Reader Forum: Limits be gone with split billing

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but maintain some editorial control so as to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com or tford@rcrwireless.com.
For years, companies have been extending the office “location” through a mobile workforce. Always connected, always in reach – scanning emails as we roll out of bed, scheduling a follow-up meeting on our way back from another, taking and making calls regardless of where we are traveling. The productivity benefits of a mobile workforce are clear, but with the recent explosion of data services, concerns of excessive overage charges, and ultimately corporate risk, are heightened. As evidenced by RIM’s recent announcement to enable the segregation of a user’s personal data from work-related emails and other employer-sponsored applications, companies are searching for solutions to help them balance the benefits – and potential cost risks – of mobility.
According to a recent Enterprise Mobility Forum study on key issues that organizations are facing around enterprise mobility, 69% of the respondents have implemented business policies around the “appropriate use of wireless data services” on corporate-issued devices. But without the tools to efficiently manage the complex data usage, often times, companies establish strict, black and white policies. Although this may seem like a step in the right direction for companies to minimize their risk, how is this impacting the employee’s user experience and the carrier’s ability to maximize the value of each and every subscriber?
To access or not to access…
Let’s consider a sales rep who’s on his commute home when he realizes it’s almost time for Monday Night Football. Who’s playing tonight? Which quarterback will start? He has 30 minutes to spare and knows that with one click the ESPN Mobile app can provide all of the information he wants, and more. But does his company’s plan cover this type of usage? Is this in line with his manager’s mobile policies or will she think he’s taking advantage of the “privilege”?
For employees who carry company-issued devices, this has become a common scenario. You either avoid personal usage due to enforced or unknown company policies, access what you want with hopes that either management won’t mind or it will fly under the radar, or you tolerate the ultimate inconvenience – carry two devices.
Mobile policies limiting operator revenue
Many businesses struggle with balancing the productivity advantages that constant connectivity provides with the time consuming task of managing usage for each employee. How can you efficiently review, analyze, and assign costs based on corporate policies? It may be feasible for smaller companies, but as the number of employees grows, so do the headaches associated with managing these activities.
For carriers, adding hundreds of ‘subscribers’ for a business account presents significant revenue opportunities. But when management enforces strict policies against personal usage – where data and other revenue-generating services often lie – the revenue potential is limited.
So what can carriers do to ease employer concerns around personal misuse and realize the true value of business subscribers?
Maximizing the opportunities of split billing
With the ability to automatically, and accurately, flag business and personal usage and then invoice accordingly, carriers are able to not only eliminate headaches for the telecom manager, but drive increased revenues among the business base.
Take a company with 500+ employees. Manually reviewing and invoicing for personal charges would take days to complete. With an automated system, the telecom manager can set rules for the account management team, for example, making individuals personally liable for any data charges over $20, any call charges outside of the corporate or client directory, and any weekend charges. By decreasing the time and resources required to manage personal vs. business service costs, employers are much more willing to extend phones to a broader employee base.
Adding to this revenue opportunity is the ability to empower business subscribers to behave as consumers. If you and your employer agreed, for example, that any app-related charges would be billed on a personal invoice, you would access the ESPN app with no hesitation. In fact, you may subscribe to any number of other revenue-generating services.
As data services continue to offer new revenue streams, carriers must have the right tools in place to maximize the opportunity, breaking down the barrier of hyper-imposed usage limits and empowering both employers and employees. With automated split billing, enterprises can extend phones to more employees to drive greater productivity. Employees can enjoy the freedom of choice without imposed limits. And carriers can maximize the APRU of each and every subscriber.
Cullen Davidson is Director of Product Management for Globys (www.globys.com), a leading provider of customer experience solutions for the worldwide telecommunications market. Globys provides some of the world’s leading telecommunications carriers with solutions that help them leverage their customer data assets to enhance the overall customer experience. A spin off from VeriSign Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of infrastructure services, Globys offers a suite of products that have helped meet the needs of telecommunications carriers for more than 14 years and supports global customer deployments. Globys has headquarters in Seattle and regional offices around the world. Additional information can be found at www.globys.com.