Government entities have their own unique problems when addressing telecommunications asset management today. The structure and use of government telecommunications services are not limited to day-to-day use. Many federal, state, county, and municipal government agencies install and remove assets on an as needed basis, to address programs and services that may not be of long duration. We see such activities relating to E-911, disaster preparedness, as well as services that are temporary; addressing the needs of entities such as FEMA or other emergency management operations. This is an area where telecommunications assets tend to remain in place long after services are no longer needed or used. It is a common problem, requiring great amounts of time to research and identify.
Telecommunications expenses are not limited to "services." Many government entities have operated under protocols that required leased or rented hardware in the past. Many accounts payable personnel may not realize that specific charges on monthly invoices include rental and lease payments for hardware that is no longer in service or, has been rented or leased for longer than is realistic. At first blush, renting phones and key systems seems economical, on a short-term basis, but we have seen such activity result in payments exceeding multiple times the actual value of the equipment. Renting or leasing allows for short-term impact on limited budgets, but there are other ways to structure these costs, which will minimize long-term financial bleed to limited governmental budgets. This problem has been inherent to government purchasing activity for many decades. There are avenues that can be taken to rectify this problem, without the need for a large, up-front investment of capital.
In past government audits, we identified antiquated purchasing patterns involving hardware and lease-finance arrangements, long outdated and erroneous. This is complicated further by the constant "upgrading" many government entities undertake to remain within federal or state mandates, creating situations where government clients are being invoiced for equipment that may no longer "exist."
Government entities are not too dissimilar from enterprise clients. We perform the same fundamental services such as
Rationalization of your telecommunications cost structure reduces capital requirements and helps optimize the efficient deployment of tax and bond revenues. Use the "contact us" form to initiate a dialogue by clicking here. Most questions can be addressed via email.