Mobile devices make the world go ‘round, but growing dependence on mobility is taking a sizeable toll on corporate IT resources. A study conducted by Vanson Bourne found that 100% of companies are struggling with mobility management, from sourcing new devices and managing inventory to help desk support and logistics across the lifecycle. Throw in the fact that employee churn rates are hovering at nearly 20% and it’s easy to see how, without the right Mobile Spend Management strategy, mobility can burn a hole in corporate pockets.
Here are the most common sources of waste in today’s sprawling mobile landscape:
- Mobile devices and applications are abandoned in the haze of employee turnover, which can quietly drain budgets.
- Lack of visibility over smartphone assets (including calling plan usage and billing) often means paying for more than what’s really needed. Some office locations and employees could be using less data while others may need more. Some devices may be underutilized or not used at all. Without the right insights, companies are likely to overspend.
- Invoice and contract complexity often leave money on the table, like in the case of one Tangoe client. The global company saved roughly $5M thanks to one contract negotiation alone, representing a 41% reduction in mobility costs.
As businesses confront demands for greater security, productivity, and user satisfaction amidst growing cost complexity, the importance of Mobile Spend Management becomes increasingly evident.
What is Mobile Spend Management?
Mobile Spend Management is the process of effectively managing mobile devices expenses, services, and assets to minimize costs, fully utilize resources, and drive process efficiencies in financial management. Mobile Spend Management may include strategies, technologies, and solutions to lower the cost of mobility. Strategies as well as managed services help bring the necessary structure for companies to properly manage their mobile devices across their entire lifecycle, from procurement to disposal. Mobile spend management is typically solved with Managed Mobility Services (MMS), like Tangoe One Mobile.
Mobility can include a wide range of mobile technologies such as laptops, smartphones, scanners, ATMs, healthcare devices, point-of-sale devices, and IoT (Internet of Things) sensors. Mobile Spend Management covers this extensive range of technologies and all activities related to managing them in a corporate or public-sector setting.
What Does Mobile Spend Management Cover?
Device expense management: As companies expand their fleet of mobile devices, they need to ensure their mobility efforts stay cost-effective at scale. Device expense management is a system for optimizing the cost you spend on your mobile assets (i.e., lowering the cost you spend on mobile services and devices) while governing spending and improving financial management processes. Solutions and services typically cover:
- Auditing all assets to create an up-to-date inventory of all devices, services, and users
- Capturing all invoices to benchmark current expenditures, validate spending, and identify sources of cost savings
- Managing invoices, reconciling them against contracts to uncover billing errors and routing approved invoices through approval and payment processes (bill pay services)
- Supporting cost optimization efforts including sourcing alternative services for more cost-effective mobility programs, providing market price indexing intelligence, and assisting with RFP and contract negotiations as well as any logistics in executing a service or device change
Mobile spend management services may also be paired with mobile device management services for a broader solution to address the day-to-day logistics of administering the corporate fleet. This may cover things like technical support and mobile help desk but more importantly:
Device lifecycle management: Whether it’s setting up an online corporate store for employees to order devices and accessories, stocking your warehouse with wireless scanners, or handling remote diagnostic devices in healthcare, a Mobile Spend Management strategy is designed to help companies of all sizes simplify, manage, and optimize their fleet every step of the way with full lifecycle support. Device lifecycle management is a system for managing devices at every stage of their life, from procurement and security to device setup and inventory monitoring to kitting and shipping, repairs and replacements, and reverse logistics (collecting, recycling, and wiping assets).
Mobile security management: Regardless of your approach to device ownership – corporate-owned, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), or Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) – you need to administer security policies and other specific management tasks for your fleet. Vanson Bourne’s research shows that 65% of today’s mobile devices accessing company information are personally owned. That’s a scary number without the right protocols in place. Mobile device management, as part of a Mobile Spend Management program, enforces this necessary structure to strengthen your mobile security posture. Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) plays a key role here and is widely considered the best solution for satisfying even the most stringent mobile security and compliance requirements.
5 Reasons to Use Mobile Spend Management Software and Solutions
The business case for Mobile Spend Management is clear, with 90% of companies invested in Mobile Spend Management reporting positive ROI and an average 15% reduction in IT costs. Here are some of the most significant benefits of implementing Mobile Spend Management software and solutions.
- Reduced Mobile Spending
Reduce and rein in mobile costs, so you can scale or right-size your business with powerful expense management software that tracks all your mobile assets and expenses in one simple platform with advanced reporting and analytics. Get a big picture view of mobile spending to help set baselines and track budget performance and dig deep into granularities like per user utilization to identify waste and control costs.
- Improved Mobile Security
Take the complexity and guess work out of mobile security with one consolidated approach for securing every asset in your corporate fleet, including corporate-owned devices, employee-owned devices, and devices as a paid service. Mobile Spend Management services offer leading mobile security software and upgrades alongside UEM design, support, configuration, policy, and compliance — all in one platform.
- Streamlined Logistics
Streamline your mobile operations with a full lifecycle solution that handles everything from procurement, security setup, and deployment to disposal – using one centralized platform with global technical support for end users. You’ll also streamline BYOD management with a consolidated view of expenses and detailed data for each. With the right platform, reconciling employee information with corporate policies becomes a breeze.
- Improved Business Continuity via Expert Mobile Help Desk Services
Research estimates that a global enterprise stands to lose $4M per hour of downtime across mobile assets. A mobile help desk provides technical assistance and troubleshooting for mobile devices so employees can get back to work quickly and efficiently with minimal impact to business continuity. Not all help desks, however, are created the same. A cutting-edge solution will offer multi-channel, white-glove service, automation and chatbots for round-the-clock support, easy-to-use self-service, workflow automation, and more.
- Increased Productivity
All these benefits come together to give your IT team the priceless gift of time to focus on growth and transformation. Expense management, logistics management, lifecycle management, error-proof invoice management…it’s all taken care of by expert software and services so your team can focus on the business at hand knowing their mobile devices are well managed and supported.
Mobile Spend Management: Why It’s Important
In conclusion, strong reliance on mobile devices presents challenges among the IT teams tasked with managing the administration and costs of them. Mobile Spend Management emerges as the vital strategy, addressing issues of waste, visibility, and complexity. Covering device expenses, lifecycle logistics, and security management, its benefits are compelling – reduced spending, improved security, streamlined management processes, expert help desk support, and increased productivity. With a 90% positive ROI reported, Mobile Spend Management proves indispensable for navigating the complexities of the modern mobile landscape.
Have more questions? Check out our guide on Managed Mobility Services (MMS) to learn how it is used for Mobile Spend Management.