Anyone who reads this report from Aberdeen is no doubt trying to glean what works best.  The temptation is to look at what has worked for the Best-in-Class companies and just do that.  But as Bob pointed out in one of his previous posts, good advice is good advice.  As I examined the information closely, it actually occurred to me that the Best-in-Class respondents were probably not best at all – but that is a post for another day.  Let’s take a look at some of the strategies and examine the pros and cons: Read more…

AT&T apparently has woken up and recognized the impact smartphone users – especially iPhones – are having on their wireless data network. See W. David Gardner’s piece in today’s InfoWeek; even PBS’ Nightly Business Report mentioned it. Incredibly, those pesky iPhone users are sucking up all the bandwidth in places like New York and San Francisco. Uh, guys, remember all those ads that said, ‘there’s an app for that’? Didn’t it occur to anyone in the room that the unprecedented proliferation of iPhones and all its capabilities would have a proportionate Internet demand?

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My last post about this report was before it became available. See it here: Aberdeen – Quick Fixes This is a must read for anyone who gives damn about knowing how to really manage telecom costs. I do have some issues with the report in general, but would strongly recommend that you at least skim it.  Start with the Executive Summary, especially the bottom section Required Actions – some pretty solid advice. Chapter Three goes into more detail on this. I would also ignore the labels of Best In Class, Laggards, and Industry Average. Good advice helps all companies. Read more…

Any day now Aberdeen will be coming out with a report on quick fixes companies employed to cut telecom costs in 2009. We got a sneak peak and based on early returns it looks like most companies opted for renegotiating their contracts to the tune of about 12% in savings. Not bad if that’s all you’re expected to do. Unfortunately, 2010 is another year and once the back slapping and high fives subside there will be another request to do something new.

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