Kiwi companies unite to reduce phone bills

Telcos might be quaking in their boots at the sight of a partnership that could help corporates get a grip on their telecommunications spending.

Kiwi companies Mobile Mentor and ZiCi have combined their respective expertise into a cellphone account management service.

ZiCi specialises in fixed-line telecommunications expense management, but has adapted to the mobile space by building a "plug-in" for Mobile Mentor's mobile management software that is resold through IBM and Vodafone.

The plug-in will enable ZiCi to analyse individual cellphone use, collate billing data and report back detailed information such as spend per department, per user type or per cost centre.

Mobile Mentor has made a name for itself helping executives figure out the technological bells and whistles on everything from Nokias to iPhones to Blackberrys.

The firm has mentored more than 100,000 customers to give them a better understanding of their devices and the growing range of mobile applications.

Mobile Mentor chief executive Denis O'Shea says the firm soon realised companies were struggling to manage their spend.

"We're trying to find areas where they can make savings and just get more efficient and smart about the way they manage the whole cost equation." He says he estimates cost savings in the order of 1 per cent compounding month on month.

"That saving comes from the fact that we're going to take the support workload out of the company, we're going to find savings in their spend, and we're going to manage all their mobile hardware repairs and replacements more efficiently than they can.

"Previously this level of end-to-end service management, reporting and insights was not available in New Zealand."

Mobile Mentor has struck success in Brazil, where it is 2 1/2 years into a five-year $50 million contract to mentor customers of Telecom Italia, and it has recently signed a deal with China's second largest mobile operator, UniCom.

Mr O'Shea says the evolution of mobile technology is progressing quickly. Companies and individuals now expect a full-service approach towards mobile technology.

"We expect that the mobile will become more and more important as an extension of the IT environment for companies, which means that people will expect to have a lot of their internet functions, work processes and work tools available on the mobile."

Mr O'Shea estimates about 20 per cent of New Zealand's mobiles are smartphones such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Google Androids. He expects about 70 to 80 per cent of the population to have smartphones in three or four years.

- © Fairfax NZ News