Telecom spending encompasses a wide range of products and solutions, from phone systems to employee smartphones. Not surprisingly, telecommunications represents a large and steadily increasing portion of many enterprises’ budgets, with Gartner reporting a 0.7 percent increase in telecom spending in 2015 alone. This rise in telecom spending means increased scrutiny from management as they investigate the most effective and beneficial expenses for the business. By identifying top and rising trends, IT decision makers can better plan for short- and long-term expenditures.
Enterprises send employees out to all reaches of the globe, and with widespread use of video conferencing, cloud-based apps and video downloads, mobile data is the center of attention. Statistics project that more than $534 billion will be spent on data in 2015, especially as mobile data providers move away from unlimited data or throttle the amount of bandwidth provided on their plans. Field teams don’t always have consistent access to high speed Internet while they’re doing their jobs. Hotel Wi-Fi is not always reliable, and other hotspots may not be available on location. If the field team needs access to real-time data updates or mission-critical sales assets, keeping them connected with sufficient mobile data becomes a priority.
Enterprise communications are becoming more streamlined as companies move toward unified platforms that combine VoIP, hosted PBX, web and video conferencing, instant messaging and desktop sharing. By providing a consistent, unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types, enterprises are able to simplify and streamline operations. Cloud-based solutions have the extra advantage of shifting infrastructure, support and maintenance costs to the vendor.
According to Forbes, 34 percent of enterprises opt to purchase mobile devices for employees. Smartphones and tablets enable remote collaboration, telecommuting benefits and additional useful features for the company.
Telecommunication spending continues to grow, but savvy enterprises can keep an eye on the trends to plan for expenses ahead of time. An intelligent budget strategy for hardware, unified communication platforms and mobile data requirements will allow an enterprise to map out its telecommunications spending and identify critical needs within the organization.
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