| I have written about Cost Cutting tips that are sure to | | | | Consultants are especially helpful in contract |
| boost your company's profitability. One of the Cost | | | | negotiations because they're already familiar with the |
| Cutting tips that is key is to "Analyze costs as | | | | telecom carriers, their offerings and where they're |
| percentage of Sales." One such cost that will generally | | | | most flexible for cutting costs. |
| have an opportunity for improvement is Telecom cost. | | | | Here are 7 quick ways to begin cutting your Telecom |
| Telecom spending accounts for more than half of all | | | | Costs. If you follow these steps, you could reduce |
| worldwide IT spending, according to Gartner Inc. | | | | your Telecom Cost by 10%+. |
| As such, it can be worth the time to scrutinize bills, | | | | 1. Determine the proper local service plan for your |
| identify areas for cost savings and shop around for | | | | needs - then modify if necessary. |
| new providers. To effectively manage telecom | | | | 2. Remove unnecessary or unused lines, features and |
| spending, the first step is to find out exactly what you | | | | services. |
| have and use, by analyzing your inventory and | | | | 3. Block expensive pay-per-use features. |
| contracts. Take inventory on all lines and services; you | | | | 4. Review the summary section of your bills every |
| may find that though your company has shut down | | | | month. |
| offices or lost employees, you continue to be billed for | | | | 5. Consider upgrading to a T1 if you have more than 5 |
| these services. | | | | lines. |
| Who manages spending on telecommunication | | | | 6. Gather customer service records (CSRs) from your |
| services differs depending on the company's need, | | | | Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) for more detailed local |
| size and budget. For instance, at Nortel where I had a | | | | service analysis. |
| long career, there was a global IT executive who was | | | | 7. Consider engaging a telecom consultant for telecom |
| responsible for managing telecom spending. At smaller | | | | auditing, bill management or telecommunication |
| companies, it's often the business owner who is in | | | | services. |
| charge of telecom spending. | | | | Time is money. If your staff is not prepared to |
| Other companies outsource their telecom expense | | | | consistently implement the above tasks, consider |
| management to Telecom Consultants who can | | | | engaging a professional telecom consulting firm to |
| dedicate the time to ensure optimum savings. | | | | handle them for you. The initial telecom audit will |
| Third-party telecom providers can help assess | | | | undoubtedly turn up many areas for potential |
| spending, automate billing and negotiate contracts on | | | | cost-savings. |
| behalf of the customer. These Independent Telecom | | | | |