Kae Zulager

May 04 2010

Cell Bill Explosion

As basic cell phones are being replaced throughout organizations with portable computing devices like i-phones and blackberries, productivity is increasing but so are the cell bills that go along with these new devices. CFO’s and CIO’s across the fruited plain are wondering how to allocate these expenses since most are not using these devices as a replacement to laptop and desktop computers but are adding these expenses to the already staggering technology costs incurred by most companies. Along with this cell bill cost explosion is an equal, if not greater, explosion in the complexity of these bills. What once was a confusing set of options and plans has become an indecipherable mess.

Some companies have chosen to addressed this issue by hiring a person or several people whose only job is to research and analyze the thousands of options and to proofread for errors the pages upon pages of bills they receive each month.

Others, not willing to go to the expense of hiring, just distribute the job to each department to review their own bills. Still others contract with outside firms, like the Bill Police, to negotiate contracts and audit monthly invoices. finding errors on your bill (over half of all bills have errors of one kind or another) is where most look for savings but matching the right plan for the way you use wireless technology can be just as important to both saving money and enhancing productivity. Reporting is another reason many companies outsource to firms like the Bill Police. With the complexity found in today’s invoices it makes sense to get outside analysis and straight forward reports that provide information you can use to make better decisions about your wireless plans and about your business in general.

Today there is a general trend toward simplifying and saving. Business, especially in the current economy, must find ways to simplify and save to continue to grow. By working with a firm whose total focus is on helping businesses simplify and save on their wireless expenditures, you can be freed to focus on what your business does best.

Apr 05 2010

Spring — the old is new again in wireless too

As spring approaches, it only makes one contemplate the amazing rebirth of the earth — year after reassuring year. There is nothing new beneath the sun.

This also applies to the wireless world. It is now hip to communicate once again, albeit in a different methodology; but still the old is new again. We are now merciless communicators in all mediums and are addicted to staying in touch. To that point, I recently saw a bill with over 14,000 text messages — now that’s a communicator.

We even think its cool again to read: on the e-reader of your choice with more options to come (Andrew Berg of Wireless Week says that iPad sales forecasts for 2010 ranged from between 5.5 million and 7.1 million units).

Because we at The Bill Police assist enteprises in reducing their wireless bills, it is important to understand what businesses are getting from these new technology methodologies. Thus, it is important to first establish metrics then measure productivity gains, customer responsiveness improvements and increased efficiencies in operations due directly to these new tools.

Second, what do these tools cost from both hard and soft cost perspective. For soft costs: how much time is it taking these users to manage devices, applications and content which make them more effective. How can the organization provide concierge global service to combat diminishing efficiencies?

For hard costs, users need to be on the correct plan for their usage (do they really need an unlimited data plan? Do the organization realize users are being charged $9.99 each month for ringtone downloads — is that a productivity gain?). These costs must be matched to user requirements and also monitored. Check for redundant billings (e.g. users on unlimited data plans which include messaging who are also paying separately for a messaging plan. I know, it sounds obvious, but you would be surprised!!)

So as spring brings about its renaissance, make sure you are familiar with one of the oldest adages that is also new again: there is no free lunch.

Feb 10 2010

A trial using GPS-equipped mobile units provides a picture of freeway speeds. Now — how to get the information to motorists.

By Steve Hymon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 09, 2008

A fleet of 100 cars rolled onto a Bay Area interstate Friday to begin perfecting a tool that could one day transform the lives of commuters around the world.

Maybe.

With San Francisco Bay shimmering to the west, university students drove the cars all day back and forth along Interstate 880. Each was carrying a cellphone loaded with Global Positioning System software. And as they drove, it beamed back signals that researchers shaped into a real-time map of traffic speeds.

Of course, maps of freeway conditions already exist and are popular. Who doesn’t know about SigAlert.com or Google maps?

But in the ubiquitous cellphone, some researchers see a two-way device that can not only gather high-quality data on what’s happening on the road, but then deliver information to motorists on which route they should take to shave time from their travels. “Getting that information back to the drivers, that’s the Holy Grail — so drivers can make smart decisions about their commute,” said Thomas West, director of the at UC Berkeley, one of the backers of Friday’s experiment.

Kae Zulager

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