How to Inventory Telecom Assets and Mobile Devices

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Enterprises rely on a huge volume of telecom circuits and mobile devices to operate efficiently, often getting tangled in a complex web of telecommunications hardware, software, and services. It’s essential that IT and financial leaders track every line item, using IT inventory management to curb this complexity and keep costs in check.

How can you develop a comprehensive catalog that fast-tracks financial management, spotlights potential savings, and reduces waste? If you’re looking to manage an expanding list of resources, the process can seem daunting. Don’t worry – as a company that builds 750,000+ inventory records each year, Tangoe can show you how.

Nearly 90% of companies identify IT inventory management as a challenge.

Step 1

Scope the Mountain of Accurate Information You’ll Need

Unified management is the first and most important step for turning a laundry list of assets into insights for efficiency and dollars saved. However, digital inventories are only effective if they have accurate and detailed information. Start by creating a comprehensive list of what information you’ll need to take stock of across all fixed wireline voice, data, and network resources, as well as all mobile devices. This is crucial for gaining complete visibility into all resources in use and understanding how to make better use of those resources.

As you sift through this sea of information, use the following points for guidance:

All information about your corporate fleet of laptops, smartphones, IoT, and mobile devices: Unique ID numbers, model numbers, operating systems, service types, assigned users, locations, accessories, installed applications, security requirements, compliance status, hardware condition, repair history, service providers, contracts, account numbers, etc.
All information about your telecom assets and services: Vendor or service provider, hardware name, model numbers, service type, contracts, and account numbers, active or inactive status, circuit location or service location, operating system, contract renewal dates, details like circuit speeds, installation dates and more.
All costs related to mobile and telecom services: Invoices, costs per month/year, service type or data plan type, billing details, contract terms, renewal cycles, auto-renew status, associated cost centers, cost allocation history, and more.
All current service usage information: Average usage or consumption for each user or location, status (active/inactive), detailed information about how each resource is either used or in some cases goes unused, as well as usage trends over time.

You’ll want to identify the owners or points of contact for each area above.

Data accuracy is worth its weight in gold — cost optimization is impossible without it.

Step 2

Estimate How Much Time it Will Take

Once you have a complete list of your inventory requirements, you need to determine if you have the time and resources to commit to putting all the pieces together. Lengthy build outs will directly impact how soon you can evaluate your costs to find new ways to save money.

Consider the following as you mull over your approach:

For every 25 telecom services you use, you’ll need to capture somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-200 invoices and 2,200 cost allocations.
It takes the average company roughly 18 minutes to capture and catalog invoice data.
You’ll need to continually monitor, track, and assess this information. It’s not just ongoing maintenance but also keeping up with new investments and business changes. For example, once an inventory is built, maintaining a mobile catalog requires 2 days per month per vendor on average.

Automation and support services can help you recoup this time and effort. Tangoe’s AI-powered approach speeds data capture and verification to build inventories faster and more accurately, on average cataloging 75+ telecom circuits per hour and tracking 750K per year. Meanwhile one client told us they could only catalog about 16 an hour with questionable accuracy

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Creating a centralized database with limited internal resources is a herculean task. Teams tend to “wave the white flag” after weeks and months of trying to navigate different technology owners, multiple disconnected systems and refresh outdated records. If these issues bode trouble for your organization, you may want to consider technology cost management consultants who can accelerate your efforts with a professional inventory service.

Inventory service providers can catalog 75+ telecom circuits per hour.

Step 3

Automate Recordkeeping to Eliminate Manual Work

Once you’ve estimated the time it will take aggregate all the data and bring services and assets into a known state, you’ll see the value of automation. Without the right tools, this inventory admin work can prohibit a cost management program. Automation is what lowers the number of inventory records requiring manual re-review, accelerating time to savings.

