Central Controls

Whoever is in charge of cell phone administration will spend considerable time answering calls from employees about lost or stolen devices. Fruzzetti contacts Verizon Wireless for replacements. “Sometimes it’s a bit more work for me but I much prefer that versus having to deal with 50 different accounts,” Fruzzetti notes. “I can deal directly with Verizon Wireless for support or plan changes. I don’t have to go through the employees. We probably get better service in general because we have someone we work with on a regular basis, rather than having individual employees calling an 800 number.”

Summit Fire Protection keeps some replacement devices on hand at its headquarters location, which means people based in that office can get a temporary replacement right away.

Wireless administrators also need to field requests from employees who ask for replacements after a device is a couple of years old, even if the device is still functional. To do his or her job effectively, a company’s wireless administrator should have clear guidelines in place about how often employees can get a new phone—and what type of device is appropriate for each type of employee.

Both EMC Paradigm Publishing and Summit Fire Protection make that determination based on an employee’s job function. Most EMC employees get Razrs, but Fruzzetti says account managers typically require data devices. At Summit Fire, installers get a Sprint push-to-talk phone. “In the office, the senior project managers and division managers are using Treos,” Rubald says, referring to a smartphone manufactured by Palm. “Everyone else gets a regular cell phone.”

Companies may be able to minimize the amount of time an administrator spends managing wireless devices by outsourcing some of the responsibility. Wireless operators are famous for introducing new plans at an astonishing rate, and consulting firms can also help their clients keep abreast of new developments.

“If a company is working with us, we do an audit for them,” Alexander says. “We use our customer management software to remind us to periodically do an audit on these accounts and proactively bring that information to them.”

Third-party software is also available to help a company’s wireless administrator. Software solutions—available from eOnTheGo in California, Virginia-based Rivermine, and Tangoe in Connecticut—may help in tracking cell phone inventory, analyzing bills by department or type of device, highlighting any escalating costs, or automatically posting the bill to an accounting system. Some offerings are available on a hosted basis, minimizing or eliminating the need for a company to devote IT resources to software management.