Business Wireless Providers That Reduce Costs, Improve Mobile Management, And Enhance Security

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1 Business Wireless Providers That Reduce Costs, Improve Mobile Management, And Enhance Security An Opportunity To Revolutionize Business Wireless Systems Significant cost savings, enhanced security, streamlined wireless device management and better customer service are available for businesses, nonprofits, government, health and education Greg Jordan 3/5/2014

2 An Opportunity to Revolutionize Your Business Wireless Systems Wireless technologies are changing the way many businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations and institutions do business. These technologies improve productivity through cost effective, instant, everywhere access to communications, the internet, and data files. As smart phones, wireless computers and laptops, tablets, air cards, and yes, even PDA s, become indispensable in everyday operation, the operational cost of more and more devices being added, is creeping up. The explosion of devices also brings new challenges of managing multiple devices, integration of devices into networks, security and access. Many larger US businesses with operations in different states or regions, contract with multiple carriers. For example, because of service considerations, one company s Florida operations may be on Verizon while another operation in the same company located in Iowa may be on Sprint, or AT&T. Throw on top of all of this the difficulties of managing the organization s wireless assets and the blessing of wireless technologies can easily become one of the major daily cost and management headaches. Some of these management issues involve poor carrier customer service, lost phones, data security, multiple carrier invoices, phone upgrade requests, wireless device compatibility, adding and removing lines, and a long list of other issues. Despite the management challenges, the systemic shift to wireless technologies is a good thing, making our workforce much more productive. We can never retreat from the wireless revolution, nor do we want to, we can only move forward and improve on what went before. But do we have to accept the systemic inefficiencies and high costs that businesses experience today? The answer is: No! There is a much better alternative, a much better wireless solution for businesses and the rest of this report will describe a way for small organizations and large organizations to benefit. Let s start with wireless costs. Business Wireless Cost Challenges Wireless Costs are headed up for large and small organizations due to the increased number of devices and services used. Even those organizations who don t pay for employees wireless devices directly will often reimburse their employees for these expenses. This arrangement is

3 called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). The more wireless usage for business, the more the business pays. But there is another cost issue. A Gartner Group study found that 80 percent of U.S. businesses have errors on their phone bills that are never found or reported. Wrong rates, non-optimized plans, extra lines, inappropriate fees and taxes, are often the culprits here. Most of these organizations are due refunds going back as far as three years. But because an organization s staff is overloaded, and don t have the time or expertise for utility invoice due diligence, the business usually just pays whatever invoice the carriers send them, without challenge. Enter the Wholesale Wireless Provider (WWP) Savings are available even if you are under contract with a major carrier, and even if you are being given discounts by your current carrier The big three carriers have now licensed selected wholesale providers to offer wireless service using their networks. This model has been working well in the consumer markets for some time, as companies like Wal-Mart now offer consumer wireless plans on a major carrier s network at lower rates than can be obtained from a major carrier. How can wholesalers offer customers lower rates than the major carriers? WWP buy wireless minutes from the big three in large volumes at significant discounts. Add to this lower overhead, and a focus on wireless services alone (no internet, land lines, or TV services), and wholesale providers are able to offer high quality services at less cost than the big three. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are fine with this since they have already made their profit on what they sold to the wholesaler. Business customers can get these benefits by contracting with a wholesale provider: A 10%- 15% rate discount Improved customer service Support teams dedicated to a customer Consolidated bills under one account Software for device tracking and management Improved security and device management Custom plans with pooled minutes Free calls to any network International plans are available Savings are available even if you are under contract with a major carrier, and even if you are being given discounts by the current carrier.

4 There is little risk for a customer to switch to a wholesale supplier because the network, phone number, and devices remain the same. Dedicated customer service teams will help optimize the plans and revolutionary new device management software provides many more benefits than a contract with the carrier can give them. We ll get to those benefits in a few minutes. As for the billing overcharges, an invoice audit of the wireless bills going back three years should be performed by a utility billing expert. These thorough audits will uncover errors and overcharges and recover any overcharges in the form of refunds from the wireless provider. Some utility invoice auditors will provide this service at no up-front cost and share in the refund, only if a recovery is made. Meeting The Wireless Management Challenge Large organizations with thousands of wireless devices can have a major problem managing their wireless assets. So can smaller organizations with lots of usage. These issues usually come in the form of security, adding and dropping people from plans, tracking devices, lost devices, access, etc. Some WWP s also provide an optional web or cloud based, wireless device management system. This option, in addition to the cost savings, further solidifies the value that wholesale wireless suppliers bring to the business customer. It is worthwhile learning about the global standard in device management software AirWatch. Over 10,000 global customers trust AirWatch to manage their mobile assets, including leading enterprises with some of the largest mobile deployments, exceeding 50,000 devices. AirWatch is considered to be a world standard and industry leader, recognized by top analyst firms, including Gartner, Forrester Research and IDC. The benefits from AirWatch wireless device management systems are available to large and small organizations of all types. Wireless management solutions have evolved from AirWatch s work in four industries: Transportation Health Care Government Education

