If your telecommunications environment is out of control, you may need to go beyond a simple audit and conduct a full-fledged analysis of your costs, technology choices and goals.
“You have to understand your own inventory and cost structure, as well as the products and services available in the market,” says Brent Saxon, vice president of sales/general manager of Simplify Inc. “Compiling and analyzing this information is a challenge for most companies, but is even more difficult for large multi-location corporations.”
This isn’t a service provided by the carriers in most cases. Rather, customers are left on their own to analyze cost savings, technology migration and bandwidth use. Sometimes brokers or auditors are brought in, but they only look at a piece of the puzzle, not the full picture.
Simplify uses a four-step process (deep dive analytics, collaborative strategy, accountable execution and life cycle services) to help you make sense of the mess and make better telecommunications decisions.
Smart Business spoke with Saxon about how the deep dive analytics process works.
Why is this process important?
This first stage is critical because it sets the stage for the rest of the process. Deep dive analytics starts with the customer’s location list, a copy of the invoices for every dollar they spend, and a letter of authorization that allows us to pull the customer service records. We also review their contracts.
Basically, we build an inventory of exactly what’s on their invoices. We can show them by location what they spend for all products (local, long distance, data, wireless) and break everything down by product, all the way down to taxes, fees and anything else on their bills.
Why is it important to build an inventory?
By doing analytics on the front end and building a full inventory, the transition is much easier when customers decide to switch carriers. That’s why a lot of customers stay with their incumbent provider: it’s simply too painful to move.
These analytics also allow you to benchmark against other options, whether it is like-for-like services, technology migration or something else entirely, and then make it possible for you to choose what’s best for your company, transitioning smoothly to new options as needed. You can’t do that if you don’t have all the data in house.
What’s the difference between the deep dive and an audit?
Auditors mostly go after low-hanging fruit. They check to see if you are paying the contracted price for your service with your carrier or if there are other errors in your bill. Then, they keep 30 to 50 percent of the savings for the next 12 months for finding that error.
Auditors will also tell you if you’re on the wrong product with a carrier. You can usually re-term with a provider and save 10 to 20 percent. That’s low-hanging fruit. You will save that 10 to 20 percent and the auditor will get 30 to 50 percent of that savings over 12 months, but they are leaving options on the table. Our process will benchmark that bid against the competition. The 10 to 20 percent you could save from re-terming could be 30 to 40 percent with another option and could provide much better consolidation in billing and/or support services.
Also, auditors rarely have to live with their recommendations. They analyze, but the customer has to go back and implement the changes with the carrier. Whether the auditor advises to renegotiate and re-term or migrate, the customer has to do all of the work associated with that. The auditor does the front-end work, but the customer is left to handle the heavy lifting on their own.
What can the deep dive uncover?
Hidden fees and taxes that you may be paying, incorrect invoices based on your contracts — it even uncovers charges you are still paying for services that have been disconnected. The main thing it uncovers is exactly how much you are paying for every dollar of spend.
What kind of results can a company expect from the process?
The average savings is 20 percent, but some clients get up to 40 percent. We’ve built our company around having the right process in place to help companies be more successful. Deep dive analytics is just the first stage of a proven process. We don’t stop there, but taking that step on the front end allows you to be more successful on the back end with things like life cycle support.
Benefits reaped include cost savings, consolidation and better information so you can make better decisions going forward.
How much maintenance does it take to keep it running?
The right application is a must! Advocate, our industry-leading service tool, loads the inventory we built for you, and keeps that inventory updated. Everything runs through a process in the software instead of using spreadsheets, e-mail or phone calls like most companies. Everything goes into the application, which proactively manages the inventory.
At the end of the day, it’s all about accountability. If we say we’re going to save you 20 percent a month, we can be held accountable to that number because we know exactly what you spend today and in the future. Accountability is something that most auditors just can’t offer.
Brent Saxon is vice president of sales/general manager of Simplify Inc., a firm that helps large multi-location corporations simplify and optimize their communications life cycle management. Reach him at (281) 465-6003 or [email protected], or visit www.AreYouTelecomplex.com.