Reducing the cost of IT services. Mobile and fixed

In continuation of my publication on reducing the cost of providing access to the Internet , in this post I wanted to discuss the possibility of reducing the cost of mobile and fixed communications.
These expenses are interrelated, in my case I started with mobile communication, since it is much more flexible to changes and in sum terms significantly exceeds the cost of fixed communication. Also, when implementing activities with this item of expenditure, it is possible to significantly reduce costs for the other.
So is it possible to reduce the cost of these articles more than twice?

1. Mobile communications.
What are these events? They can be divided into two large blocks - these are administrative (orders, instructions, lowering of limits) and technical (provision of additional services by the provider, application of technical means).
First of all, I would like to suggest that you once again hold talks with available cellular operators, but by preparing for them and raising some questions differently.

How can operators reduce prices for their services? The main requirement of operators is a large number of subscribers and guaranteed large monthly payments for the use of corporate communications.

1.1. Analysis
Before we begin, we need to analyze the number and directions of calls of our employees, the share of using additional services (sms, mms, gprs, etc.) billing in a simple database with the possibility of forming OLAP-reporting on the measurements contained in it (enterprise, phone number, connection type, etc.)
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An example of obtaining information on the operator's website


An example of a database with the possibility of forming OLAP reporting

The second option is of course more preferable, as it will allow you to more closely track any changes in the future and promptly correct their consequences.

Having carried out this stage of work, we should develop an understanding of the issues relating to the main directions of calls, the main organizations of the Company and its divisions, which contribute to the costs, the number of subscribers.

1.2. Getting new conditions from the carrier
Having the information described above, we begin negotiations with mobile operators. In different organizations, the mechanisms are different, for someone it is the opening of the tender, and for some it is enough to simply write a letter or call the operator. With a friendly relationship, we can give them information on our main areas of communication costs and ask them to develop or choose the best tariff for us. But we are able to significantly reduce it by resorting to the following levers of influence:

1. Increase subscriber base
We will increase the subscriber base of the company ten times and at the same time significantly reduce the company's expenses.
Usually, an organization uses mobile communications for employees whose job it is necessary to perform. These employees have a certain amount limit for its use. Since the corporate tariff is definitely more profitable than the tariff of individuals, in order to increase the subscriber base we make the following two moves:
- We connect to the corporate rate of all employees of our Company.
- We connect to the corporate tariff of relatives and close people of employees working at the enterprise.
Immediately questions arise: how will the bills be billed, how will the enterprise pay for them, who will keep track of the withholding and how to be with the relatives?
Currently, all these moments are implemented in the billing systems of mobile operators.
All connected employees are divided by different bans, with different types of calculations:
- employees with a fixed limit on the use of communication. The established limit is fixed in the billing system and when it is reached, the subscriber receives an SMS notification that he conducts further calculations as an individual.
- employees without a fixed limit, relatives and close employees of employees. Each employee who connects their relatives and friends creates a mini-corporation and is responsible for its members. Accordingly, its participants, as well as employees without a fixed limit, independently pay for communication services as individuals.

And so we significantly expanded the subscriber base, and the load on the organization (calculation of deductions, etc.) was removed altogether. The organization pays only the amounts that have been spent within the established limits, the rest of the calculations with the mobile operator people spend as individuals. It should be noted that operators have different ways to motivate timely payments, for example, granting a delay in payment and in the future access to the postpaid calculation method (first you say, then you pay).

2. The use of a more complete range of services provided by the operator
In addition to voice transmission, operators provide many other services: Internet access, long-distance and international communication, provision of communication channels by VLAN, etc.
Why not analyze their proposals? After all, if you take the services in the complex, their cost will be significantly lower.

3. Closer mutually beneficial cooperation
Often, not only we are consumers of the services of mobile operators, but they also need our services. Everything depends, of course, on the activities of your companies; there will surely be some points of contact. A universal way of cooperation can be the construction of cell towers on the territory of your enterprise. In this case, your expenses will be reduced by the amount of the land lease. It is clear that the more such points of mutually beneficial cooperation, the better for you and the mobile operator.

I am sure that when carrying out the activities described in this part, it will be possible to get a much more favorable job offer. One should not forget about the “bonuses” of operators - these are various kinds of unlimited SIM-cards, which they provide to the management of the company in the case of connecting a certain number of subscribers. But do not rush to give them to the leadership, they can be used much more profitably, more on that below ...

1.3. Administrative impact
It would seem that we received new favorable conditions, significantly reduced our expenses and we can already reap the fruits of our success, but I assure you that this is not so! Another way to reduce costs lies in administrative functions.
It is necessary to note the negative side of the majority of workers, to consider that it is they who make the main contribution to the work of the enterprise, their functions are poorly evaluated, the wages are not sufficient. And since mobile operators allow real-time tracking of the amount spent by each employee, they will purposefully choose their limits to the end. An example is billing analysis, in which more than 80% of employees accurately fit within the established limits and, if they are reduced, this pattern repeats.

