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Technology Expense Management Insights & Blogs | Valicom

Telecom ExpenseManagementBlogs

Explore our TEM blogs for expert perspective, real examples, and clear guidance to manage telecom and technology expenses confidently, with fresh insights added routinely.

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Valicom Reports Record High Client Satisfaction Scores for 3rd Quarter 2012

Valicom Reports Record High Client Satisfaction Scores for 3rd Quarter 2012

Nov 5, 2012

Telecom expense management firm Valicom reports record high client satisfaction scores for 3rd quarter 2012. The scores were 3.88 on a 4.0 scale, with three-quarters of clients registering a perfect score. This continues Valicom’s thirteen year tradition of surveying clients quarterly, to learn how well they are delivering in eight key areas: professionalism, overall expectation, communication, quality and accuracy, understanding client needs, responsiveness, meeting deadlines, and overall value.

Telecom Expense Management: The 5 Questions You Should be Asking

Telecom Expense Management: The 5 Questions You Should be Asking

Oct 30, 2012

Jeff Poirior, president and chief operating officer of Valicom points out “We really want to shake up the industry by forcing people to look at telecommunications management with fresh eyes. While some firms have yet to implement a strong TEM program, others have one in place but may not know what they THINK they know about its effectiveness. These questions are designed to dig deep into your processes, your environment, your management style and really make you think about whether you are doing it right or not.”

Valicom: Panelist at Society of Telecom Consultants Conference

Valicom: Panelist at Society of Telecom Consultants Conference

Oct 3, 2012

This Panel debates the age old question – Man or Machine? Only this time it is a telecom auditor vs. a TEM provider. We will have a lively discussion between two consultants and two TEM providers (one being our own Jeff Poirior!) The main focus will be – when and where an auditor beats a TEM solution – and when and what are the TEMs best applications. Join us for what will be some strong opinions.

TEMIA Advocates Term “Telecommunications Management”

TEMIA Advocates Term “Telecommunications Management”

Sep 11, 2012

Born with the mission to raise awareness, improve the quality and value of solutions and cultivate shared industry knowledge for telecommunications management, telecom expense management (TEM), wireless Expense Management (WEM) and mobile device management (MDM) solutions, The Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (TEMIA), has proposed a new broad umbrella term to describe the industry and invited the members and other market participants to adopt it.

New Wireless Data Pooling Demands Strong Mobile Optimization

New Wireless Data Pooling Demands Strong Mobile Optimization

Jun 28, 2012

As they say, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”, and many firms are finding that they don’t have reliable data on what their current wireless plans are costing, let alone the assurance that they have optimized as much as possible. Thus, making the decision as to whether Data Pooling will save any money is difficult, if not impossible.

White Paper: Telecom & Wireless Cost Control: What Pros Need to Know

White Paper: Telecom & Wireless Cost Control: What Pros Need to Know

Jun 25, 2012

Valicom, a twenty-one year veteran of telecom expense management (TEM), today published a new white paper entitled “Telecom & Wireless Cost Control: What You Need to Know” covering best practices in managing telecom, wireless and mobility costs. The white paper is a good introduction to the elements of a strong telecom and wireless management program. The paper also showcases how modern web-based telecom expense management software tools support the use of these best practices.

Case Study: Telecom Audit & Invoice Processing

Case Study: Telecom Audit & Invoice Processing

Jun 18, 2012

As we discussed in our last blog post on telecom management pain points, telecom invoice auditing is a major headache. New cloud telecom expense management software tools make that management process easier, and we wanted to show a case study that illustrated how various telecom management services can be bundled together to build a custom solution around your needs.

Shared Mobile Data Plans – Savings Opportunities at A Cost

Shared Mobile Data Plans – Savings Opportunities at A Cost

Jun 14, 2012

Telecom Expense Management, TEM and Wireless Expense Management just got more interesting with Verizon Wireless announcing its Share Everything Plans for pooling of mobile data plans. These plans offer potential savings, but subscribers will need to do some analysis to determine if it is worth giving up their unlimited data plan.

Verizon Announces Data Pooling for Consumers

Verizon Announces Data Pooling for Consumers

Jun 13, 2012

Compliments of the New York Times tech blog – data pooling is here. We had heard rumbles in the industry that this was coming, and we await with baited breath the future consequences for business data plans. But for now, it is just being rolled out for consumer plans. On the surface, it sounds like a good idea, but it could also be a closet price hike. Check it out – what do you think?

TEM + WBE = Supplier Diversity & Savings!

