Reining in Telecom Expenses

Session #TECH10

Learning Objectives

• Compare your management of this key

expense to other firms

• Learn best practices and pitfalls to avoid

• Discover approaches and solutions to regain

control and improve efficiency

2

Intros

• Kathryn McCarthy

• Michael Shannon

• Sameer Hilal

3

Agenda

• Telecom Challenges for Law Firms

• Solutions and Best Practices

• Available Options

• How to Start

• Q & A

4

TELECOM CHALLENGES

FOR LAW FIRMS

5

This doesn’t

look that

hard to

manage.

• Firm overview

– 3 locations

– 45 attorneys

– Real Estate focus

• Key challenges

– Carrier account support

– Sufficient bandwidth

– IT resources

7

• Firm overview

– 26 locations

– 900+ attorneys

– International firm

• Key challenges

– Invoice management

– Visibility into spend

– Manual processes

8

Growing Complexity

9

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Negotiating

multiple

contracts

Having the

right

technical

skills in

house

Managing

multiple

carriers

Coordinating

installations

with multiple

carriers

Insufficient

or no

tracking tool

for inventory

Lack of

unbiased

sources of

information

Managing

the test and

turn-up

process

Insufficient

or no

resources to

manage

Limited

visibility into

technical

details on

services

Lack of

experience

in sourcing

telecom

What are the top 3 challenges you face in sourcing, procuring

and tracking telecom?

# of Service Providers

• 21% of survey respondents work with six or

more wireline network service providers

• 32% work with three or more wireless

network service providers

10

Disparate Invoices

11

34%

58%

8%

# of invoices processed monthly from wireline and

wireless providers

Less than 10

10 to 25

More than 25

Rising Costs

12

• 50% had a >10% increase in wireline spend

• 50% had a >10% increase in wireless spend

SOLUTIONS AND

BEST PRACTICES

13

Panel Discussion

• How did you address your key challenges?

• What single change was the most impactful

related to expenses?

• What single change was the most impactful

related to management?

• What are your lessons learned from

mistakes?

14

The “Old”

The “New”

17

“TLM” Framework

Best Practices

Controlling Hard-Costs

• Audit

• Sourcing – Carrier Benchmarking

– Contract Negotiation

– Technology

Replacement

– Network Design

• Optimization – Inventory – Expense

Reconciliation

– Reporting

18

Best Practices

Controlling Soft Costs

• Automation – Invoice workflow

– Cost allocation

• Consolidation

19

Top Expense-cutting Levers

20

Mid-sized business savings

10%

42%

1%

18%

29%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Audit Optimization Late Fee

Reduction

Chargeback

Controls

Contract

Negotiation

Source: AOTMP

AVAILABLE OPTIONS

21

1. Hire & Build

• Key Skills

– Network architecture & design

– Contract negotiation

– Billing, inventory & dispute analysis

– Project management of service

implementations

– Technical support and escalation

expertise

• Key Tools

– Inventory management

– Invoice consolidation tool

– Cost allocation automation tool

– Business Intelligence & Reporting

22

2. Purchase Software

& Services

• TLM Software

– License

– Subscription

• Professional Services

– Network Design

– Contract Negotiations

– Bill Audits

– Benchmarking

– Project Management

– MACD Support

– Dispute Management

23

3. Outsource

• Professional

Services and

TLM Software

(Subsidized by

Distribution of

Services)

24

HOW TO START

25

1: Ask the Right Questions

• How do we manage it today?

• Do we have the right

technology?

• What are we paying in

relation to the market?

• Where do we still rely on

manual processes?

• What don’t we know?

26

2: Select the Best Option

27

Purchase TLM

Software & Services

Outsource Hire & Build

Panel Discussion

• How did you get started?

• What helped you make your decision?

• What recommendation do you have for your

peers?

28

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

29