Telecom Expense Management and Managed Mobility Blog

Quickcomm Ranked Among Top 50 Telecommunications Companies

Most entrepreneurs I know are occasional readers of Inc. Magazine. It delivers a great product, insightful commentary and is always well researched. Every year the magazine ranks America's fastest growing private companies in the Inc. 5000 and this year we're delighted that Quickcomm made the list. We were ranked number 45 out of the top 100 telecommunications companies in the US and in a city that has no shortage of exciting companies, we're also among the top 100 New York based businesses.

It's very gratifying to see the team's dedication and hard work in Telecom Expense Management. It is because of this hard work that we're one of the top Telecoms Companies in the US. Thank you, Inc. And a bigger 'thank you' to our customers.

Telecom Expense Management Ethics - Conduct Yourself Appropriately!

Taking a leaf out of Gartner’s book, TEMIA’s code of Ethics for the Telecom Expense management industry is a clear declaration of intent by the serious TEM vendors to establish the ground rules for an industry that’s determined to be above disparagement.

I really do applaud the intent, but one of my particular concerns with the initiative is that it must have teeth to succeed. An approach that I do want us to promote, is the ethics@temia.org mailbox. If any vendor or TEM customer feels that a member’s behavior is in conflict with the code, then please mail in details to the address. It’s being monitored up by the ethics committee who are keen to hear about it.

Part One: Going Back to My Roots

Those of you have met me over the past 5 years probably think I am Australian.  CEO of an Aussie company,  Aussie ‘twang”, continual references to Telstra, Optus and Sydney’s stunning beaches….. 

But in actuality, I am not.  I grew up in England.  My family are all English and if I am pushed to make a call on the matter, then I would have to say “I am as English as fish ‘n chips, cup-o-tea and Mary Poppins.”

I moved to Australia 23 years ago (when I still considered myself immortal) and made my life and career in Sydney.    Surprisingly enough, in a complex web of happenstance, I now find myself back in Blighty!  Back on my old stomping ground after spending six years in New York.

I have to say, after 23 years, it was initially odd.  It’s a strange position to be in.  In the first few weeks, I was fumbling with the coins and was a bit bewildered by the place.  It was like walking back into your childhood home and finding it full of strange people.  After my first month, I felt as if I had never left.  In fact, the TV shows so many re-runs, that even switching on the TV is like being back in the eighties!  It just costs more now.

Workwise...well I will write about that in my next post later this week. 

Learning Something Everyday

I am at the CCMI National Summit on Telecom Expense Management conference in Washington DC, where one of our staff, Ian Murray, has just given the keynote presentation.  I don't normally blow our bugle in a blog, but this really was an excellent session.  Judging by the comments from folks who came along afterwards, it was very well received.

Ian spoke about some particularly compelling benefits to be derived from deploying  a Telecom Expense Management solution and how to track key performance metrics directly attributable to a successful implementation.  Ian will presenting the material in one of our upcoming webinars "Killer KPIs: Key Performance Indicators for Telecom Expense Management ROI" and it promises to be one of our best yet.  

Upcoming Webinar - KPIs for Telecom Expense Management ROI

Hi all,

Its been a busy two weeks with the launch of our new site and a quick jaunt to Aruba (I will post on that later)!  But I am fully back in action now.  First order of business...a webinar. I recently sat on a webinar featuring marketing KPIs and it reminded me that we (myself included) all need to communicate the value of our efforts to our C-level executives.

You know it's critical to measure the value and success of your Telecom Expense Management program--but how do you measure the value efficiently? Relevantly? How do you know what to DO with the results? And who do you communicate all of this information to?

By identifying internal project goals and a few KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), you can show value immediately within your organization and have a foundation of effectiveness to drive serious results.

Join us June 30th at 2:00pm EDT for a webinar entitled Killer KPIs: Key Performance Indicators for Telecom Expense Management ROI with Ian Murray, VP of Channel Management. During this webinar, Ian will offer guidance on how to measure ROI using Key Performance Indicators and provide valuable information to help you better understand and communicate the objectives of you TEM project to your C-level executives. As a TEM expert and well-known industry speaker, Ian will help attendees: Identify the stakeholders in a TEM project

• Understand stakeholder objectives 
• Keep all parties informed to gain positive exposure to your project 
• Learn how to define KPIs for your organization 
• Gather meaningful metrics and KPIs that successful managers use 
• Gain C-level support and decision making

Ian will also present a case study featuring a global company spending approximately $100m on telecom annually. He will review their objectives and the KPIs they chose to track since they implemented their global TEM project. Click here to register now or go to http://quickcommevents.webex.com.

Drumroll, Please......Quickcomm's New Website has Launched!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Website!! The dramatically re-designed site embodies Quickcomm's forward-thinking vision and commitment to our customers and partners.

We added a number of informational resources to the site such as videos and demos, a savings calculator, and industry news section. With all this new interactive information, we hope customers, prospects, and partners will make better informed decisions as it relates to their telecom expenditures. The new resources section covers a broad range of topics related to telecom expense management, mobile management, invoice processing, auditing and more.

In response to Carrier and Service Provider requests, there are now sections that speak directly to them and how they can leverage our solutions and become a Quickcomm Partner.

