There are an increasing number of mobile services being offered for travel management programs and to business travelers themselves, most with good arguments for their implementation. But corporate IT managers are noting markedly increased telecommunications costs.
The day of reckoning is approaching. For some it's already arrived.
While 54 percent of the respondents to the 2008 Travel Program Survey conducted by BCD Travel and its Advito consulting group indicated the issue was not applicable to their situation, another 40 percent said they already play a role in purchasing and managing mobile phones and other mobile devices used by company employees. Granted, that active role runs the gamut from full responsibility, reported by 10 percent of the respondents; to being an advisor, also reported by 10 percent; to being an influencer, a role acknowledged by 20 percent of the respondents. Seven percent said they play no role in the relevant decisions.
When BCD conducts the survey next year, it very well could note a change in those proportions. Based on research by Aberdeen Group, 10 percent of corporations expect to begin implementing a wireless expense management (WEM) program this year. Sixteen percent have had such programs in operation for more than two years.
But the figures between and beyond those percentages tell the real tale. Six percent of the corporations responding to the Aberdeen survey early this year say they implemented their WEM program between 12 and 24 months ago; an equal number have been operating under their programs for less than a year.
Further back from those actually using some sort of WEM program, 4 percent say they are currently testing a program prior to implementation. Nineteen percent plan to begin implementation "in the future."
The ramp-up doesn't surprise Joe Basili, vice president of research for the Association of Telecom Management Professionals (AOTMP): "Telecom expense management is an issue that is rising to the forefront of most organizations and is their number one priority in 2008."
Luckily, business travelers aren't the only source of those skyrocketing costs, which gives many corporate travel departments time to prepare for what's to come. While travel managers aren't likely to be made wholly responsible for the development, implementation and compliance of wireless expense management (WEM) programs, they are likely to be involved. If they are not — whether by avoiding the issue or because they weren't included in the first place — travel management itself could be made more difficult.
On A Roll On The Road
Corporations worldwide have been finding valuable applications for wireless services for the past several years.
Popular as they are now, mobile services are just beginning to gain momentum in the travel industry, says Ron Reed of SITA Airport Solutions. Studies by SITA have shown that more than 90 percent of airline passengers carry some kind of mobile device. Thus, according to a survey by Airport Council International (ACI), 56 percent of respondent airlines have identified mobile check-in as a top customer service initiative for implementation over the next two years. For the airlines, it's one more facet of their struggle for productivity and profitability. Self- service check-in tools, says Reed, have improved customer service "by reallocating agents who normally would be behind check-in counters and placing them in front of the check-in counter in a concierge-type role."
That's just the beginning of airport and airline initiatives, says Reed. Now it's mobile-based check-in, security checks and boarding. "In addition, the industry can build context-rich mobile applications offering personalized services such as geo-localization, flow management, guiding the passenger throughout their airport journey, m-payment and m-wallet to improve the consumer experience and to increase awareness of service options at the airport during dwell time.
"In the future, mobiles could also become a primary channel for on-board entertainment and a way for travelers to get new entertainment services from airports beyond Wi-Fi connectivity," he says.
Within the managed travel space, the number of new applications for wireless services is also exploding. Within less than 24 months, business travelers have been enabled to double-check the time of scheduled departures, subscribe to notification services when departure is delayed and even rebook en route to the airport when it becomes necessary. Just this summer, Cybershift announced that it is making the pre-trip approval process mobile as well; not only can travelers use their Blackberrys to seek authorization for itinerary changes while en route, but their approving managers can now review and grant (or deny) subordinates' travel plans while they are on the road themselves.
Such abilities are especially important to corporations that are working to improve their communications with travelers, points out BCD, which found in its survey that 28 percent of corporations believe that communication with their business travelers is in serious need of improvement.
The situation is a double-edged sword: while communications via mobile device can be costly, failure to use the tool to communicate can cost even more if it means that travelers are not kept abreast of corporate policy concerning their purchasing decisions.
"Most companies with a global program in place see increased communication of policy and a drive to increase compliance as their key means of containing costs," says the BCD/Advito report.
Moreover, says Cybershift's Craig Fearon, studies have shown that using mobile communications can turn as much as 53 minutes of each hour of a traveler's downtime into productive activity.
It's Gonna Cost You
Hard numbers are just beginning to emerge on the ROI of embracing mobile services. Take a recent study commissioned by Brightroam, a provider of global cellular communications. The company's star product right now is an enterprise solution that uses a SIM card that can be inserted into a cell phone and thus avoid roaming fees in more than 160 countries around the world. The Brightroam study, conducted by Harris Interactive, revealed that international roaming fees can cost up to $693.50 per trip per traveler.
"The study further reveals that 15 percent of employees make at least one international trip per year," says Brightroam's GM, Jeff Wilson. "That translates into more than $950,000 annually per 10,000 employees." In fact, report the Harris researchers, 57 percent of all calls made on an international business trip are made on cell phones or smartphones.
Still 61 percent of the Brightroam respondents said they had no plans to switch international providers. One reason for that is probably because many have limited visibility into their companies' average roaming costs, hypothesizes the researchers: "Approximately one-third of the decision makers (from 34 percent to 44 percent, depending on the company size) report that their employees expense their roaming charges versus using a centralized billing system."
It's an easily-recognized mistake among travel managers long familiar with centralized billing's value in data capture. When it comes to managing telecom expenses, says Aberdeen's report "Execute on Wireless Expense Management to Drive ROI," best-in-class organizations bill 65 percent of employees wireless devices centrally, with all expenses paid by the enterprise.
How To Seize Control
Instituting centralized billing in order to begin tracking use and costs is not necessarily the first step in bringing telecom costs under control however. Both Aberdeen and Advito recommend first taking an inventory of all the wireless devices being used within a corporation. Added information gathered should focus on the relative use of those devices for voice and data transmission. While price increases for voice services have leveled off, notes Aberdeen, data service costs are still on an upward trend; that difference can be an important factor in forecasting and controlling telecom costs.
What is likely to be found, says Fearon, is that Blackberrys are the most popular choice among business travelers. That's why the first version of Cybershift's new remote pre-trip approval process has been designed for those exact instruments.
Research by Aberdeen back in February confirmed that on a broader scale. It asked 9,000 end-using organizations around the world what mobile systems were being used in their operations: 85 percent identified Blackberrys out of a field that included Windows Mobile Devices (WMDs), PalmOS, "feature" phones and SymbianOS.
The WMDs were second most popular among the possibilities, used in 59 percent of the organizations. The level of usage is likely to be nearly equal to Blackberrys by the end of this year, however: 23 percent of the survey respondents said that they were considering adding WMDs to their technological repertoires within the next 12 months. And even though SymbianOS was being used the least in February (at 23 percent of the organizations), Aberdeen pointed out that there is a significant market shift towards these devices, especially for international use. Although the WMDs held the largest growth potential, said the survey respondents, SymbianOS was their second most popular choice (at 15 percent) for purchase within the coming year.
When it actually comes time to develop an entire policy surrounding use of wireless devices, the details will be strikingly similar to travel policies, based on Aberdeen's descriptions:
• who may have a wireless device, what type and with what add-ons.
• the approval process for ordering or changing the main device as well as any services and accessories.
• how exceptions to policy will be decided.
• security procedures in the case of loss or theft.
Management activities are also similar, including:
• maintaining a centralized inventory of devices and applications.
• contract negotiations and service level agreements.
• validation of users against HR's employment records.
• standardized process for collection of data about use, down to the individual user.
• provisions for servicing, tracking and disconnecting devices, including providing help desks.
• and, of course, centralized billing.