Compugen logo Compugen

  • Client Login
    • Case Lookup
    • Emerge Login
  • Find A Location
  • Careers
  • Blog
  • Français
  • search
  • menu Menu
  • Business Solutions
  • Products & Services
  • About
  • Customer Stories
  • News
  • Events & Training
  • Contact
  • Compugen
  • Home
  • Business Solutions
    • Industry
      • Reimagine education with Compugen
      • Transformed services. Personalized patient care. Welcome to the Modern Hospital.
      • Reimagine the campus of the future
      • Technology solutions that empower retailers
      • IT Service for small & medium business
    • Datacentre & Cloud
      • Converged Datacentre
      • Cloud Computing
      • Server Virtualization
      • Enterprise Storage
      • Data Management & Protection
    • Communication & Collaboration
      • Business Communications
      • Networking
      • Wireless
    • End User Computing
      • Managing the Desktop
      • Mobility
      • Application Delivery
    • Security
  • Products & Services
    • Managed & Packaged Services
      • Managed & Packaged Services Overview
      • End User Support
      • Infrastructure Support
      • Software Management
      • Managed Print
      • Packaged Services
    • Professional Services
      • Professional Services
      • Program & Project Management
    • Support & Maintenance
      • Imaging & Deployment
      • Ongoing Maintenance
      • Staffing
    • Asset Disposal & Recycling
    • Hardware & Software Management
      • Hardware
      • Software
      • Online Lifecycle Management (Emerge)
    • Financing
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Leadership
    • Our Offices
    • Our Partners
    • Green Initiatives
    • Community Involvement
    • Awards
  • Customer Stories
  • News
  • Events & Training
  • Contact
IT Buzz Banner

Looking for a little inspiration, some ideas or trusted advice? We've got you covered.

Finding a better way to manage your cellular fleet

Posted By Gerry Skipwith April 29, 2020


Cellular Wireless – An Essential Service
When you stop to consider what cell phones enable – collaboration, customer engagement, information gathering, problem solving and order taking – all on-the-go – I think most would agree they are critical to business.

Today, cellular wireless capability is no different from electricity: it is essential for every business to operate. It simply has to be there – reliable, consistent, and cost-efficient.
In the ten years I have been serving corporate customers in the cellular wireless business, discussions often revolved around their challenges in managing cellular contracts and devices. There is no shortage of hair-raising stories surrounding cellular “bill shock”, broken devices, high cancellation fees and long wait times with customer support.

It is easy to vilify the telecom providers but the reality is they are large, they handle huge volumes, and they wear the pressure of huge infrastructure budgets – and they get a lot of things right, a lot of the time. At the same time, that shouldn’t mean customers need to tolerate lesser service.

Cellular Fleets – Fraught with Challenges
As I listened to customer’s stories over the years, certain themes began to emerge.

Monthly Bill Unknowns: Most customers find cellular billing too complex to understand if they receive good value for their cellular spend. Every cell phone has a monthly service fee, plus possible charges for long distance, roaming and data overage. Without extensive analysis each month, it is near impossible to know if there is excessive usage or improper plans. Then there is the all-too-common problem of a jaw-dropping bill resulting from a well-intentioned staff member looking to stay in touch while on vacation.

Broken Devices: I am always surprised when I ask a customer what they do when a device breaks. Most struggle with the answer. Cell phones get dropped, spilled upon, cycle through hot and cold, and are on 7/24. They cost as much as a notebook and are arguably a more vital communications tool. Today, the answer is often to ship the device to a manufacturer sponsored site for quote and repair, or to trust corporate devices and their data to repair centres in strip plazas and shopping malls.

Device Lifecycle Management: In Canada today, the majority of monthly service contracts include the cost of the device hardware. Despite the tough operating conditions for cell phones, many last more than three years. Which means that organizations who choose to keep devices beyond the contract continue to pay for both usage… and a fee for the hardware itself – despite the fact that the cost of the device was covered as part of the original contract. You may not want to refresh your devices every three years, but you also don’t want to pay unnecessary subsidies for your devices.

Too Many Partners: Managing a wireless fleet can involve a lot of partners. Carriers and their dealer partners are to activate your cell phones; A Telecom Expense Management company can be engaged to track your wireless invoices and make sure you are not paying more than needed; OEMs (like Apple, Google and Samsung) and VARs can repair your devices. The challenge is that it’s left to the customer to manage the integration and oversight of all these partners – and something inevitably gets dropped through the cracks.

Challenging to Switch Carriers: Changing carriers is a huge task. Contracts are lengthy, offerings are complex and it is a challenge to understand current usage. And when the customer makes the change, they are baffled by the high cancellation fees. Once a new carrier is chosen and the contract signed, the onus is on the customer to order new lines, select devices, reload business applications, personalize the devices (often including photos!), and then get them into the hands of each individual staff member. Resounding feedback? There must to be an easier way!

Welcome to VALET – Worry-Free Wireless
I’ve spent years hearing the frustration of companies as they deal with cellular wireless. And I’ve realized, there are better ways. If you’re interested…reach out, I’d be happy to share.

< Previous Article

Why Multi-Factor Authentication is an Enterprise No-Brainer

Next Article >

3 Tools You Need for the Transition to Remote Learning

< Back to all Itbuzz & Articles
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • linkedin
Subscribe via RSS mail Subscribe via Email

We address the bottom of the iceberg. Sign up and get relevant and timely content about our approach to business through an IT lens.

Navigation

Business Solutions

  • Industry
  • Datacentre & Cloud
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • End User Computing
  • Security

Products & Services

  • Managed & Packaged Services
  • Professional Services
  • Support & Maintenance
  • Asset Disposal & Recycling
  • Hardware & Software Management
  • Financing

Customer Stories

  • Corporate
  • Education
  • Energy and Utilities
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Non-profit
  • Public Sector
  • Retail

About

  • Our Story
  • Leadership
  • Our Offices
  • Our Partners
  • Green Initiatives
  • Community Involvement
  • Awards

Careers

  • Working at Compugen
  • Current Opportunities

Contact

  • Find A Location

News & Articles

  • Find A Location
  • Awards

Client Login

  • Case Lookup
  • Emerge Login

Industry

  • K-12 Education
  • Healthcare
  • Higher Education
  • Retail
  • SMB

Connect With Us

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • linkedin
IT Buzz
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • National Master Standing Offers (NMSO)
  • Axiom Product List

©2022, Compugen Inc. Website by Caffeine Creations.