Rivermine, BBR team to simplify wireless, wireline offerings

Telecom expense management vendors Rivermine and BBR Wireless Management announced a sales and joint solution partnership Wednesday to bring their wireline and wireless TEM efforts together.

Rivermine is integrating BBR’s wireless TEM solutions with its wireline TEM solutions so customers dealing with either company separately can now look for an integrated offering aimed at reducing their overall telecom expenses.

Business customers seem more interested in dealing with TEM vendors that can support all of their telecom expense needs, wireline and wireless, rather than separate companies for each, according to industry analysts.

Rivermine is best known as a TEM vendor for wireline telecom services, although it did support some wireless TEM before this partnership. BBR has always been focused on the wireless TEM space.

Under the new partnership, Rivermine will resell BBR Wireless TEM tools that it will integrate with its platform, says John Shea, vice president of marketing at Rivermine.

Rivermine’s system, which supports wireline data and voice contract negotiation and reverse auction support, contract management, service ordering, invoice processing and auditing, inventory management, analytics and reporting, will be integrated with BBR’s wireless rate plan optimization, device management, help desk support and reporting.

The BBR products will be essentially private labeled with Rivermine’s look and feel so customers aren’t expected to feel as if they’re using two separate vendor products.

Rivermine will be the “single solutions provider,” Shea says, which means customers will only have to deal with one vendor. BBR “will operate behind-the-scenes in support of Rivermine’s sales process and engineering.”

Shea also says, “BBR Wireless experts will also manage wireless portions of the solution behind the scenes.”