TEM + WBE = Supplier Diversity & Savings!

May 11, 2012

Last week we got to put our WBE hat on and attend the fabulous Supplier Council Minority Business Exchange in Des Moines. It did a good job of reminding us how hard some companies work to be inclusive of woman-owned and minority-owned businesses.

Case Study: Wired & Wireless Audit

Case Study: Wired & Wireless Audit

May 10, 2012

In our 21-year history of doing telecom expense management, we’ve racked up a lot of success stories. Sometimes seeing those stories help to illustrate exactly what it is we do for our clients. The following is an outline of a case study where a client realized considerable savings by optimizing their wireless plans and users.

How moving to iPads saves energy costs

How moving to iPads saves energy costs

May 7, 2012

We always talk about telecom expense management in the traditional sense – audit your invoices, negotiate your contracts, keep track of your stuff. These are great ways to cut your telecom budget. But the folks at Tech Republic have gone a step further. They just did an interesting piece on how switching from traditional desktops, or laptops, to energy-sipping iPads can cut your utility bill!

Telecom Resellers and IT System Integrators Need Telecom Expense Management Now More Than Ever

Telecom Resellers and IT System Integrators Need Telecom Expense Management Now More Than Ever

Apr 23, 2012

Telecom Resellers, IT System Integrators and Telecom Agents need Telecom Expense Management, TEM, Wireless Expense Management, WEM, and Mobile Device Management, MDM now more than ever. This may seem like a contradiction, but here are eight reasons these services should be part of their portfolio of offerings. Also, be sure to participate in our survey.

What does Earth Day have to do with Telecom Management?

What does Earth Day have to do with Telecom Management?

Apr 20, 2012

What does Earth Day have to do with Telecom Management? Normally? Nothing. But in honor of the planet’s upcoming birthday, we thought we’d share a few things you can do to “green up” your telecom management practice. Because, as they say, every little bit helps….

What is a CSR?

What is a CSR?

Apr 18, 2012

This is one I had to learn when I got into telecom expense management too, as acronyms are always a pain. CSR stands for “Customer Service Record”. Clear as mud, right?

What is wireless pooling?

What is wireless pooling?

Apr 16, 2012

As a follow-up to our post on Wireless Optimization, we wanted to clarify the term “wireless pooling”. In a nutshell, it means putting all your users on one plan with a certain number of allotted minutes, or Mb of data usage, and having them share it – rather than each one having an individual plan.

The Business Case for 4G Wireless

The Business Case for 4G Wireless

Apr 12, 2012

Reading a great article this morning in our local business magazine, InBusiness, discussing the business case to upgrade your staff to 4G wireless access. While we all know the main drumbeat for 4G is “speed, speed, speed”, they make an interesting analogy to cover the other aspects of what it offers.

What goes into telecom invoice auditing?

What goes into telecom invoice auditing?

Apr 4, 2012

As we discussed in our last post on telecom invoice processing, the first step in doing telecom invoices auditing – at least the way WE do it – is software. Why? Because the key to successful telecom invoice auditing is visibility.

Cursory Telecom Invoice Auditing: Software Tools Make it Easy

Cursory Telecom Invoice Auditing: Software Tools Make it Easy

Mar 12, 2012

Telecom expense management software can be a useful tool in the process of identifying cursory audit items. The program can visually show you your invoice queue, reflecting legitimate invoices that are pushed through the tool, providing one month and six month cost trending information along with percentage variances.

Telecom Savings Case Study: Cursory Telecom Invoice Auditing

Telecom Savings Case Study: Cursory Telecom Invoice Auditing

Mar 8, 2012

Want a good example of low hanging fruit? Cursory telecom invoice auditing. Whether you do it yourself via a web-based telecom expense management software like Clearview, or hire an outside TEM firm to do it for you, this is a first step in cleaning out your telecom closet. Cursory auditing just means identifying, flagging, and correcting easy-to-find issues during regular telecom invoice processing. In other words, actually LOOK at your bills and see what is wrong.

Telecom Expense Management: Not Just for the Big Boys Anymore

Telecom Expense Management: Not Just for the Big Boys Anymore

Mar 5, 2012

Being in telecom expense management for over twenty years, Valicom has seen a lot of trends come and go. Something that is trending now, and that we don’t see stopping anytime soon, is the adoption of telecom expense management tactics by smaller and smaller firms. What used to be the territory of enterprise-size giants is slowly sneaking into the mid-market and even some SMBs.