“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Apparently, this phrase came from the need for families to share one tubful of water one after the other, with the baby going last in the already dirty water. While a rather bizarre visual, it is still a sensible idiom. When discarding something that no longer has value, be certain to not also dispose of any integrated, yet valuable things.
Software and Service Bundles
Services are often as intricately linked with software as the baby floating in the bathwater. Many business processes, such as customer relationship management, accounting, and telecom expense management, require the use of specialized software, and ongoing management by skilled personnel. Resources are often retained for implementation and management services, which are bundled with the purchase of software.
Domain expertise is required for developers to create apps, and it’s natural for customers to turn to those developers to also provide the accompanying managed services. The ability to purchase a complete solution from a single vendor can seem appealing.
When Problems Arise, What’s the Source of the Pain?
While there are numerous excellent ERP systems available, many businesses still hire accounting firms to manage their financials. If you become dissatisfied with the services provided by your firm, it may feel like you need to make a move and start fresh. But what, exactly, do you need to move away from?
Shortcomings in the service delivery of your accounting firm don’t reflect the quality of the software. When saddled with an unsatisfactory firm, you need to replace the firm. There isn’t necessarily any need to also replace the software app they’ve been working with.
But Does That Work with Telecom Lifecycle Management?
The principal issue is determining what the dirty water is. Software or services?
In our experience, TLM problems overwhelmingly center on services. Common complaints where TLM falls short include:
- Lack of ROI/savings
- Allocation problems
- Inadequate reporting
- Unnecessary time spent by internal resources
- Late payments
Most TLM software is fully equipped with the functionality to effectively manage telecom expenses. The work simply needs to be done, and done consistently well in order to see results. And too often, TLM software providers fall short on service delivery. TLM software vendors certainly possess the domain expertise to build TLM apps, but that doesn’t guarantee they are equally as skilled at building and running an effective managed services division.
Figuring Out the Dirty Water
After investigating the source of pain, many enterprises determine TLM managed services to be the ‘dirty water,’ rather than the software itself. So, is it possible to change only services while keeping your existing TLM software? Yes. Unbundle them. Read our eBook for more on this innovative pathway.
Unbundle Services from Software
Unbundling TLM services from TLM software enables you to move your TLM managed services, continue using your existing TLM software, and pay only for the services of the new provider.
Your TLM program should add value to your organization, like your baby brings joy to your family (for the most part…). Recognize this distinction and only throw out the actual source of the problem.
