Phillip RedmanIt’s nothing new: everyone wants more choice and that includes what mobile device they want to use also. Mobile handheld devices span both corporate and personal uses so it’s only natural as more choices emerged that individuals would want to bring their own device (BYOD) to work. Apple iPhone has generally been that choice and will be for 2012 also. Companies aren’t doing this to save money, but many hope that by also moving from corporate to individual-liable services there will be cost savings, which as we’ve said in the past–isn’t true.
But one things companies can do to help keep costs down, is do a better job of negotiating rates for their non-liable employees. I’ve been assessing cellular contracts for years, and I’ve been mostly focusing on the direct costs to the enterprise through corporate-liable users. Family and friends rates weren’t something I paid much attention too because it didn’t heavily impact the spend of the company. It was a nice perk to help lower costs for employee relations. But as more companies are moving to provide reimbursements and stipends to their employees versus being directly billed, getting those discounts for individual-liable users becomes more important. The good news is that terms are getting better for these types of users, at least in the United States, because carriers see the number of corporate-liable users diminishing. Carriers will negotiate terms for individual-liable users just like they will for corporate-liable, and enterprises should start spending more time negotiating for both types of accounts.
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Category: Apple Mobile Device Management Networks mobile phones mobility management wireless carriers Tags: mobile policy
