The Benefits of Regular Wireless Optimization

By Rob Stewart,
Managing Consultant - Enterprise Consulting,
Advocate Networks, LLC

Advocate Networks routinely provides enterprise and service provider clients with assessments of their wireless voice and data spend. Just as routinely, we find that without effective, ongoing management of wireless devices, wireless spend creeps rapidly out of control. In many cases, wireless expenses rival those of Wide Area Network costs, which means that clients are effectively providing an expensive “overlay” network to their carefully designed WAN!

We recently identified savings of 52 percent of a client’s $1.3-million wireless spend, just in optimization opportunities. When formally presented with these findings the CIO (a man of few words) responded simply: “Good Stuff!”  These opportunities included…

1. Optimization of the voice-pooling plan and elimination of “breakage” (buying too many minutes = expensive) and “overage” (buying too few minutes = really expensive)
2. Disconnecting “zero-usage” devices and plans (example: paying for forgotten devices sitting in desk drawers)
3. Disconnecting “low-usage” devices and plans – casual usage is expensive and should be blocked
4. Identifying devices that can be placed on inexpensive “standby” (i.e. idle) plans, rather than paying full rates as they are waiting to be reassigned
5. Placing devices on appropriate data plans to prevent expensive overage and breakage
6. Placing devices on appropriate text plans to prevent expensive overage, or blocking text messaging entirely if not required for business-approved applications
7. Placing devices on International Roaming and/or International Toll plans, to reduce expensive per-minute charges

A client’s wireless needs are fluid, changing constantly with employee changes, new applications and travel requirements. Every month these opportunities present themselves as wireless-user bases change. Wireless savings are achieved through good contract rates, but also through cost-containment measures. Simply optimizing once is not good enough. Left unattended, savings gained through an optimization erode quickly. Within eight to 12 months, a client typically sees all initial optimization savings disappear.

The lesson here is to actively manage and optimize wireless devices and plans on a routine basis. The effort spent is easily returned by preventing costs from spiraling out of control.

For more information, please contact Rob Stewart at (678) 987-5926 or rob.stewart@advocatenetworks.com.