5 Transportation Trucking, shipping, and businesses with vehicle must use mobile wireless devices for communication and to track, dispatch, and locate drivers as well as provide them with on-the-go product and service information. Health Care Hospital staff, physicians and nurses are using mobile devices to access medical records, submit prescriptions and diagnosis illnesses. There goals are to provide faster, better patient care and manage their costs. Government - Agencies at the local, state and federal levels are embracing mobility. With the increase in number of mobile devices and applications used by government workers, IT administrators are being challenged to ensure public sector security requirements are being met. Education - The proliferation of mobile devices and tablets across educational institutions is transforming classroom learning. Traditional paper textbooks are being replaced with digital books on tablets, and students are reaping the benefits of accessing the latest information through tablets and smartphones. The push towards mobility and wireless applications for these sectors has surfaced some common problems for any organization with wireless device management challenges. Wireless management solutions are now available to every industry and size and type of organization. A Partial List of Benefits For Using AirWatch: Signing on with a wholesale wireless supplier can amount to a major breakthrough in cost management and eliminate some of the security and management headaches from daily operations Wireless Device Tracking o GPS Locate Devices o Report Vehicle Routes o Locate crews for dispatching o Report Vehicle Speed o Locate lost devices Enhanced Security o Secure access to , VPN and Wi-Fi networks o Remotely erase data and phones o Transmits documents over industry standard 256-bit SSL encrypted connections o Control user s ability to edit, share or open files in unauthorized applications, and remotely wipe documents from the console o Constantly monitors all devices for unauthorized users, compromised devices, blacklisted apps and other risks Device management o Send Push Notifications o Multiple carrier bills consolidated into one plan o Manage devices across departments o Flexible format that supports corporate and BYOD devices

6 o Provides a secure way to distribute confidential documents o Develop business apps with key security and management capabilities o Administrators set device restrictions, such as screen capture and camera, to disable functionalities o Distribute apps and secure access to private networks and resources through our web-based console o Manage Android (including Kindle Fire), Apple, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows devices in one console o Flexible delivery options in the Cloud, On Premise or as a Software Appliance Meets strict regulatory standards such as: o HIPPA o Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication compliance standards o CIPA Every business, nonprofit, and government organization with more than 20 wireless devices needs to have a comparison done. There is no cost to do it, and quite a bit to gain. Businesses today are using mobile technologies to reshape business processes, increase worker productivity, and deliver value to their customers. Increasing investments in mobility are forcing IT leaders in large enterprises to address several challenges, from supporting a large number of smartphones and tablets across multiple mobile platforms, to developing business applications, and a more complex set of security concerns. AirWatch provides a comprehensive, secure, and scalable platform to centrally manage mobility across the enterprise How To Assess if A Wholesale Wireless Provider Is Right For Your Business Signing on with a wholesale wireless supplier can amount to a major breakthrough in cost management and eliminate some of the security and management headaches from daily operations. Most businesses with over 20 wireless devices (total of phones, tablets, laptops, wireless cards) could benefit from switching to a wholesale wireless provider. And because they are on the same physical network, a transition can be made seamlessly and with no risk. It s easy to determine how much benefit there is for your business to contract with a wholesale wireless provider. It s a 4 step process: 1. Contact the wholesale supplier that will provide you with a no-cost, no-obligation, side by side comparison of your current plan with their optimized solution. Make sure they also offer and AirWatch or similar option. 2. Provide them with a copy of your most recent wireless bills, and a contract end date report easily obtainable from your current carrier s website.

7 3. After the evaluation, the wholesale wireless provider will schedule an online meeting to go over your savings and to demo the device management portal 4. You decide how much a transition may be worth for your business. It takes about 48 hours to complete a side-by-side comparison of current billing and management vs. the new model. Every business, nonprofit, and government organization with more than 20 wireless devices needs to have a comparison done. There is no cost to do it, and quite a bit to gain. A wholesale wireless provider could revolutionize your business compared to a standard agreement with a big three wireless provider. As the adoption of wireless applications continues without sign of slowing down, why would any organization face its future without switching to better wireless services at lower costs? We also recommend having the last three years of business phone invoices audited by a utility audit professional. Contact us if you would like to find out more details about getting your wireless side-by-side comparison done and a wireless invoice audit. Greg Jordan B2B Resource Team