecom management can help in a significant way.

Recoveries and Optimization

Recoveries mean getting back money that you have already spent. Telecom management analyzes the money you have spent as costs and expenses and the services you have gotten in return. It then tells you if you have paid extra or unnecessarily, or because of wrongful billing. It helps you recover this extra money that you have paid.

Optimization of services refers to the best possible performance of the services. Telecom management ensures that you reap the maximum benefits of the services you take.

Telecom Expense Management (TEM)

A telecom management team can help you manage your organization’s telecom expenses effectively. Telecom Expense Management (TEM) is all about analyzing the current telecom needs, the usage, and the expenses to come up with a better plan to tackle them. TEM recommends better telecom plans, monitors and manages usage, and reduces expenses. The best thing about TEM is that telecom management companies take their fees for the service only after they have realized savings for the organization.

Wireless Management

Organizations find themselves baffled when it comes to managing their wireless network. Telecom management comes to the rescue of these organizations by providing efficient wireless management methods. Wireless management includes management of the wireless inventory, usage analysis, procurement management, improved invoice processing, and thorough analysis and reporting of the network.

Apart from the above-mentioned areas, professional telecom management can provide help in managing telecom projects as well.