Managing telecom expense management solutions in-house may seem cost effective at first, but the time and resources required to effectively manage the plan will likely put unnecessary strain on your IT department.The 2013 Telecommunications Industry Review, a new market research report from The Insight Research Corporation, outlines the impact current economic factors are having on the telecommunications industry. Pairing economic weakness with an increased demand for 4G wireless devices is putting a strain on enterprise telecommunication budgets. The demand for 4G not only increases enterprise bandwidth requirements, it also increases overall telecom expenses. Here are three ways to manage unforeseen increases and lower overall enterprise telecom spend.Request an Audit: It's no secret that companies were forced to "reduce headcount" to stay on budget and weather the economic storm. Remarkably, very few thought to "right size" their telecom spend proportionately. When considering a telecom expense management program, first, request a billing review and audit. This step will identify the number of lines, features and data access elements your company actually needs. Forecast 3G and 4G Charges Separately: New research from Cisco predicts that by 2016, a 4G connection will generate 9 times more traffic on average than a non-4G connection. With this in mind, it's more important than ever to identify the needs of your organization and forecast each data requirement separately. Prior to making any purchasing decisions, consider the drastic cost difference for 3G and 4G data use.Negotiate Better Prices: Now that you have the "right-size" spend for your business and you understand what features your company really needs, negotiating better prices is the logical next step. Gartner estimates that this step alone can save up to 15% in your telecommunications budget. These three tips will have your telecommunications spend under budget in no time. To further lower your spend, outsourcing your needs to an experienced telecom expense management provider, like ComBrokers, is recommended by many TEM industry leaders. Managing the solutions in-house may seem cost effective at first, but the time and resources required to effectively manage the plan will likely put unnecessary strain on your IT department."Generally, ComBrokers finds at least 20% in monthly savings. Our audit is free to the business, so it really is "Found Money", money you would normally have spent with no questions asked. - John Masoner, President of ComBrokersThe ComBrokers team is located entirely in the United States and has over 60 years of combined telecom experience. We recently saved a chain of restaurants over $2.8 million for the life of their initial contract.If you'd like more information about telecom expense management, or, to schedule a consultation with ComBrokers, please call Sam at 855-426-6276 or email sam@combrokers.com.
