Norm Alster, CFO IT
January 12, 2005

Taking Charges - In 2009

Great article! Especially in 2009 when the old is new again and companies are looking for ways better control telecom expenses!

The TEM market has changed drastically since 2004, the outsourced TEM model won, many of the mergers failed, and the private equity funding slowed. So in 2009... what's most important criteria when evaluating a Telecom Expense Management partner?

Here are a few critical evaluation points that can save you time, money, and headaches.

#1 Client Satisfaction, make sure you talk with 3 reference clients that are currently using the TEM solution provider. If you can't find 3 happy clients move on.

#2 Great Solutions that are "in production" - Make sure the demo you view is the vendors live system, there are too many demos that are not even beta systems and will never develop into a production system.

#3 Vendor Developed Solutions are key, because vendor developed solutions have stronger operations teams, better life cycle management support, and are at less risk for service disruption during phase 2 of TEM industry consolidation.

#4 Don't pick a Loser. Forget the marketing hype! Look for a vendor with a strong, stable leadership team, and a strong financial history.

Gregg Fazekas | CEO | PriorityLine LLC.

Posted by Gregg Fazekas | Feb 24, 2009 2:14 PM ET

Re: Taking Charges

Thank you for the excellent and enlightening article.

Telecom expense management is not widely known at this time and this great money saving tool needs to be promoted more.

I look forward to more high-caliber articles on this topic.

Posted by Peter Verhoeff | Dec 28, 2007 5:09 PM ET