What's up next?  By now, you probably know that I am a self proclaimed "Tip Junkie", so we will be adding an additional section dedicated solely to telecom and managed mobility tips.  Additionally, we will be adding a section for our clients that will house Quickcomm Solution-specific tutorials, videos, FAQs, and tips.

Please check out the new site and let us know your thoughts! We would love to hear from you.

Tip #258: TEM Process Management

I wanted to apologize for slacking on the blogging front.  I promise that it is for a very good reason and soon you will find out why.  I have to tease you just a little bit...exciting announcement will be made soon!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a good tip with you that I came across.   

Plan, Monitor, and Revise

One of the most efficient things you can do to manage your telecom activities is to have established processes in place that are supported with documentation. This documentation should be written in a "how to" manner, addressing specific actions. For example, your organization probably has an established procedure for handling multiple resource billing. Proper process management recommends that you have this procedure documented with specific steps on how to process this type of invoice presentation. Monitoring the efficacy of this process is integral to your team since it can reveal duplicate actions, FTE skill-sets and opportunities for improvement. Should such conditions for optimization be found, the process should be refined. A revision of procedures should also be implemented if there are changes to the environment that impact the current plan. Using the example above, the telecom service provider might begin offering billing through their portal, negating the need for any physical invoice methods. This would naturally change the processing of this invoice, which, in turn, should be documented, monitored and adjusted accordingly.

At Quickcomm, we strongly believe that two important philosophies must be considered to ensure a telecom expense management program is successful.

 1. It is NOT Telecom Expense Management, it is Telecom Management.  It is impossible to manage telecom expenses without also managing infrastructure, governance, procurement and logistics.

 2. Software merely provides a tool that enables telecom management best practices.  It is the business process that is important. 

With any business process change, it is critical that the transition is planned and executed with fastidious supervision, documentation and diligence.  It is the quality of this transition that will determine whether the project is a success or not. As important - understand that there are many areas that affect the telecom management process. Let's face it, the environment is dynamic and growing. (if it wasn't, we wouldn't have the iPhone, right?)  It's a moving target - technology changes, your organization changes, people move on, carriers change. Your business process must keep up with these changes and will need to be adjusted as time goes on.

 

Tangoe files for IPO

Very encouraging to see that the rumors of Tangoe going public were actually true. The area of Telecom Expense Management has been forming up for over a decade and Tangoe has been one vendor who's been instrumental in helping shape its direction. Of course, we think that we're another - I'll leave our technology to speak for itself.

To use a marketing expression, this is clear validation of the value proposition. Something that we vendors have been clear on for years, deploying TEM software and services is an entirely compelling ROI. With the first of us in the public markets, it sets a path for a few of us to follow.

Register for the Mobile Application Management and Security Webinar

As promised, here is some more information on our upcoming webinar, Mobile Application Management and Security: How to Maximize Value and Minimize Risk on April 29th at 2:00pm EDT.

Smart phone security is complicated by the consumerization of enterprise mobility because it challenges IT to support multiple smart phone platforms and an astronomical increase in mobile applications.

Discover how robust usage policies and nimble management strategies help you get the most productivity out of your mobile assets and minimize security risks when you join mobile guru Philippe Winthrop, creator of independent think tank The Enterprise Mobility Foundation, at this FREE information-packed webinar sponsored by Quickcomm.

» Use Philippe's 3-tier decision matrix to determine who gets mobile devices, which apps to support and which platforms are the best fit for your enterprise

» Tie IT service management, solution selection and enterprise mobility management together into a comprehensive strategy that leaves nothing to chance

» Scour must-have mobile policy components. Pop quiz: Does your policy address wireless data services? What about approved applications?

» Zero in on security best practices that go beyond basic lock and wipe mechanisms to include device memory encryption and application and Internet domain restrictions

» See how corporate vs. individual liability demands that you change your approach to mobile security and application management ... especially for "back-end" and "front-end" apps

Philippe shows you how to devise a comprehensive strategy to deploy business-enabling applications and protect enterprise data - without end user backlash!

This is impartial, vendor-neutral advice and guidance that helps you cost-effectively and securely manage your enterprise's mobility.

Click here to register!

Quickcomm Becomes a Member of the EVUA

Quick Quickcomm Update!

Quickcomm is pleased to announce that we have become a member of the EVUA. 

What is the EVUA you ask?

The EVUA is a not for profit user organisation promoting global networking solutions for multinational companies.  Continually striving to make the communications market more competitive and service oriented, the EVUA also gives its members a voice in legislation and the opportunity to gain inside knowledge on the latest developments in the telecoms world.

EVUA membership includes companies from Europe, USA and the Far East; the majority of them being Fortune 500 organisations.  A current list of user and supplier member companies is available on the EVUA website.  Through this the EVUA provides an international view and knowledge of telecommunications & networking and shares the desire to promote better use of information technologies to create value for the enterprise.

We are also excited to announce that we will be attending their Mobilising the Enterprise 2010 Conference in Paris next week.  Ian Murray will be presenting a session entitled the Telecom Treasure Hunt. 

We hope to see you there.