While many businesses would benefit from telecom expense management services, to be honest, not every business would. But before we get into who does and doesn\u2019t, let\u2019s define what it is.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Telecom expense management, which has expanded to include technology expenses as well, is managing and keeping track of various wireless, voice, and data services to understand total telecom costs, usually with the goal of minimizing costs.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Sounds easy if you have a one-location business with just a few employees. You probably have high-speed internet, an office landline, maybe mobile phones for yourself and one salesperson. Keeping track of the monthly internet, landline, and mobile costs isn\u2019t tricky. Sure, you have to watch out if you run out of the special promotional rate the internet provider offers, but honestly, it\u2019s not that tough. So as a business owner\/operator, you don\u2019t need to hire the services of a tech\/telecom expense management provider.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But what if your company operates multiple locations in different parts of the country? And you have field reps everywhere servicing your customers? And each of the regional offices has high-speed internet and phone lines. It may not sound all that complicated, but the reality is that you are looking at different providers for all the services\u2014different tariffs, taxes, and fees. Mobile phones are likely with various carriers. And the internet provider is unique in each market as well. Throw in HVAC bills from different utilities, and now you have an even more complicated situation. And we haven\u2019t even addressed things like monitoring unused phone lines, bogus fees, unexpected increases, or unpaid rebates. And who is keeping track of the inventory of all the mobile phones?\u00a0<\/p>\n The situation can go from easy to manage to practically impossible, especially for staff members with other priorities like managing customer billing. As you can see, small businesses are perfectly capable of managing the tech\/telecom expenses. But expand to more than a few locations, and the question is, who is keeping track?\u00a0<\/p>\n This is when you ask yourself, is this the smartest way to handle it? And the answer is no. That is why TEM providers exist. It is what they do day in and day out. They\u2019re experts. In the case of Inverse Technology Solutions, we\u2019ve managed clients\u2019 telecom and tech expenses for decades. Saving them millions in the process. We like to begin with a pilot audit to identify where we can quickly save the client significant money. While reviewing for cost reductions, we are always looking for more effective and efficient ways to use technology, such as to stop paying for more speed than you need. Or switching from a hardwired landline phone system to VoIP can save a bundle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n