Communications issues faced by the enterprise

Today, organizations of all sizes use business communications systems, mobile phones and other portable wireless devices for improved responsiveness to customers. Wireless devices are common as more front-line sales and service employees need to communicate in real-time with clients, suppliers and other employees. The lack of functional bridges between the office communications infrastructure and the mobile environment causes numerous problems for mobile employees, their organization and their customers resulting in communications delays that slow down the speed of business.

The typical worker gets 20 to 30 voicemails every day and it takes 3 calls on average to connect after every missed call!

Recurring Problems • Multiple contact numbers • Frequent missed calls • Voice mail jail • Multiple voice mail boxes • Expensive and/or unavailable conferencing • Unresponsive support • Slow, unresolved escalations • Non-access to voicemail or e-mail • Phone interrupts in meetings • Delays in meeting set up • Tele-workers without full corporate communications • Uncontrolled, ad-hoc device and service deployments

Organizations are spending in excess of $100,000 per year on wireless communications services for every 100 employees. Yet many do not have control over the deployment of the mobile devices, carrier services, or the ability to optimize the use of the multiple networks available for communications.

With the intention of making the mobile worker more productive, most are equipped with as many as three telephone numbers on which they may be called (office, home office, mobile phone), each with its own voicemail system. Many also carry a pager or a hand held device such as a WiFi PDA or RIM Blackberry in addition to their desktop or notebook computer with Internet service.

Numerous carrier services, such as monthly cellular airtime packages, long distance services, wireless and landline voicemail, call features such as call display, call forward, "follow me services" and the like are purchased on an ad hoc basis by the enterprise, the mobile worker (or both).

The networks over which the devices communicate such as corporate 1-800 numbers (which are "toll free" to the caller but not toll free to the enterprise), corporate landlines, public landlines, cellular networks, Internet and WiFi networks are used indiscriminately, without regard to the cost effectiveness of the network used.

Problems include:

• Many missed calls because customers, suppliers and employees don't know which phone number to call to reach the mobile employee (office extension, home office or cell phone)
• Unnecessary voicemail jail as mobile users attempt to connect with callers after missing the original call attempt
• Wasted time and wireless usage expense caused by constant call-ins to check voicemail by out-of-office employees
• Wireless use and usage are exploding with limited corporate ability to control costs
• Excessive wireless usage charges caused by wireless calls that could have used the corporate network while the user is at the office or their home office and between employees - for instance most corporations pay negotiated long distance (LD) rates of less than 5 cents per minute compared to wireless LD rates that are often 20 cents or more per minute
• Large administrative effort required by front-line mobile staff and managers to submit, approve and pay monthly wireless expenses through T&L expense management process
• No central access to critical mobile information results in an inability to control mobile communications expenses and make proper decisions in the deployment and use of mobile devices and services.
• Limited ability to budget or track wireless expenses results in an inability to control mobile communications expenses and make proper decisions in the deployment and use of mobile devices and services
• No corporate visibility into overall wireless spending equates to limited accountability and limited ability to negotiate reduced corporate wireless rates or apply bulk purchasing power
• Limited ability to enforce corporate policies regarding wireless equipment, expense guidelines or entitlement

blueButler - the ultimate communications efficiency solution

blueButler is a suite of unique and powerful communications efficiency applications. It is designed to accelerate business processes for the enterprise in order to drive revenue, improve service delivery, customer retention and competitiveness. blueButler is a new and innovative enterprise software platform that seamlessly enables communications efficiency across your entire workforce wherever they may be, using your existing and ever evolving communications infrastructure. blueButler ensures your entire organization gets the maximum benefit of the latest communications efficiencies regardless of the equipment, network services or communications devices you now or in future choose to deploy.