White papers are either too dull or too much of an ad. Websites are often too much work to sort through with what you don’t want to know. Podcasts have much greater utility because of mobility such as in your car, while working out, or just sitting down somewhere with earplugs. The problem is, where do you find something worth listening to? Read more…

I’ve seen this quoted twice now and wanted to comment on how deceiving this really is. Both AnchorPoint and Gartner have thrown this number around in webinars and implied most companies can realize this by renegotiating their contracts – some even go so far as to say you can renegotiate anytime. Of course you can, but getting a good deal; not so much. A reasonable disclaimer would be these are pretty much best case scenarios and your results may vary – really vary.

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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…

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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