Page 15 - Telecom Reseller JulAug 2016

July/August 2016
Telecom Reseller 15
Join the
the rami cations of circumventing the telecom tool.
Ask the
Allowing the business to innovate using
group to use or procure unauthorized and
technology does not mean that control is Telecom unapproved services were severe. e groups Telecom Pro
completely lost, though. Leading telecom that do not follow approved telecom guidelines
management philosophy that embraces the are known by many names: shadow IT/telecom,
desires of the business by partnering with Underground
phantom IT/telecom or rogue telecom users.
business unit leaders and users to understand ey are frowned upon and considered to be
opportunities and enable innovation using part of the underground movement that seeks to Q: I discovered a six- gure
technology have the agility to not only provide unravel the structure that telecom group controls.
overbilling on one of my
tailored services to the business, but they gain COLWELL
Conventional thinking is that underground telecom bills that goes back over
and maintain technical, nancial and operational groups or individuals threaten the very the past year and am having a
control by elevating visibility into all aspects of By Timothy C. Colwell, SVP existence of telecom management practices, but problem getting a credit. The
service delivery.
Ef ciency First® Adoption – conventional thinking in this instance is stale carrier told me that the FCC will not
e key to success in this model is e cient, AOTMP (www.aotmp.com)
and inhibits innovation necessary for business allow credits for more than 60 days.
e ective and agile operations. While the telecom Tacceleration.
Is this true?
underground may appear rebels, they are elecom management practices have
Con ict between the principles of control and
becoming more prevalent and adapting telecom long been the service delivery arm of
the desire for innovation is the purist’s argument A: Absolutely not. There is
management practices to facilitate and elevate the business charged with de ning, to stay the course and manage technology the not an FCC provision for only
visibility into their actions to better support
maintaining and controlling the network, same way that it has always been management; allowing credits for the past 60 days;
their innovation is next in telecom management services and costs. Historically, the business and however, the business does not want to be limited however, there may be language in
evolution. n
business users consumed approved services and
in its use of technology as a business acceleration
your contract with the carrier that
limits how far back you can obtain
credits; this is referred to as the valid
credit period. When identifying the
applicable valid credit period, start
with your contract, as contractual
terms and conditions will always
prevail. If the contract doesn’t yield
results, go next to the regulatory
body for that carrier (the state
public utility commission for LECs,
the FCC for wireless and interstate
voice and data carriers). The FCC,
for example, sets a limit of two years
for credit requests and back-billing
events. If, when dealing with a LEC,
the state PUC doesn’t provide a
de nition, check for state consumer
protection legislation regarding
valid credit periods. Lastly, check
tari s, as that language may be more
advantageous to you than what is
listed on the invoice.

Q: We are in the process of
negotiating a new contract
for data services. The last time
we went through a new contract
implementation, it took months to
gure out how to validate invoices
in the new format. Are there any
tips to prevent problems this time
around?

A: Many organizations focus on
the technical side of transition
when beginning a new service
contract, but overlooking the impact
of the new contract on nancial
validation can be detrimental. To
prevent problems with invoice Dual-WAN QoS Firewall IPv6 Ready Network VPN Management
Content Filtering
validation once this new contract
starts, take time now to negotiate Upgrade your Router!
to have a billing specialist from
the vendor sit down with you right Voice QoS, Multi WAN Redundancy, Content Filter and Network Security
away to review an invoice for the
same type of services in the same
format in which you will receive it. Your company uses the Internet for everything. Vigor 2925n
This provides you and your group
the opportunity to become familiar DrayTek routers combine two or more Internet links WAN 1
with the new invoice presentment to create a faster and more secure Internet. WAN 2
ahead of time to make adjustments
to the validation process if needed. Content Filtering prevents loss of productivity and
You will also have a chance to u
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address any problems you identify WAN 3
with the new invoice presentment .
before signing the contract, which Faster data
may lead to negotiating changes
.
to invoice presentment to support Better voice
. Business Continuity
your processes. Negotiate into
Redundant Internet and more security
your contract to then sit down
with that same dedicated billing Learn more at www.DrayTekUSA.com
specialist when you receive your rst
invoice, so that you can go through
a thorough rst bill review and
address any questions or concerns www.abptech.com | sales@abptech.com | 972.831.1600
immediately.