Managed Mobility Services, or MMS, comprises all the activities inherent to administering the carrier contracts, plans, invoices, and more, for an organization’s smartphones, tablets, laptops and other wireless devices. True MMS goes beyond expense management to account for all facets of mobile services, including:

Procurement
Contract negotiation
Auditing
Optimization
Cost recovery
What to Look for in an MMS Provider
Invoice reconciliation
Why Does MMS Matter?
Expense management
Non-escrow bill pay
Mobile device management
Mobile application management
Mobile content management
Identity management
Moves/adds/changes/disconnects
Security
Reporting and alerts
Help desk
Decommissioning

This list is by no means static. As mobility evolves, so too do the service management needs associated with it. To be sure, this ever-growing roster of requirements can overwhelm an enterprise’s internal IT team, risking inadvertent oversights that cost the organization dearly – risks such as overpaying for pricey cellular data or accidentally leaking important, sensitive company files.

What to Look for in an MMS Provider

Organizations can avoid these and other pitfalls by joining forces with a vendor that acts as an extension of the IT department. This strategy frees full-time experts to focus on revenue-generating tasks while delivering the peace of mind that comes of knowing a trusted partner is handling all the needs tied to mobility services.

Additional, tangible benefits should arise from outsourcing management responsibility for mobility services. Above all, look for return on investment. Many organizations, especially smaller ones, assume they cannot afford MMS and therefore would not reap hard- or soft-dollar savings. This simply is not accurate.

Take the following case study as just one example.

A construction firm was juggling about 3,800 mobile devices. It called on One Source to provision MMS with WEM+ services; these comprised an up-front audit, then ongoing management and optimization. Over 25 months, the client reaped 153 percent of aggregate ROI after One Source fees. Those are just the hard-dollar savings, which in some months reached almost $70,000. The benefits of MMS extend to soft-dollar savings as well. This customer in particular saved 4,047 hours for which it would have needed 2.3 full-time equivalents to manage orders, validations, optimizations, troubleshooting, and bill disputes.

Using MMS should yield positive results. This applies not just in terms of reliability and ROI, but also to other critical areas such as cyber security and regulatory compliance.

To the first point, hacks and threats multiply by the day. This makes understanding and deploying the latest intelligence ever more difficult for organizations to do on their own. A top-tier MMS vendor will employ the people and tools that empower them to keep customers ahead of and away from the dangers.

Meanwhile, even as the U.S. federal government imposes requirements for data security and privacy, states are implementing their own, often more strict, laws. Keeping pace and ensuring compliance is difficult, and calls for targeted, dedicated attention. Small and mid-sized organizations rarely have the unfettered resources to devote to these needs. The right MMS provider will.

What to Look for in an MMS Provider

Software is not enough when it comes to ensuring airtight mobility management, including the always-imperative aspects of cyber security and regulatory compliance. Therefore, the best MMS providers will rely on both human and technological know-how. People catch errors and anomalies that platforms may overlook. Seek out a vendor that uses a proven blend of human and artificial insight and expertise.

Around-the-clock availability also is key. An MMS provider should run its own Security Operations Center(s) and help desk 24/7 so clients are never left without support.

Such an MMS vendor further will help organizations get control of their mobile estates. This includes modifying end users consumption behavior to meet corporate standards – limited or no more Netflix on company devices and service plans, for instance. Such changes promote accountability and reduce, or eliminate, unnecessary charges.

Consider, too, that the MMS provider will go beyond furnishing reports that feature recommendations for any improvements. Numbers by themselves accomplish little. Numbers paired with analysis shine light on opportunities for enhancements. A trusted MMS partner takes the time to examine what report data really means, consults with clients about the findings, and takes the final steps to implement recommendations.

Overall, look for an MMS vendor that works with – that does not aim to replace – the organization’s IT professionals. A partnership between the people who know the enterprise and its culture, and the people who know how to refine and enhance mobility to create ideal business outcomes, is paramount.

Why Does MMS Matter?

True Managed Mobility Services offers much more than expense management and cost recovery; it encompasses and acts on the many facets of mobility services. This matters because MMS done right means organizations will see greater efficiency throughout their mobile environments, all while saving money, reaching important business goals, and giving internal IT teams the ability to focus on projects that produce revenue.

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One Source’s Managed Mobility Services Solution Overview