COVID-19 has impacted nearly everyone on the planet in some way. PAG is here to offer some guidance to many of you who will be getting more unexpected news when your next wireless (cellular) bill arrives.
Huge workforce mobilization efforts are in full swing across most of the country, but most businesses have yet to consider just how much more wireless data consumption will occur – and the massive overage charges that come with it. Traditional buffers previously in place will not cover this significant uptick in usage.
Fortunately, wireless carriers allow plan changes at any time of the billing cycle – regardless of contracts – and will apply them retroactively to the beginning of the month, if needed. Here’s how to get ahead of the wireless charges that are coming:
STEP 1: Call Your Carriers
Call your carrier(s) today, and see where you are in terms of your data plan versus current consumption. Make any necessary adjustments now, before the bill drops.
STEP 2: Go Through Your Invoices
Go through your invoices user by user comparing job function versus consumption. If an inbound call agent is consuming 100G of your pool, there is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Monitoring usage and establishing guidelines for acceptable usage will have an impact – your workers will know you are watching. If necessary, you can even cap usage at the line level, so each user will only be able to use up to that allowance and no more.
STEP 3: Tie Each Line to the Correct User
This step will help control costs even more: tie each line back to the person actually possessing the device. Just because your carrier lists the line number as belonging to John Doe does not mean that John is still the current user. The device may now belong to Bob Smith, who needs to be cross referenced against HR’s active employee directory to ensure Bob is a current employee. An accurate inventory is essential to ongoing cost control.
There are many other means of cost control for wireless and all other telecom services. There are also a number of solutions for mobilizing your workforce, rethinking your endpoint security posture, or ensuring your O365 backup and DR plan will handle all the new solutions you are putting in place. PAG offers cost, solution, and provider guidance, as well as answers to any cost-reduction questions you may have. Sharing our knowledge with the community during this crisis is our small way of giving back, so please do not hesitate to contact us.
