Cloud Shift: Mastering Telecom Expenses for Hybrid IT Landscapes
As organizations increasingly migrate services to the cloud, the complexity of managing telecom expenses needs to be re-focused. While optimizing wireless services is at the forefront of OVATION’s business model, the long-standing practice to ensure wireline services are managed with the same rigor takes on a new focus in today’s telecom environment.
The shift from on-premises infrastructure to a hybrid IT landscape introduces new challenges in tracking, auditing, and optimizing telecom expenses. Let’s explore the necessity of focused Expense Management in the wake of cloud migrations and why continuous telecom auditing is crucial for maintaining cost efficiency and operational effectiveness.
The Changing IT Landscape The global shift to cloud computing has been nothing short of transformative. This rapid adoption is driven by the promise of scalability, flexibility, and cost savings. However, these benefits come with the need for meticulous oversight to avoid unexpected costs and inefficiencies.
Why Audit After Cloud Migration?
- Hidden Costs, Billing Errors, Cost Savings – Cloud service providers offer a plethora of services, each with its own pricing model. This complexity can lead to billing errors and hidden costs. Cloud providers must be audited to ensure the new services are set up correctly reflecting the rates and terms in your agreement. Additionally, auditing your telecom expenses post-migration can uncover these hidden costs and/or services that were replaced but not canceled. A third-party audit ensures you only pay for what you are using.
- Avoid Redundancy – When new services are ordered or migrated to the cloud there is usually an overlap period where both services exist. It’s essential to audit the old services to ensure that all replaced services and features were canceled. Failure to do so can result in paying for services that are no longer needed, leading to unnecessary expenses.
- Optimizing Service Allocation – Auditing old services allow organizations to reallocate resources more effectively. By eliminating redundant services, IT teams can focus on optimizing and enhancing the new cloud-based infrastructure.
- Improved Visibility and Control – When companies have a way to see all their telecom expenses in dashboards and through regular reporting it provides better visibility into the organization’s telecommunications landscape. This improved visibility enables better control and management of the entire IT infrastructure. Having a full inventory of what you have by location is paramount in managing telecom expenses effectively.
- Enhancing Security – Old, unused services can pose security risks if not properly decommissioned. Auditing and canceling these services reduce the attack surface and enhance the overall security posture of the organization.
Steps for Effective Expense Management
- Monitoring and Reporting
Utilization of a landline Managed Services Provider that offers monitoring and reporting capabilities are key. These services can track usage, generate detailed reports, and provide alerts for billing errors, unusual spending patterns and optimization opportunities. A proven Managed Services Provider reduces the burden on IT teams and ensures continuous oversight of telecom expenses.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Encourage collaboration between IT, finance, and procurement teams. Effective expense management requires input and cooperation from multiple departments to ensure all aspects of telecom expenses are covered. To be successful you must first manage the per unit costs and then, through collaboration, ensure you are consuming the correct units. Regular meetings and shared goals can enhance communication and alignment, however if services and rates are not monitored on a monthly basis, it can wreak havoc on annual budgets.
- Regular Telecom Audits and Reviews
Establish a routine for regular telecom audits and reviews of all telecom expenses – wireless carrier services, landline circuits/switches, cloud services. This practice not only helps in identifying immediate issues but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.
Invest in Robust Expense Management Practices Investing in focused expense management practices is a strategic move that can lead to significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. Embrace the shift to the cloud with confidence, knowing that your telecom expenses are well-managed and optimized for success.
By leveraging experienced subject matter experts to ensure that all services are optimized and necessary, enterprise-level IT decision-makers can achieve significant cost savings, improved efficiency, and enhanced security.
For over 20 years, OVATION Wireless Management has provided businesses with optimization of telecommunications management to drive organizations towards a more efficient and cost-effective future. Contact us for our resources to perform an in-depth analysis for both wireless and wireline services.
