South African companies that are embarking on a drive to reduce their telecom costs should not compromise on quality and reliability in their telecom environments to achieve their savings.
That is the word from Frank Mullen, chief operating officer at Itec Enterprise Solutions. He says many companies end up compromising on the quality and reliability of their telecom services when they look for ways to cut the costs of their telecom environments and their calls.
For example, some choose to implement a VOIP service with a high contention ratio - where they are sharing their connection with a high number of other users - to the detriment of the quality and reliability of their voice services.
The end-result could be poor voice quality and a high number of dropped calls. This can have a major impact on costs and customer service in an environment where high volumes of inbound and outbound calls are processed, says Mullen.
"There is no one-size-fits-all solution in the telecom space," he adds. "Companies that are looking to optimise their telecom environments should start out by looking at the business benefits they hope to drive from their telecom environments, and choose the right solutions to meet their needs."
They should start out by evaluating the present costs of their telecom environments, which is no easy task, since most companies are working with a number of fixed-line, voice over IP, mobile, Internet and least-cost routing (LCR) service providers as well as a range of telecom equipment vendors.
Often, organisations will need help from an independent service provider that can provide insight into the various telecoms service options on the market, and where costs can be sliced, Mullen says.
"The complexity of today`s telecom environment, where voice and data have converged on the enterprise network, means that companies can no longer count on box-droppers for advice with their telecom needs," he adds. "Organisations should be looking to buy solutions rather than purchasing services and hardware and trying put them together themselves. They need partners who have a high level of skills in both voice and data in a market where such skills are in short supply."
In addition to looking for opportunities to drive down service costs by adopting technologies like VOIP and LCR, organisations should look at strategies such as consolidating service providers and equipment vendors to save costs, says Mullen. In some environments, like contact centres, efficient call routing or interactive voice response could help companies to achieve significant savings.
When considering a shift over to a new service provider, particularly for next-generation solutions, companies should ask their service providers for a trial period or reference sites using similar solution, before signing any long-term contract, says Mullen.
For further information about Itec, please visit http://www.itecgroup.co.za.
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