Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (TEMIA) Offers Webcast on Service Level Agreements for Enterprises

NAPERVILLE, IL, December 07, 2010 (Press-News.org) The Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (TEMIA) (http://www.temia.org), the authoritative voice for the Telecom Expense Management (TEM) industry, announced that it is offering a webcasts for enterprises, government, and other organizations interested in learning about TEM best practices. These webcasts will feature different members of the association speaking on a range of topics which shall include information for organizations that are seeking to learn about telecom expense management solutions. Some of the material will include best practices for a successful TEM program implementation; Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); standards and benchmarks; overcoming the challenges of international TEM programs; wireless and mobility management for smart phones, PDAs, and mobile computing; inventory management; financial management; and other subjects that will respond to areas that enterprises want to learn about.

The next webcast titled, What You Need to Know about TEM Service Level Agreements, is Wednesday, December 15 at 12 PM Eastern Standard Time. Whether you are evaluating a TEM solution, you just bought a solution or you have one and you are seeking to improve performance, you need to think about Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Do not attempt to use standard boilerplate language from your lawyers. SLAs for TEM need to reflect the unique nature of TEM engagements. The presenters will also discuss outside pressures that drive TEM solutions. The objectives for this presentation include dispelling common misconceptions regarding SLAs and providing best practices for SLAs. Enterprises should register online for these webcasts at http://tiny.cc/p2j51.

Don Hobbs, product director of telecom services for Advantage IQ (http://www.advantageiq.com), a featured speaker for the upcoming webinar and TEMIA member, explains, "SLAs are critical to the success of a TEM engagement for both the client and the TEM provider. Hobbs added, "SLAs with carriers for telecom services and SLAs with providers of TEM/WEM services are very different. One relates to performance of the communications environment, the other relates to business processes associated with that environment. As a result, selecting what to include in contracts, performance measures, reporting and remedies will vary. SLAs should promote positive outcomes for both parties because client protection is just a fallback position."

Ken Vanderhorst, vice president of sales and marketing for Comstructure. (http://www.comstructure.com), a featured speaker for the upcoming webinar and TEMIA members stated, "SLAs are absolutely essential to an effective and successful TEM implementation, moreover the actionable consequences of not performing to measurable SLAs provide additional 'motivation' to ensure that the TEM provider delivers on their SLAs as promised. In other words, the promise of the SLA is only as good as the ability to deliver on it and the willingness to financially back the promise to do so."

The upcoming webcasts will focus on fulfilling TEMIA's central mission of promoting the value of telecom expense management through education and marketing. One of the greatest challenges reported by TEM firms is lack of knowledge. TEMIA member companies are well positioned to address best practices, performance metrics, industry standards, and KPIs with member companies that are able to draw on experiences managing over $36 billion in telecom expenses on behalf of clients.

Enterprises should register today for the webinar on SLAs at http://tiny.cc/p2j51 or go to the TEMIA website (http://www.temia.org/resources/webcasts) to register for this webinar and other upcoming webinars.

TEMIA, the Telecom Expense Management Industry Association, was founded in 2007 by the country's largest Telecom Expense Management (TEM) service providers. TEMIA's mission is to raise awareness and knowledge of the values and benefits of TEM solutions, to improve the quality and value of TEM solutions through the development and promotion of industry standards, and industry knowledge among TEM providers, business partners, telecom service providers, and enterprise clients. Enterprises should ask if TEM providers are members of TEMIA because:
- Members are committed to integrity with a rigorous Ethics Code
- TEMIA's open industry standards improve program performance for customers
- Membership shows financial stability
- Membership shows maturity/resources to work with a trade association
- Members are investing in the future of the industry
For more information about TEMIA, please visit, http://www.temia.org/ or contact info@temia.org.