Posted: May 25th, 2022

Evaluating the Virtual Analyzer software

Information Technology to Transform a Company

Transform Company

Before going into the factors that are holding back Teltron from growth, it is worthwhile to have a brief introduction in the realm of Telecom Expense Management –TEM on which this Case Study is based. Spiraling growth in telecom services, features, and vendors along with the deregulation in the telecom industry have made contract documents complicated, pricing programs, processes and billing. This apart, financial constrains have resulted in customer service getting compromised, lack of accuracy in billing, and reporting from telecom service providers. In this backdrop, inaccuracies as also opportunities for optimizing services happen frequently. Presently, font ranking companies are adopting TEM solutions as best practices. Major opportunities are in store to lower costs, enhance service levels and allay risks. The general benefits of TEM include (i) lowering invoice processing and payment costs (ii) make late fees a thing of the past, supplicate payments and excess payments (iii) locate unauthorized, pointless, and unused services (iv) assure contract compliance and recovery of errors in billing (v) achieve control, visibility and responsibility on all expenses (vi) strike and maintain precise telecom inventory (vii) optimize asset and usage utilization (viii) control buying power and bargain for the best rates (ix) raise the capacity of staff and realign to strategic goals. (Cass Information Systems Inc., 2007)

1. What factors are holding Teletron back from growth? Where are Teletrona’s growth opportunities?

Tim Lybrook’s role as the consultant to the resort industry was reviewing the cost structure of his clients spotted gross inaccuracies in their telephone bills which went up to 30%. Tim found that the factors responsible for the errors are complexity of bills, organizational size, service diversity levels and most importantly errors on the part of service providers. Teletron started targeting customers in the U.S. between $10,000 & $5, 00,000 monthly on telecom services. In the initial stages, Teltron was performing exceedingly well finding out inaccuracies in bills, compiling the savings thereof and invoicing the customers accordingly for the fee. However, the major factor which was holding Teletron back from growth was that the company was unable to garner repeat business from the same client which is very important for profitability. In an effort the workforce tried to solicit a longer-term relationship with the client, auditing their bills regularly, but the clients were not keen to accept this extra service. (DeHayes, 2003)

Majority of the client relationship with the company endured within 6 months to a year and the company was required to hunt for new client regularly which made a dent in its profitability. It was at this juncture that Teletron had doubts if the company could continue to grow under the present business model. There was a 90% customer shake up, needing costly customer acquisition process. When the carriers rectified the mistakes, majority of Teletron customers had a feeling that they no more required the services of the company. Besides, several other companies engaged the services of other persons to locate billing errors in order to keep the entire savings instead of sharing the savings with Teletron. Apart from that, Tim discovered that the entire process of auditing was time consuming one. The growth opportunities of the company lay in its ability to interpret telecom bills, locate errors, make a comparison of the contracts and tariffs with the present invoices and deal with telecom providers. Tim regarded this proficiency to be made applicable equally well to the local, long distance, wireless, Internet and data markets also. (DeHayes, 2003)

2. Evaluate the Virtual Analyzer software vs. The needs heard in the market.

Broadly Teletron’s Virtual Analyser has six major modules matching with the market requirements. These are Client Information Mgt., Move, Add & Change (MAC) processing, Vendor Invoice Processing & Vendor Invoice Payment; Invoice Analyser, Rate Optimizer and Industry Information Mgt. As against this, the exacting needs of the market are (i) customers require better access to provider plans and contracts and they do not have enough knowledge regarding the products they are buying. They use a lot of provider plans or contracts each different in their own way. (ii) Customers require assistance in vendor invoice processing and payment and they require collecting all the bills for analysis in the first stage. A lot of customers need an interface for the company’s account payable system. (iii) Customer needs a central contact point for making changes and providing attention of the daily duties to make data up-to-date such as move, add of change in the most cost effective manner. Customers will be happy if the change were subsequently updated in the total inventory list of telecom services. (DeHayes, 2003) iv) Customers need data on expense management which is Teletron’s bread and butter. Skill is required to completely analyze the data leading to realization of savings in costs. Some companies engage the services of other people to undertake the auditing or use Teletron’s services. (v) Inventory Mgt: Almost all the customers have huge problems in tracking the equipment and features deployed in every part of their telecom environment. They are required to have information on every telecom services used at each site. These services consist of the features, the service provider extending the service, the accounts which the service provider charges for the service, and the devices made use of for providing the service. (vi) Finally customers have a real need for some sort of analytical potential. Some of the reports which they need are usage studies, service assessment and recommendations, market comparisons with other companies to determine whether they are getting a good rate, vendor analysis to find out if they are having the ideal vendors, and also risk assessment. (DeHayes, 2003)

Concurrently, it is also important for companies to give exposure to Telecom Expense Management Training which will equip the workforce in control of telecom expenses of their companies. Through analysis of long distance bill with contract one can learn more than cost per minute. Learning auditing frame relay bills, comparing them to contracts, learning the components of frame and the manner in which these costs must be billed, analyze data and check for accuracy levels. Besides auditing Internet invoices and basic wireless bills to recover savings and maintenance contracts and review of fundamental problem solving techniques will also help in the long-term. (Auditel Inc., 2003)

It is a fact that wireless voice communications averaging $75 per use monthly in U.S. companies and up to twice than that for data services such as wireless e-mail and Internet access. A lot of these companies are turning to these packages to assist them to put a check on their telecom costs, according to VP, Forrester Research. Capital One, Best Buy and Ikon Office Solutions are some of the few business that apply telecom expense management software to look after their wireless program, in the opinion of software vendors and media coverage. For example, the result of an audit found that Sodexho — the catering and facilities management giant had nearly 500 idle or sparingly used telephones and no official policy for procurement and managing wireless devices. (Bennett, 2006)

