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Managing mobiles made easy

Author: Tala Sabi-aish

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The telecommunications industry continues to evolve at a faster pace then ever and professionals searching for the right business mobile solution are faced with a bewildering array of different networks, price plans and deals. Choosing the right mobile solution is reliant on being able to understand these options in relation to your organisation’s particular call spend, the ancillary costs of the service provider and finally an examination of the level of customer service that the provider offers. Once the right deal has been chosen, the challenge of managing a mobile fleet effectively becomes clear, and that service providers offer few tools in assistance.

Tariffs are often put together to catch the eye with gimmicky offers on handsets and costs, whilst not actually providing bottom line savings or cost effectiveness. It is vital to conduct an in-depth examination of your organisation’s previous call-spend in each area. It is then possible to choose the right business mobile solution as tariffs often offer reduced rates in one area, but higher rates in those that your organisation might call more often. For example inclusive or ‘free’ minutes, which form a major part of many tariffs, often do not offer sufficient value to account for the increase in line rental, especially where users travel or dial overseas, since the most expensive calls do not qualify as inclusive calls which have essentially been pre-purchased through an increase in line rental. Unused calls can only be carried forward up to one month. Mobile phone usage patterns vary making it better commercial logic to pay only for the calls you make, rather than gambling on the number and types of call likely to be made.

Often mobile phone providers compensate for cheaper calling rates by adding a range of ancillary costs. For example the insurance policies offered with many mobile phone packages fail to cover a variety of key situations. Then it is essential to factor in the costs of other services for example, voicemail, call waiting, delivery of devices, repairs and itemised billing to gain an accurate picture of the true costs of a business mobile solution.

The early years of the telecommunications revolution saw many service providers put gaining new connections and market share above managing existing customers and building long-term relationships. Often basic levels of account management and services are sadly lacking and faceless call centres are predominant throughout the industry. It is only fair to expect a first class, individually tailored account management, especially considering the amounts spent by larger businesses. For the mobile professional, managing their mobile solution with such a low level of support is complex and consumes a disproportionate amount of time.

Management tasks, which should be basic, such as monitoring call-spend between individuals to keep costs down, are difficult both for the individuals themselves and also for the fleet manager. Then at the end of each billing period correctly analysing call data and attributing the costs correctly and then getting bills out to and paid by the individuals (who are often mobile themselves) becomes a monthly marathon consuming valuable resources. Both of these key tasks have few solutions amongst most major service providers and greater emphasis must be put into the development of systems which some more specialist providers have developed to help mobile professionals to manage mobiles more easily.

About Author

http://www.airtimemanager.co.uk - for Business Mobile Solutions

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Managing mobiles made easy