We live in a world that's more interconnected and interdependent than at any other time. The result is that both the challenges we face and the opportunities we're presented with have become increasingly global in scope. Enterprise organizations representing all manner of industries are experiencing this shifting reality first-hand. And, as they grow in demography, their ability to adequately support branches in new and unknown global territories is faltering.
Within the telecom expense management (TEM) arena, this trend is amplified. Many providers claim to offer global support but are unable to deliver anywhere near the level of service that enterprises have come to rely on. Resulting, in the majority of cases, from a distinct lack of in-region resources.
Here, we take a closer look at this trend, explaining why the best global TEM vendors are those that incorporate local resources into their service offering.
Familiarity with Local Dialects and Currency
Picture the scene: after performing an in-depth telecom expense audit, you discover anomalies between a telecom service invoice and the supplier’s agreed contract terms. To dispute the additional costs, you engage your TEM provider, only to be met with the news that the supplier is Japanese firm NTT-Docomo and that Japanese language support isn’t available.
Now you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. You're aware of the fact that you're overpaying for services, but unable to dispute the costs due to a lack of language support from your provider. While this may seem like a hypothetical that would never occur in real life, the truth is, many TEM providers fail to maximize their client’s savings because they either can't process multiple currencies or cannot dispute the costs due to language constraints.
The good news is that these challenges can be effectively managed with the provision of in-region resources. With local teams stationed across the globe, it's easier to uphold the correct rates and terms. What's more, disputes can be processed, managed, and recovered in a quicker, more efficient manner.
Understanding Country-Specific Regulations
Even in the current era of globalization, national authorities continue to govern international telecoms regulations. In practice, this means that, to transmit personal data globally, a multinational enterprise must first address a maze of country-specific privacy laws — often including full end-to-end encryption. Conversely, in some countries (such as India and China), regulatory authorities demand that encryption keys are turned over for security purposes.
In such discordant situations, enterprises can quickly find themselves in violation of one or more regulatory mandates — sometimes without even knowing it. This leads to fines, sanctions, and penalties, which serve only to intensify the confusion surrounding regional TEM guidelines.
Successfully navigating these regulatory pitfalls, therefore, requires in-house resources that understand the laws of the countries they operate within.
With local teams and local knowledge, your TEM supplier can provide country-specific support to help you avoid potential sanctions. They can also share that regional understanding, educating your teams and helping you avoid falling foul of further infringements.
Accurate Benchmarking Advice
One of the main benefits of a TEM provider is that they can utilize their knowledge of the telecom environment to help you benchmark, source, and procure the best contract rates and terms.
However, when you’re looking to secure these contracts in an under-developed market where your TEM provider lacks local resources, it's likely their visibility won't be any greater than yours. Put simply, this compromises the vendor's ability to provide the support mentioned previously, shifting the burden back onto your in-house procurement team.
In contrast, TEM providers that command in-region resources within the countries you’re targeting possess unparalleled insight into local market conditions. Such visibility enables them to provide information and advice on such things as viable rates and terms, while also assisting with waiver negotiations to secure the best deals across your telecom estate.
Reliable Time-Zone Support
Telecom expense disasters can occur at any time, often without warning. And the fallout can be catastrophic. Misapplied payments, overcharges, and even shut offs can result, and when they do, the time it takes to respond can be the difference between recovery and ruin.
For global enterprise organizations, immediate support is a necessity. It’s simply not good enough for a TEM provider to only offer support from their country of origin. What happens when your team need support at your Chinese office? Can you afford to wait the 12-hour time difference to get the help you need? Factor in the language constraints when you finally get around to figuring out what went wrong, and it's easy to see why in-region support is essential.
The presence of a 24-hour in-region resource team can help your organization get the support it requires instantly. They can manage the disaster more effectively and in a fraction of the time than would otherwise be possible, so you can resume normal business operations ASAP.
Global Telecom Expense Management
As global enterprises continue to grow and expand into the furthest corners of the world, they face a number of challenges. Increasingly, the support these companies rely on to survive and thrive is falling short, and in the case of TEM, this comes at a high cost.
To maximize TEM services and mitigate many of the possible risks and pain points that enterprises face on a near-daily basis, the best global TEM vendors offer essential in-region resources.
Locating a provider capable of delivering this level of service is a complicated process, however.
Topics: TEM
