Telecommuting Trends: Making the Most of BYOD for Your Business

More Workers On The Go

According to Gallup, in 1995, only nine percent of American workers had ever telecommuted or worked from home. Since then, the number of remote workers in the United States has increased four-fold, with 37 percent telecommuting in 2015. Research firm IDC anticipates that the U.S. mobile worker population will grow at a steady rate over the next five years, increasing from 96 million remote workers in 2015 to more than 105 million in 2020. By then, IDC forecasts, mobile workers will represent nearly three quarters of the total U.S. workforce.

Key drivers behind the growth of the U.S. mobile workforce, IDC notes, include the increasing affordability of smartphones and tablets and the growing acceptance of corporate bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs. As IDC research analyst Bryan Bassett notes, “mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work.” So what does this shift mean for the corporate enterprise?

BYOD Programs — And Expenses — Are Growing

With more workers working from home or a remote location, companies will have to shoulder increasing costs for cellular service. According to a survey by mobile provider Syntonic and the Information Solutions Group (ISG), 87 percent of companies now provide employees with access to business tools from their personal smartphones, and 69 percent reimburse their employees for work-related usage of their personal smartphones.

The survey also reveals that close tracking of BYOD programs may not always happen, resulting in gross overpayments of reimbursements to employees at an estimated $2.6 billion annually. As noted in ComputerWorld in 2014, a study by the Aberdeen Group found that a company with 1,000 mobile devices in their BYOD program spends an average of $170,000 extra per year, mostly due to “behind-the-scenes expense management issues.” So how can companies manage the complex process of employee reimbursement to minimize unnecessary expenses and maximize company margins? Enter Telecom Expense Management (TEM).

Why Telecom Expense Management (TEM)?

Telecom Expense Management (TEM) is the process of closely managing corporate wireless, voice and data expenses with the goals of reducing cost and risk. Whether it’s managed by the corporation itself or outsourced to a third-party vendor like mindWireless, TEM involves regular and thorough audits of employee telecom bills to identify overages and contract violations in order to negotiate with providers and minimize costs.

TEM sets out to improve profits by eliminating unauthorized charges, identifying errors and streamlining operations and to reduce risk by increasing accuracy in expense tracking and ensuring employees are adhering to corporate policies.

mindWireless has been an expert in TEM since 2000 and is widely recognized as the largest and most experienced strategic corporate mobility expert in the market today. By focusing on five key services, we can help you capture dramatic savings of 17 to 40 percent.

• Simplification: We reduce internal management requirements and improve processes to find efficiencies, including audit and consolidation of bill payment.
• Automation: We provide improved inventory, enrollment, and procurement capabilities that increase employee satisfaction and reduce management effort.
• Optimization: We gather data and apply powerful analysis to uncover trends and recommend spending reduction and optimization.
• Support: We reduce in-house support requirements with mobile-dedicated, 24/7 Help Desk services.
• Consulting: We can walk you through the entire gamut of mobile strategy to formulate and refine the most successful and efficient mobile program for your enterprise.

Curious how TEM can streamline operations and increase profits for your business?

Contact mindWireless today.