We have analyzed and now we understand which divisions, which employees make the main contribution to costs. Their expenses need to be reduced, but at the same time observe the golden mean, so that the reduction of these expenses would not have a negative effect on the business. For example, we will lower the limit for using a communication to a sales representative, and he will call customers less. This can not be allowed!
There are many administrative paths; I will describe the one that was used.
We decided to approach this issue individually and did not divide people into posts, setting each post its own limit. For example, the Head of the supply department and the Head of the system administration department - how can they be leveled out in the limits of the use of cellular communication?

Using the billing analysis software described above, we performed the following work:
- calculated the average amount spent by the subscriber per month.
- 10% of the amount received was taken away - personal calls.
- the resulting table was provided to each head of the structural unit at whose disposal the employee is located.
- a further reduction is carried out by the head of the structural unit; the task of the Company's management is to assign to him only the amount or percentage of cost reduction for his department.

Considering the average for the period of consumption, we cut off its peaks, thereby already received a reduction in costs. Further, the immediate supervisor, as a person more familiar with the specifics of the activities of his subordinates, will be able to further reduce costs more competently and painlessly. But the main thing is not to overreact.

Carrying out a complex of the above measures, in my case, has reduced the cost of mobile communications by more than 40%.

2. Fixed connection
Unfortunately, this item of expenditure is not as flexible and amenable as mobile. Due to the greatly reduced tariffs, at present, the use of IP-telephony, etc., has lost its relevance. The payback period of the equipment is much more than a year, which does not allow making such long-term investments.
However, there are several ways to reduce costs, some are achieved through the use of mobile operators. We also need to reduce the risks due to the thoughtlessly large reduction in mobile communication limits, as in this case, the employees will start using the landline more.

About 5-10% will help us to reduce new negotiations with the provider.
Tariff reduction is possible in the same cases as for mobile communication. The main thing is the volume of conversations of our organization, which we cannot increase accordingly without increasing the expenses of the enterprise. This is not in our plans.
According to the old scheme, we analyze, not only the billing of the mobile operator, but the logs of office PBXs. In this task, we will also be helped by a small database with the possibility of generating OLAP reports. Do not forget about the use of a more comprehensive service and mutually beneficial cooperation. But I do not think that here you can expect some huge percent of the decline. In any case, this will not be a big reduction, achieved only due to the competition between operators and the choice of a more profitable offer on the most active areas of calls.

What will help us achieve significant efficiency? At the moment - this is using a GSM gateway! In my opinion, one of the most effective tools, below on the chart you will see it.


GSM gateway for 8 SIM-cards

Fixed-line communication is divided into local, long-distance and international. Which in turn is divided into calls to landlines and mobile phones. By using a GSM gateway in conjunction with an office PBX, as well as SIM cards of various operators with optimal tariff plans, we can significantly reduce costs in the following areas:
1. Applying our corporate SIM cards
- Calls to corporate mobile phones . In the corporate tariff, these calls are either free of charge or significantly lower than the rates of local city communications. For example, in my case it is 0.00 rubles. within the network and 1.50 rub. when calling from a city PBX.
- Calls to all subscribers of our mobile operator . The cost of these calls is also significantly lower than the cost of a city PBX. Again, for example, 0.95 rubles. against 1.50 rub.
- Calls to subscribers of a specific group of regions . Mobile operators have roaming-free spaces (Volga zone, etc.)

2. Using SIM cards of other operators
- Calls to subscribers of the corresponding operator . It is clear that within the network of one operator the cost of the call is always lower, we redirect calls from the office PBX to the network of the operator we need (Beeline - Beeline, MTS - MTS, Megafon - Megafon).

3. Application of SIM-cards with an unlimited data plan .
Unlimited TP is the most profitable option, at least it eliminates the long setup of the PBX and GSM gateway for filtering calls, etc.

4. The use of "golden" SIM-cards received from the mobile operator. I talked about these SIM-cards above, I don’t know how legitimate it is to use them in this version, so I consider it only as an option ...

I will give some small calculations showing the effectiveness of using a GSM gateway.
GSM gateway cost: 85 thousand rubles.
The percentage of the amount in any case going through the operator of a fixed communication (fax, international communication): 30%
The cost of one SIM-card with unlimited TP: 6.5 thousand rubles. in months
Number of SIM-cards, depending on the average payment for a landline connection per month: with 10 thousand rubles. in months - 2 pieces, 20 - 2, 30 - 3, 40 - 3, 50 - 4, 60 - 4, 70 - 5.

We get the following graph showing the effectiveness of the use of a GSM gateway, depending on the average payment, the use of fixed line communications per month.


The use of a GSM gateway allows a yes 60% reduction in the cost of fixed communication. For example, if you paid an average of 50 thousand rubles. per month, then for the year of operation, you will save the Company 190 thousand rubles. (including equipment costs) or 31% of the total amount for the year, for two years - 480 thousand rubles. (40%).
Of course, in the case of using “golden” SIM cards, we have a more joyful picture:


Hope the post was helpful. There are still a lot of services provided by IT departments in our enterprises, I am sure that we will discuss them in the future. I would be very happy to discuss!