Key Differentiators for World Class TEM

[featured-text]Over the years we have come to realize that the best-in-class TEM approaches are not just about cutting costs (though that’s obviously important) but also about having important telecommunication and IT services which serve to enable core business processes. Based on our years of experience in the industry this blog discusses what we at Network Control believe to be the key differentiators in the TEM industry.[/featured-text]

It is true that cost saving starts from knowing what you have, what you need and where you need—or can—optimize. Knowledge is power in this game. The process should start with  building a complete and detailed inventory of all your services and matching user needs with those services and devices which offer the best solutions at any point in time.

Make sure you have executive buy-in for any initiative on the table and that the key stakeholders are all on board to move the project forward!  Why? This effort requires close interaction and collaboration between Telecom, IT, Finance, Facilities, and Sourcing/Purchasing managers in order to develop a clear and consistent understanding of the benefits that will come from looking holistically and centralizing key processes in order to optimize service and manage complexity. Only by getting all stakeholders involved will you bring about a strong TEM engagement, move the implementation process along smoothly and assure success for both the TEM provider and your organization.

Below we have highlighted a few fundamental actions for the end-user to address:

1. Create transparency and accuracy by obtaining current benchmarking data, comprehensive inventory builds and detailed insights into the telecommunication billing and its associated costs.
2. Formalize and standardize activities through streamlined and centralized processes.
3. Improve sourcing by determining adequate requirements, cost-effective services, and  enhanced provider support.

By building these actions into a sold workflow you’ll see improved transparency and gain a better understanding of needs, which results in much more targeted sourcing requirements. Better sourcing results in appropriate services and leaner processes, which in turn leads to broader, more refined insights.

The actions mentioned above also include safeguard options. With knowledge of big spending risks, service options with appropriate safeguards in place against intentional and unintentional excessive usage should are identified and rectified. Examples of safeguards include: limiting data speed, contract rates missed or not applied or even discontinuation of service migration plans.

A policy management workflow should be customized to each organization’s needs. It should be capable of tracking regulatory, contractual changes,following of policy updates and carry that tracking through to confirmation. It is effective in identifying misuse of ordering to providing users and managers with usage and cost information that reflect the provisions stipulated in the policies.

Lastly, sourcing management should encompass all activities required to purchase telecommunication services and assets on an international scale. The requirements are gathered and consolidated, benchmarked against market offerings, requests compiled and sent to a narrowed down set of suppliers. From there incoming responses are evaluated, the final best offer is selected and implementation is followed-up. This ties right back into the beginning of the workflow cycle where:

• Purposeful Policies
• Streamlined Processes
• Improved Management
• Adequate Services
• Tariff/Service Guide Reviews
• Informed Negotiations

all lead back to effective sourcing with a comprehensive review of existing telecommunication environment and the current cost baseline. Sourcing management follows the process to completion and thoroughly documents the lessons learned and shared with our customers to continue to exceed expectations from constant review and workflow adaptations.

These differentiators are how we see a solid TEM partner company standing out from the rest of the crowd.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss our unique and powerful offering in order to optimize your organizations IT & Telecom services and expense.