Blog

By Scott Davis

The workforce is becoming increasingly mobile and distributed, and organizations are finding that mobility is good for business. Day or night, at home or on the road, employees are free to complete any task, anytime, anywhere, on any device. This flexibility can boost efficiency, allow for flexible schedules and improve morale.

However, this all comes with a price. IT departments, already stretched thin, now must contend with a growing number of devices, platforms, carriers, and operating systems, as well as new security threats, in an environment that is constantly changing. Managing mobility is increasingly complex and brings a new set of questions and problems. Is corporate data exposed to security risks? How do you support employee repairs and replacements and manage their applications? Who in the organization has mobile devices, what do they cost, and how are they used? What are the concerns and benefits of letting employees use their own device, and how can secure access be ensured?

In order for mobility to work, it needs to be managed – from a security, capability, cost and control standpoint. Enterprises need effective solutions to streamline how they acquire, provision and support the mobile workforce, which is why many are finding that it makes more sense to outsource mobility management to a provider of Managed Mobility Services (MMS).

How Can Managed Mobility Services Help?

Managed Mobility Services addresses the challenges of an increasingly mobile workforce and helps you successfully manage mobility. MMS provides the expertise to navigate and manage every stage of the mobility lifecycle, from procuring, configuring, and deploying the correct device and applications for your employees, managing and supporting all devices, giving you visibility, expense management, and reporting on costs and usage, all the way to canceling contracts and recycling devices when employees leave.

Here’s a quick checklist of 6 areas where MMS can help your organization:

1. Implementation

• Speed time to value and mitigate risk for on-premise implementations with a fully documented onboarding methodology
• Improve your operational efficacy with recommendations and policy and procedure templates predicated on industry-proven best practices

2. Audit and Inventory Build

• Build an inventory, verify your carrier services, and conduct line verifications to ensure services are active and being utilized
• Compare contracts to invoices to find potential savings opportunities
• Purchase and provision mobile services, applications, and devices
• Provision and approve correct devices for each type of user

3. Planning and Assessment

• Define your mobility roadmap
• Assess and document your network operations and technology, including your mobility needs, environment, risks and requirements
• Optimize your local, wireless, and data services to generate rapid savings within your existing contract terms
• Administer and enforce usage and security policies with compliance and visibility

4. Vendor Management and Benchmarking

• Negotiate great contracts by benchmarking your contract rates, terms, and conditions against the best available for similar spend, jurisdiction-based, on extensive industry data
• Manage and resolve carrier and vendor disputes

5. Reporting and Expense Management

• Gain visibility to reduce costs, streamline operations, and plan for future mobility projects
• Manage data and voice pools, pinpoint mobility costs and target excessive spending
• Better manage device financing plans, program audits, payments, and chargebacks
• Make more informed decisions with advanced analytics

6. Ongoing Support and Consulting

• Support users with mobile help desk services
• Ensure user uptime with Mobile Device Management enrollment
• Continued evolution for mobile enablement and ongoing improvements

To learn more about how Calero can help your organization manage your mobility needs, read about our Managed Mobility Services.