–By Natasha Royer Coons. Republished with permission by TeraNova Consulting Group.
About three years ago, mobile carriers launched wireless plans offering unlimited voice and text, but pooled data. This was a breakthrough concept at the time, aimed at consumers and the SMB space. However, we recognized early on that we could stretch the limits of these plans for larger enterprises, and the savings were gargantuan.
As data usage grew, most organizations started converting to data pools that were subject to certain restrictions. AT&T and Verizon plans, for example, allowed a maximum of 100 users to share a “group” with combined data up to 200GB. Rules like this forced enterprises with several hundred or thousands of users/lines to manage up to many dozens of groups. Still, for the most part, the savings dwarfed the burdensome aspects of plan management and dealing with multiple invoices.
However, in 2015, Verizon and later AT&T (in Dec.) introduced new mobile plans that changed the game and reverted the wireless world back to the way we used to play with voice pools.
Now there is no limit to how many users can be pooled into a data group. An enterprise with 1,000 lines no longer needs to manage 10 pools of 100 users. Instead, all 1,000 users can be in the same pool, which makes the plan much easier to manage. In addition, enterprises now can play with big pools of data and choose smaller GB plans. As we used to do with optimizing voice pools years ago, now we can calculate the aggregate usage, add a buffer, and play with the numbers to arrive at the most economical plan for the entire universe of wireless users in a corporate plan.
To cite just one example, not long ago we converted a customer with thousands of lines on Verizon’s More Everything Plan, created numerous pools and optimized them to save the company over a half million dollars annually. But recently, we submitted an analysis that proves we can move the customer to the newer plan and save another $190,000/year. The stakeholders are thrilled, of course. But here’s the kicker: the company’s IT and A/P department heads love it. They no longer will have to manage groups or cut checks to pay multiple invoices.
The point is, by going back to the future, carriers have given us an opportunity to simplify mobile plan management and squeeze every last cent of savings out of corporate plans. In cases when additional savings cannot be realized, enterprises are telling us they are still interested in moving plans just to get rid of the headaches inherent in managing multiple pools/groups.
Even if you have no experience with enterprise mobility management (EMM), you can easily add it to your repertoire by partnering with companies that do, and earn significant residual commissions while delivering enormous benefits to clients.
Indeed, there is no time like now to dip your toe in the mobility waters. BYOD behavior is changing the way people work, and businesses looking to manage that behavior are increasingly turning to third party vendors and service providers. In fact, the EMM market is growing at a CAGR of 30 percent and projected to reach $10 billion by 2019.
Moreover, as EMM strategies continue to evolve and mature, enterprise IT stakeholders are thinking less about basic device management and security, and more about how usage of these mobile devices can transform business processes. Channel partners who are in that discussion only enhance their value as trusted advisors.
About the Author
Natasha Royer Coons is Managing Director for TeraNova Consulting Group. TeraNova provides simplified and fully managed wireless telecommunications solutions to enterprises around the globe. The company provides risk-free audits to uncover savings, ongoing expense management, custom reporting and a wireless helpdesk to manage transactions so clients can stay focused on core operations and objectives.
Ken Mills
President
Ken Mills serves as President of Intelisys and is committed to driving growth for Intelisys and our partners. As a distinguished technology executive with over two decades of experience, Ken has previously held leadership roles at EPIC iO, Dell Technologies and Cisco, and served as a fellow with the U.S. Department of State. His strategic mindset has been an integral part of launching innovative products and solutions in the fields of AI, IoT, and 5G. Ken is driven by his curiosity and passion for groundbreaking technology and complex problems, and constantly explores new frontiers in the world of technology.