Businesses spend too much on wireless services

Gartner believes businesses spent 15% more than they should

Eighty percent of enterprises will overspend on their wireless service costs by an average of 15 percent through 2014, according to Gartner.

Gartner analysts said that as mobility has grown among enterprises, costs have also grown, and companies need to become better at managing their mobile voice and data costs.

“Our research shows that the majority of companies are not adequately managing their mobile users or services,” said Phil Redman, research vice president at Gartner. “They need to look more closely at their key user segments and requirements in order to match those needs with the right services and optimize their spending.”

How enterprises buy services has changed in the past few years and more than 60 percent of midsize and large companies have moved away from buying individual plans, which are the least efficient in reducing costs. However, newer services, such as pooling plans, flat-rate plans, and zero–minute phones all need to be carefully evaluated to ensure that they are offering maximum value across the organization.

International roaming costs become increasingly difficult to manage as companies extend international travel. Through 2010, 10 percent of users that travel internationally will make up 35 percent of the total service costs for companies that support travel. Although there are no “magic” solutions for reducing costs beyond reducing the number of users who travel, reducing the minutes used and making users aware of the costs, companies can negotiate with the carrier for roaming cost reductions and look to adopt mobile roaming plans.

Some companies are already beginning to integrate their cellular phones into their corporate system, which can support cost routing for reduced service calls or the elimination of desk phones. In this scenario, instead of literally being “chained” to their desk, users will have the freedom of conducting business in a mobile environment but maintain enterprise functionality in the wireless device.