Real-Time Data Is The Missing Piece To Optimized IT Data Costs

Though it may seem simple to pick a data plan and leave it at that, this does not continually optimize your assets. There are many factors in determining which plan to select, including your changing IT costs over time. Therefore, choosing an unlimited plan for your lines and forgetting about it will cost you more in the long run!

So how can you determine which plan is most cost-efficient over time? 

Familiarize Yourself With Data Plan Options:

When you select a data plan, you choose an allotted data amount for a month, such as 5GB, 10GB, or unlimited data. Each plan has its own pricing, with unlimited being the costliest option. Additionally, each plan specifies any additional charges for using more than the allotted data. You may decide to avoid any overage charges by selecting unlimited data; however, this is not automatically the most cost-efficient option!

Occasionally, service providers may change the price of a data plan. You may be notified by the carrier about this change, though you might be content with your current selections and leave them as is. However, without accounting for increased rates in your IT budget, you will find yourself spending more than expected. This is especially true if you missed an announcement for any pricing changes, which could stack up depending on your number of lines – one extra dollar per 1,000 lines is another $1,000 in your IT spend.

Utilize Real-Time Data To Make Informed Decisions:

Through carrier account reports, you can see how much data each device uses in a given month; but the real question is how much data it uses on average over time. Data usage may not be constant over time; users may increase or decrease usage over a period of time, so their average monthly data usage will change accordingly. Since you determine which plan to choose based on the monthly reports, you are making a decision based on only a portion of the information you need.

What if you had the ability to see how much data your lines use in real time? Then you will know exactly which line uses how much data and when. If a user needs their hot spot to run a Zoom call that uses significantly more data than normal, it would show on the report as a big data user, and you would give them an unlimited plan. But in reality, that line typically uses less than 5GB in a month – thus skewing how you perceive the data based on monthly reports. By analyzing real-time data instead, you would determine that the user actually needs a smaller, less expensive data plan.

Without access to real-time data reporting, it is difficult to determine the who, when, and how much each device is using on average. This is especially important to know for shared data plans. Knowing exactly how much each device uses allows you to make informed decisions regarding group data plans. Perhaps those with high data usage should be moved to their own unlimited plan, whereas 10 lines using less than 1 GB per month could easily be grouped into a shared 10 GB plan. Users may deviate from the average – seeing use in real time, you can reassign them into shared groups, as necessary. As you can see, it is far more cost-efficient to assign data plans based on actual use over time, rather than by static monthly info.

Negotiate Your Carrier Contracts with Solve(X):

Plan costs can be negotiated, which is easier to accomplish when you have the data to make informed decisions. Understanding which plans best fit each line based on their dynamic data usage makes for better spending decisions. If it seems intimidating to keep up with ever-changing data and contracts, that’s where we come in to assist with our Solve(X) software.

Solve(X) leverages your contracts using real-time data to calculate the best discounts for each line. We receive real-time information directly from the carrier about your lines and utilize it to negotiate the best contract. Our software is designed to notice any changes or discrepancies in your billing and alert our analysts to leverage the data and determine the best plan accordingly. Even if you think you have the best possible contract, nothing stays the same – there will always be new options or discounts to save you money. With Solve(X), you are the master of your IT spend.

About GoExceed:

Founded in 2001, GoExceed is recognized as an industry leader in Wireless Expense Management (WEM) solutions. We service over 2 million enterprise wireless devices per year, and our clients range from midsize businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Our comprehensive suite of management solutions have revolutionized the way companies manage their wireless accounts, devices, users, costs, data, cost centers, contracts, policies, and more. We firmly believe that innovation is not only the key to our success, but essential in an ever-changing wireless landscape across the world. GoExceed empowers businesses with real-time reporting and analytics, enabled by Microsoft Power BI, in order to proactively reduce time, money, and resources. Your success is what drives our passion for technology and innovation.