Communications Lifecycle Management Leader Offers Best Practices for Preventing Unnecessary and Excessive Wireless Costs
Tangoe, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNGO), a leading global provider of Communications Lifecycle Management ("CLM") software and related services, offers best practices for businesses to avoid the spike in mobile data usage that could occur during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. More than 4 billion people are expected to watch the London Olympics, with more than a quarter of those doing so on their personal computers and mobile devices*, not to mention the billions more who will follow and discuss the Games on social media. This following of the 2012 Olympic Games will result in an influx of activity that may incur additional data consumption on mobile devices, and increase the likelihood of excessive mobile roaming costs which contribute to mobile "bill shock."
"Mobile devices and applications have advanced dramatically since the 2008 Summer Games, so businesses don't have a point of reference to forecast the amount of usage and corresponding costs that could filter into their billing systems, potentially taking a serious toll on their bottom lines," said Daniel Rudich, senior vice president, rTEM Business Development for Tangoe. "We recommend businesses enforce proactive communications management strategies and policies that encompass the entire lifecycle of their environments, taking real-time device and usage monitoring, geo-location tracking, and expense management into consideration. This approach mitigates the possibility of dramatically higher mobile costs during global events, and also allows organizations to better manage their communications environments and keep costs in check throughout the year."
With more than $16 billion in annual telecommunications spend under management, Tangoe has seen firsthand the communications management challenges that popular events such as the Olympic Games can present to businesses of all sizes around the world. To prevent mobile "bill shock" and prepare for a potential wave of event driven communications activity, Tangoe offers the following best practices:
- Monitor roaming devices: Whether domestic or international, device roaming charges are the likely reason for mobile "bill shock." In today's mobile enterprise, these charges can significantly impact a business's financial viability and operational efficiency. Real-time roaming alerts to end-users and IT administrators allow both parties to prevent excessive roaming fees before they might otherwise be incurred. They also allow businesses to proactively implement the appropriate roaming package for a group of users or an individual user. It is important for IT and end users to work together to ensure that business or personal travel does not result in exorbitant mobile service -costs.
- Approve all personal devices: With the influx of bring your own device (BYOD), the line between business and personal use continues to blur. Enforcing a protocol for all personal devices creates transparency between the user and the enterprise, and helps to ensure communications network security and operational integrity.
- Track your devices: GPS tracking of mobile devices allows companies to monitor mobile devices and enables Allow-Block-Quarantine functionality that enforces network security and prevents unauthorized access to the enterprise. GPS tracking can also prevent the financial and security implications often associated with a lost/stolen mobile device.
- Educate your employees: In addition to establishing mobile policies that clearly define how employees are to use their mobile devices, providing regular, timely feedback to employees regarding their mobile usage helps to reduce mobile costs.
*Source: eMarketer, "The London Olympics: Marketers in the Starting Blocks" report, July 2012.
About Tangoe
Tangoe (NASDAQ: TNGO) is a leading global provider of Communications Lifecycle Management (CLM) software and services to a wide range of global enterprises. CLM encompasses the entire lifecycle of an enterprise's communications assets and services, including planning and sourcing, procurement and provisioning, inventory and usage management, mobile device management, invoice processing, expense allocation and accounting, and asset decommissioning and disposal. Tangoe's Communications Management Platform (CMP) is an on-demand suite of software designed to manage and optimize the complex processes and expenses associated with this lifecycle for both fixed and mobile communications assets and services. Tangoe's customers can also manage their communications assets and services by engaging Tangoe's client service group.
Additional information about Tangoe can be found at www.tangoe.com. Tangoe is a registered trademark of Tangoe, Inc.
Contacts:
PAN Communications, Inc.
Nikki Festa, 1-617-502-4300
tangoe@pancomm.com