Controlling wireless costs, Part 2

The last newsletter focused on the notion of centralizing corporate wireless costs to reduce inefficiencies. Today’s newsletter will focus on the growing field of software intended to help you track telecom expenses and optimize services. The category is still fairly new, so you’ll find products referred to as Total Telecom Cost Management (TTCM) or Telecom Financial Management (TFM), or wireless management services.

Whatever the name, though, these products are worth a look for organizations with high wireless usage and many carriers to manage. For example, manufacturer Flowserve uses a wireless management service from Traq to stay on top of expenses for 1,200 wireless users. (See “Management tools help curb cell phone costs” at https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0901spwirelesstools.html).

What follows is a sampling of a few wireless management players to consider:

* Anchorpoint’s TFM suite includes Inventory Management, Invoice Management, Usage Management, Chargeback, Change Management, and Enterprise Application Interfaces. Find the vendor, formerly known as Info Group, at www.anchorpoint.com.

* Broadmargin offers two options for managing unwieldy telecom costs: an ASP implementation that provides the tools for your own staff to use, or a business process outsourcing arrangement. For more information, go to www.broadmargin.com.

* Digital Reliance’s MobileSolutions provide a web-enabled wireless management system that integrates customer billing data and carrier rate plan information. Get more at www.digitalreliance.com.

* Let’s Talk’s Enterprise Wireless Management Suite includes several components: Rate Plan Optimizer, Asset Tracker, Wireless Usage Reports and Alerts, Procurement Manager, and My Wireless Manager. Go to www.letstalk.com.

* InPhonic offers several management services, such as Cost Management, Asset Management, Procurement Management, and Profile Management. Find out more at https://www.inphonic.com/b2b/ProductServices_management.asp

* Traq Wireless’ Web-based management features the Optimize and Organize and Analyze components for controlling enterprise wireless users, usage, devices, carriers and costs. Go to www.traq.com for more information.