Roping Telecom Chaos
Most companies mismanage telecom expenses and planning—and are now asking the CIO to fix the problem. Here's how to take stock and clean up the mess.
Al Etterman, CIO of optical technology manufacturer JDS Uniphase, takes the joint management approach. "My carrier relationships are with sales; theirs are with operations," he notes. He relies on his vendor, Telwares, to analyze and propose telecom service mixes, contractual terms, service-level agreements, financial terms and billing management when it's time to negotiate new contracts. "I manage [telecom] at the service level, not at the tactical level," he says.
Bonus Tips: Finish Smart
Do not assume that the consolidation of carriers will make expense management easier. "The carrier billing systems are just a mess, and it has only gotten worse with consolidation," says Gartner's Adams. Contracts also remain complex, because carriers' internal divisions remain largely uncoordinated, she notes.
The complexity of telecom management is often daunting. "I often get calls from CIOs saying, 'I don't want to be doing this anymore,'" Adams says. But until you untangle your telecom "spaghetti," you won't be able to hire a telecom expense management vendor to take it off your plate—and keep it off.
Galen Gruman is a regular contributor to CIO magazine. You can reach him at ggruman@zangogroup.com.
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