Here’s what to build or look for in a solution:

APIs that enable automated dataflows: Leverage inventory tools with pre-built integrations. The last thing you want to hear is that you have a slew of tools, but your inventory doesn’t have APIs for them. That’ll leave you high and dry — needing to either build the API yourself, pay someone to build it, or take on the manual data entry and upkeep.
OCR technology that can quickly identify and capture the right information: Invoice and contract processing engines should be powered by optical recognition technologies and systems trained to recognize different layouts, look for keywords, and know where information lives. This way platforms can accurately scrape data for an infinite number of different data formats. Tangoe’s automated approach can slash the number of invoices requiring manual processing by more than 65%.
AI and ML-powered bots that know how to adapt to change: Systems are programmed to find invoices and contracts in specific locations, but those automated processes come to a screeching halt when documents have moved. This is often the case when carriers update their portals or change the format of their invoices. However, AI and machine learning can step in to keep processing moving at machine speeds. For example, intelligent AI-powered invoice discovery systems can:
- Decipher between redundant information and important data – fees and charges for example
- Adapt to changes in location data, searching and finding relevant data without explicit human instruction
- Reprogram their own code as the location of critical data changes

Step 4

Populate All Inventory Data in a Single Place

Where will you put this data? Do you have a digital portal that can accommodate all this information, one that’s customizable to your needs and puts all information in one place where it’s searchable and usable?

The best inventory platforms include:

Unified management systems where multiple types of IT expenditures can all be tracked in one platform
Project management tools to assign tasks, monitor and track progress and celebrate critical milestones in the inventory build and maintenance process – knowing what’s been captured and what remains missing
Ways to identify anomalies – data that needs to be double checked
Visualization tools to help make quick sense of complex IT estates
Flexible and granular reporting features so clients can slice and dice expenses and spending data the way they want to see it

The faster you can capture and update your records, the faster you can arrive at the insights you need to identify waste, optimize utilization, and save money.

See why Tangoe won a Stevie Award for cutting ITEM implementation times in half

Step 5

Build, Manage, and Maintain Your Inventory

IT inventory management is an ongoing process versus a one-time task. It involves continuously monitoring, tracking, and analyzing assets throughout their lifecycle to optimize usage, align resources with business needs, and sustain ROI as requirements evolve. This process includes regular audits, inventory management, invoice and contract oversight, cost optimization, and support for end-of-life assets.

Don’t be afraid to seek help. Here’s how the right IT inventory management service simplifies and optimizes over the long haul:

Data Integration and Automation: Leverage AI to automatically capture information and seamlessly integrate with systems such as financial, ERP, EMM, and CRM. Break down silos quickly to provide a unified view of your entire IT inventory.
Reporting and Analytics: There should be robust reporting and analytics to support informed decision-making, cost reduction, and efficient resource usage. Look for customizable reports and real-time data export options.
Security and Compliance: You need full support for compliance with industry standards and regulations.
Fulfillment and Lifecycle Management: Fire on all cylinders with a centralized platform that enables you to securely order, deploy, repair, decommission, and recycle your assets. Providers like Tangoe offer fulfillment and asset management services to accompany inventory and expense management solutions.

Telecom Inventory Management

10 Reasons to Choose Tangoe for IT Inventory Management

Tangoe’s AI-powered software and team of technology cost management consultants can help you take stock of your IT assets 5x faster than a DIY approach. Here’s why you want to work with Tangoe for IT inventory management.

Tangoe offers:

1

Comprehensive inventory auditing services that prepare you with data for contract evaluation and usage optimization.

2

One unified inventory for all your IT assets with automated asset tracking

3

AI-powered workflows and patented optical recognition technology accelerate IT inventory build and management processes

4

Direct integration with 400 telecom and mobile carriers automates data capture while 5,000 additional APIs accelerate inventory dataflows

5

Google Maps technology double verifies the accuracy of telecom service location data stored in your inventory

6

Flexible reporting and data visualization offer holistic yet granular views of all IT assets and spending

7

With more industry experience, Tangoe tracks 295K telecom circuits, manages 14M mobile devices, and captures 370K invoices every month

8

Inventory services are easily expanded with Tangoe’s expense management services, cost optimization services, and mobile device management services

9

Advanced order management tools for both telecom and mobile are also available

10

With Tangoe’s award-winning Implementation Methodology and Governance Model, you can rest assured you’re working with the industry-leader in IT inventories