MindWireless is focused on the wireless expense management space which as you might imagine is an area of growing importance inside telecom expense management. Just think about how complicated it is to manage wireless gadgets as employees have become obsessed with having the latest and greatest devices and moreover, many consumers pick the provider they want as they need to have cell phone service at home, etc.MindWireless helps companies organize and optimize their wireless devices. In addition, they help with outsourcing and client engagements.
One of the areas of change in the wireless device space is obviously the iPhone... This and other smartphones have changed the face of wireless device management but are users getting smarter?
In reality, users are getting devices which are more and more complicated and they are oftentimes confused about how to best use them. In addition, they load devices with more and more sensitive information without realizing the need for security and immunity to theft.
I had a chance to have a podcast with MindWireless execs David Wise and Kevin Whitehurst and learn how they help companies with the above problems and in addition, help companies control wireless expenses. The two are both Managing Partners and Co-founders of the Houston, Texas based company.
In my discussion, an interesting example came up -- a company paid $170 dollars for text messaging for a single user in one month. To find out how much this expense should have been and lots of other very useful information, be sure to listen to the podcast.
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A lot of these multi function devices come out to market but users only operate a few of the functions. For instance, I only use text messaging, task list and address book on my black berry. I think a lot of the extra functions are geared towards the uber geek early adopter crowd. The late adopters don't use nearly as many functions.
Great podcast. They hit the key pain points for most enterprises but here are a couple other things to consider.
International outbound calls from your cell phone can be very expensive. Unlike a local line you can't change LD providers. You get the phone providers LD plan and because you can't change carriers you get higher than market rates, sometimes up to ten or more times landline costs. To lower costs several companies like Ring2 (www.ring2.com) offer an app for Blackberry or Windows mobile devices to bypass the mobile carriers LD. They offer rates as low or lower than a landline. They also have a cool conferencing app were you can control a conference call from a smartphone, it allows you to see who's the call, mute lines etc.
Another pain point for wireless is International roaming. If you've ever traveled over seas and then got the bill for your international calls (receiving as well as outbound) you know what crazy rates you can get billed. We've seen cost per minute rates exceeding $10!!! For cost savings check out Brightroam (www.brightroam.com), they have unlocked phones and SIM cards for 140 countries. You can forward your number to the number they provide so folks calling you don't have to change their dialing habits to reach you in whatever country your in and your outbound calls get charged as in country calls. Sometimes you can use your existing phone and change the SIM but you need to make sure your phone can be unlocked, like the Blackberry 8830 World phone instance. US carriers are way behind the rest of the world when it comes to unlocked phones.
By the way I don't work for either of these companies. The recommendations are purely to help companies cut wireless costs.