Johannesburg, 05 Apr 2017
The client
A leading multi-national company that sells products in over 180 countries outside the US.
What did the client need?
For this company, communication is key to its environment. As such, it needs to be able to forecast and manage usage and spend as accurately as possible. Currently, the company's SA division has to handle all the logistics around more than 400 mobile lines and 250 dual SIM cards.
Before collaborating with Nebula in 2015, it lacked a telecoms expense and lifecycle management system that would give it control and visibility to help it successfully manage its communications spend, usage and performance.
According to its Admin and General Services Supervisor, it receives large amounts of raw information from its service provider. This offered it no valuable insights as processing all this data is an immensely time-consuming process requiring special expertise.
As a result, the company realised that a more strategic look at its telecoms environment could not only streamline processes, but save money and time, allowing it to focus attention on strategic business operations.
The company's needs were twofold:
* Development of a solution to implement their COPE (corporate-owned personally enabled) mobile policy. This allows a company to determine which calls and data sessions on corporate mobile accounts are personal and which are business-related, in order to track and recover spend.
* Implementation of various cost optimisation initiatives.
How did Nebula help?
The client utilised OneView, Nebula's telecoms expense and lifecycle management system, to rein in their telecoms spend and usage. By automating processes, OneView made it easier for the client to keep tabs on telecoms expenses, which in turn, enabled it to save not only on its telecoms cost, but also on time spent performing manual tasks.
#1 Implementing a COPE mobile strategy
The problem: The client's employees are issued a corporate mobile contract, to use for business, and limited personal purposes. Keeping track of personal versus business usage proved a challenge.
The solution: Using OneView, employees are able to mark/categorise their calls and data sessions as either personal or business on a monthly basis. Should personal calls exceed the amount allotted for personal use, the employee is required to reimburse the company.
In order to simplify the call marking process, OneView indicates to the user which of their calls or data sessions are placed while roaming (made while travelling for business) and which are placed locally. This telecoms expense and lifecycle management platform also saves the user time by automatically identifying phone numbers listed in the company directory as business calls. It not only includes employee contacts, but also includes business contacts outside the company whilst complying with collection and use of data legislation. This is enabled by direct integration from OneView to the client's active directory, which allows live updates whenever new contacts are added or removed from their active directory.
#2 Awareness with telecoms spend, as well as usage monitoring and analytics.
The problem: The client found it difficult to make sense of huge data sets using manual methods, explains its Admin and General Services Supervisor. This meant that it lacked a comprehensive and cohesive baseline around cost and usage. In addition to this, it lacked a real time view of its broader telecoms usage behaviour and costs.
The solution: Usage and spend monitoring from OneView gives the client high visibility and allows it to forecast future telecoms spend. OneView also sends automated personalised notifications to employees so that they're always aware of their APN usage. This means that the client can curb overspending before it happens.
The mobile team also have access to automated and customised reports and analytics dashboards, which allow them to make sense of usage and spend trends. "The monthly environmental reports we receive from Nebula make it so much easier to identify any opportunities for cost saving," notes the client.
#3 Remedying the complexities of roaming
The problem: As a multinational organisation, roaming is essential. But the client was unable to effectively monitor roaming activities.
The solution: The OneView system provides a detailed breakdown of roaming call and data expenses. This gives the client much-needed clarity on employees' business travel usage, making it easier to identify cost saving possibilities, such as activating roaming packages for the employees that roam regularly.
#4 Always an ally
The problem: With so many service providers to choose from and so many contract options, it can be tricky to find the right fit. In situations where a contract is not properly matched to a user's needs, the company was actually spending more money that they needed to be spending.
The solution: By assisting the client with the RFQ process, Nebula was able to help the company source the right vendors to meet it unique needs. "They're happy to sit in on reviews with services providers and RFQs with service teams to help us make the best decisions. Nebula has always been very unbiased. We know that their advice is given with business benefit in mind," explains the Admin and General Services Supervisor.
#5 Rectifying billing irregularities
The problem: In line with the above, when handling a sizable mobile environment, it can be easy to miss irregularities. Especially when those irregularities are related to the bill you receive from your service provider at the end of the month.
The solution: From a spend optimisation perspective, Nebula assisted in auditing and verifying its bills through OneView and alerted the client team of any billing irregularities. Nebula also follows through in communicating and recovering these costs from the service providers.
The results
Within six months, Nebula lowered the client's out of APN data costs by 72% and the company's roaming costs have decreased by 48%. "With Nebula's help, we improved on overall efficiencies and successfully managed to stick to our budget for 2016," concludes the Admin and General Services Supervisor.
"Nebula is very holistic in their approach. They are always available and accessible. They understand that we depend on mobile communications and downtime must be kept to a minimum. You need an ally in this business. And Nebula has been that ally to us."
If you want to enable your enterprises telecoms success, we're here to help. Simply contact Nebula here.
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