The top 5 questions you need to ask you telecoms provider

If you manage telecoms spend in your organisation, here are the five questions you need to be asking your telecoms provider:

1. Do you know where my data is?

Do you know where your billing information and call records are being stored? Some telecommunication providers will use third-party billing platforms to invoice their customers, who may house your data overseas. And even if data is stored in a territory that meets your internal compliance requirements, what infrastructure and security protocols are used?

2. How quickly can I react to what I see?

Whilst some providers will give you access to a portal and invoices on a month by month basis, it is also important to choose a solution that details the unbilled activity of your users. This allows the budget holder to spot spikes in usage or cost as they occur, allowing you or your team to action and address the risk before it grows significantly.

3. Is your solution flexible to my reporting needs?

Reporting on your telecommunications spend helps to keep both you and the wider business informed, but with an inflexible reporting capability, bespoke reporting might be a challenge. A vendor that can develop reporting in line with your requirements will improve productivity, reduce time and resource required, and find you the answers faster.

4. Are you able to meet my custom requirements?

Consider working with a vendor that has the ownership of the infrastructure that is in place, allowing you to customise options or add in any additional elements to your portal where required. Traditional portals will have limited customisation in place, which can sometimes be restrictive against your reporting or visibility requirements.

5. Can I empower my employees?

Ensuring employees are kept aware of their usage can be key in managing costs. A solution that provides alerting to the user as they approach (or exceed) data allowances is a subtle reminder to change behaviours. It’s also a valuable proactive alert for budget holders, providing that instant snapshot of what’s happening right now.

Managing your telecoms spend can be a challenge, particularly with the proliferation of data-hungry mobile devices and the ever-increasing need for international travel amongst some businesses.

To reduce the risk of unexpected costs, users need to be equipped with the tools they need to maintain visibility and control of their telecommunications spend.

By working with a telecommunications provider that delivers the right solutions to harness control and mitigate excessive spend before it takes place, users can gain the insight they need to make effective business decisions, quickly.

To find out how to achieve all the points covered in this article, and more, call us on 0800 123000 or use our Contact page and we’ll call you.