3. What additional information would be useful to Tim in order to make a final decision?

Comprehending all the aspects of the proposed usefulness of the Virtual Analyzer covered in the six modules, it would be useful for Tim to be aware if the customer will be willing to buy the commercial software to help them manage their problems. Customers might refrain from buying Virtual Analyzer and otherwise employ their internal system development departments to design an in-house system. They might even prefer to continue doing such manually or hire the services of an outside operator. It would also be useful in gathering information if Teletron is the first company to hit upon the idea of using Information Technology to transform a company in the realm of Telecom Expense Mgt. so that he might enjoy being the first mover advantage. The details of competitors of Teletron and the services they extend are required to be known at the minutest level so that Teletron can be different in service delivery mechanism. (DeHayes, 2003)

4. Financially evaluate the proposed change in the business model

It is seen that the market is very gigantic. The uncovered telecom cost management market is poised to rise from less than $2 billion to more than 45 billion by 2005 which is a 25% compound annual growth rate — CARG. The market is marked by the absence of any major player and hence in case the company is able to corner a mere 5% of that market which is achievable, then that is going to translate into a huge sales scope. The company will able to witness massive growth and meet the $100 million revenue earnings objective in 7 years. Looking at the size of the market, it is just a fraction of the $5 billion market that is needed to come to the 2006 target revenue. However, it going to be difficult in attaining that magic figure since in attaining that changeover in business model, the company has to spend more than $9 million. And this money is required to be raised from the market as the company does not generate this amount of revenue either from profits or from internal accruals. (DeHayes, 2003)

5. What should Tim do now?

After taking into account all the known and understood pros and cons, there are some points on which Tim has to take action. These are (i) the manner in which to raise capital needed either through fresh issue of shares or depend on Venture Capital — VC funding. In case his project is a runaway success, he will definitely get more doses of VC funding, however any failure will ruin him. He has to use a number of channel partners like sales forces, territory wise, and websites to sell the software to various customers. (DeHayes, 2003)

6. Prepare the presentation Tim should make to the board.

A i) Ladies and Gentlemen, I take this opportunity to present before you our breakthrough product the Virtual Analyzer that consists of six major modules-each serving a unique area of problem faced by customer in realm of TEM. Slides containing the brief features of the modules are shown. As you are aware, the market size is huge. According to Gartner-Dataquest estimates, the addressable telecom cost management is poised to rise from a little under $2 billion presently to more than $5 billion by the year 2005 which translates to a CAGR of 26%. The market is fragmented with virtually no dominant player and hence there is tremendous scope for growth. In case our company is able to corner just 5% of that market, it will translate into a massive sales opportunity. We can grow to the revenue target of $100 million which I have fixed to reach in a timeframe of 7 years. Besides, cost management is just one aspect of the functions which Virtual Analyzer — VA will provide our clients. (DeHayes, 2003) ii) a continuous income stream as an Application Service Provider — ASP is assured because of the annuity value. While we wish the client to use the VA modules as a single package, customers can pick and choose among various services but he must at least subscribe to the Client Information Management and Vendor Invoice Processing and Vendor Invoice Payment modules so that he is able to enjoy the important benefits of the VA system. To be more specific, Ladies and Gentlemen, the price will be based on the size of the company and the quantity of modules they select to use. Bigger companies making use of modules would be billed about 2% of their monthly telecom cost whereas smaller companies using all the modules would be levied close to 6% of their monthly telecom cost. (DeHayes, 2003)

Hence it is my expectation that our average customer revenue to be nearly $25.000 monthly which approximately 4% of their average monthly telecom bill. At this juncture, it will be realistic to disclose that our project will take the remaining part of this year, the entire next year and will be ready for alpha and beta testing by initial part of the year 2001. Therefore we will be able to earn any revenue from VA after 2002 onwards. Therefore any revenue till that period will come from maintaining our old business model. It is my anticipation that the net investment to achieve this change is going to cost us more than $9 million spread out over 1999 through 2001. Moreover, we have to take into account extra costs for improvements between $1 million and $3 million every year onwards. But I consider that we will be able to record revenue target coming from this new business model. It is my hunch that generating $100 million revenue with almost $50 million in EBITDA is practicable achievable. Looking at the size of the market, we require a miniscule proportion of the $5 billion market to hit the 2006 target revenue. It will really be demanding for a $7 million company to spend more than million. Hence we will have to raise that much of money as we at Teletron do not generate that amount of money. Thank you all. (DeHayes, 2003)

Reference

Auditel Inc. (2003) “Telecom Expense Management Training -Phase III” Retrieved 4 May, 2007 at http://www.auditelinc.com/Telecommunications_Training_Phase_III.aspx

Bennett, Elizabeth. (2006, Aug) “Taming the Wireless Beast.” Baseline. Retrieved 4 May, 2007 at http://www.rivermine.com/articles/Baseline_Sodexho_article.pdf

Cass Information Systems Inc. (2007) “Telecom Expense Mgt” Retrieved 4 May, 2007 at http://www.cassinfo.com/casstelecom/expensemgmt.html

DeHayes, Daniel W. (2003) “Teletron, Inc.: Using Information Technology to transform a company” Case Study.

TRANSFORM COMPANY”

---

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

 

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

---