Exposing the TEM Industry Blog

The Evolution of The Telephone

The folks over at Tech Republic had a good time stepping us through the historical evolution of the telephone. Nothing earth-shattering, but a fun way to remind yourself – like when your iPhone acts up on you – that things used to be much much worse…. (PS – To really amuse yourself, check out the first “mobile phone” circa 1983. Not sure about you, but I’d have no desire to drag that brick around in my purse.) Read more: http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/the-evolution-of-telephones/6343054?tag=nl.e099

AT&T Raises Data Plan Prices – Time for Wireless Pooling?

AT&T recently announced, and put into play this past weekend, new higher prices for all their data plans. Granted, users will also get more data for the additional fee, and if you are currently contracted with AT&T, you do NOT have to upgrade to the new fees – unless you want to. But you better watch your bills, as those costs will hit you at some point. The new pricing brings AT&T more in line with what arch-rival Verizon is charging, and it points out what everyone already knows – users are utilizing more and more data. “Mobile broadband has … Continue reading →

Managing Your Telecom Expenses: The Best Money You Never Spent

Building a business from the ground up is hard work. Keeping it standing can be even harder. With the diverse economic pressures coming to bear on modern business owners, it is often hard to stay on top of best practices in managing your expenses. Payroll, insurance, shipping, training, bathroom tissue, paper clips…. the bill seems to get bigger every day. Add to that the complexities of running a business in today’s technology-saturated marketplace, and the impact to the bottom line grows yet again. To compete effectively, you have to have the right tools. This means telephones, smart phones, pagers, expensive … Continue reading →

Valicom Announces Promotion of Jeff Poirior to President

Madison, WI (January 16, 2012) – Effective immediately, telecom expense management firm Valicom is pleased to announce the promotion of Jeff Poirior to President and COO. Under Jeff’s leadership over the past 5 years, Valicom has achieved many major goals and milestones and anticipates further growth and expansion in 2012. Under Mr. Poirior, Valicom has successfully: Seen significant and consistent improvement in client satisfaction scores with a record 3.89 on a 4.0 scale in Q4 2011; Hired and maintained top talent and built a stable, highly productive, world-class sales, marketing, operations and development team; Leveraged a major increase in the … Continue reading →

5 Resolutions to Tackle Telecom Costs in 2012

A fresh new year, a fresh new start. Don’t we always think that? “If I just do XY and Z better than last year, boy wouldn’t things be great!” Well, we’re never ones to discourage positive thinking. So to give you a kick start, we’ve cooked up five “resolutions” to get you on the right track to reducing your telecom and wireless expenses in 2012. 1. Do a simple inventory of your telecom assets. What do you have? Who has it? Are you using all of it? Do you NEED all of it? This is a good way to identify … Continue reading →

Don’t Sit on the Bench, Benchmark!

Are you in charge of reducing business costs by negotiating your telecom and data contracts? If so, you may be wondering if you are being offered the lowest rates. The standard for your industry has been set by benchmarking, how else do you know how you stack up against the competition? Why not take the same approach to further help reduce your telecom expenses? Sure, you’ve sent out a Request For Proposal (RFP) requesting the best rates upfront. Knowing that contract negotiation is a game, you’ve most likely further negotiated the rates. But, how do you know if you are getting trophy rates? Benchmark telecom costs. This process offers you … Continue reading →

Telecom Expense management: Does size matter regarding expense control?

How big does your organization need to be to benefit from Telecom Expense control? What tool do you utilize to manage this function? Are you using a spreadsheet? How about telecom cost management software? Typically, there are plenty of soultions out there from pure outsourcing to expensive telecom expense management (TEM) software that requires a ton of care and feeding. The fact is with the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology, your options to benefit from TEM software at a fraction of the price of outsourcing, is now available and ready for you to reduce telecom expenses for both wireless and wired. Should … Continue reading →

Periodic wireless optimizations can save you lots of money and time

Inside the telecommunications expense management world, wireless is one of the fastest changing and most behavior based portions of a company’s spend to manage. One great way to head off some of the clean-up effort, is to periodically perform a wireless optimization. This process can vary depending on the scope and requirements, but generally involves examining the behaviors, needs and other variables for each of your wireless users, and then determining how to most cost effectively meet those requirements with the plans and configurations available. Optimization practices often require a technology process to help automate some of the more complex … Continue reading →

Telecom Expense Management Solution for the Small to Mid-size Business (SMB)

The current telecom expense management (TEM) competitive landscape is made up of TEM solution providers focused on the upper end of the market (companies with over 5,000 employees). According to “The Value of TEM to the Small to Mid-Size Business (SMB)” authored by AOTMP, “there is a common perception of greater effort and cost than financial gain” causing “small and medium size businesses to shy away from implementing a TEM program.” They further report that, “the keys to a productive and financially beneficial TEM program are establishing an inventory of telecom services, features, configurations, charges and service providers, and maintaining … Continue reading →

Valicom Posts Record High Client Satisfaction Scores for Q3 2011

“Telecom Expense Management on Your Terms” Earns Valicom Record High Client Satisfaction Scores Valicom, a twenty year veteran of telecom expense management, reports continued high client satisfaction survey scores with its third quarter 2011 results. A strong combination of web-based software, flexible delivery options and excellent, experienced Telecom Audit teams creates an environment for client success, savings and satisfaction. The client satisfaction scores were 3.89 on a 4.0 scale, a record high. Madison, Wisconsin (December 7, 2011) – Telecom expense management firm Valicom reports record high client satisfaction scores for 3rd quarter 2011. This continues a twelve year tradition of … Continue reading →