Few organizations run a footprint as sprawling as a national healthcare provider’s. This client operates a large network of clinics across the United States that need always-on connectivity: circuits that keep patient records moving, wireless routers that keep sites online, and the smartphones and tablets care teams rely on every day.
That footprint never stands still. The provider’s clinic network is constantly in motion, bringing new carriers, contracts, and circuits into the fold. Every closure or relocation risks leaving behind services that keep billing. With tens of millions in telecom spend moving through the organization each year, small errors compound fast.
At the same time, several major fixed and mobile contracts were approaching renewal, highlighting a separate issue. After years with the same carriers, the relationships had settled into complacency. Service was slipping, and the client had little leverage to change that on their own.
The provider, a long-time customer of Tangoe’s, made the next step a natural one. Day to day, the provider’s telecom expenses run through Tangoe’s telecom expense management platform, Tangoe One Telecom. Invoices are processed, audited, and paid through the platform, and telecom services are tracked across their full lifecycle from order to disconnect. A Tangoe analyst works directly with the provider’s team to keep approvals moving, and monthly calls and strategic reviews keep both sides in sync on priorities and savings opportunities.
When the renewals approached, Tangoe Advisory Services (TAS) stepped in. An initial assessment identified millions of dollars in potential savings, and Tangoe’s fee model, tied directly to savings delivered, made the decision easy.
The TAS team benchmarked the provider’s rates, ran a competitive process across carriers, and negotiated multiple fixed and mobile agreements – carrying each all the way to signature-ready terms for the provider’s legal team.
Negotiated savings identified by Tangoe’s advisory team total approximately $290k monthly – $3.5 million annually across both fixed services and mobile. This includes everything from smartphones and tablets to wireless routers that keep clinics connected. The ongoing lifecycle and audit program adds to that total. In a single six-month period, the program delivered more than $400,000 in realized savings. Many findings came from exactly the kind of issue a changing footprint creates: circuits still billing at sites that had closed. A comprehensive audit caught them, confirmed they were no longer needed, and got them disconnected and credited.
Savings are only half the story. Reliability is the other. In a recent six-month period, less than 0.001% of the telecom spend moving through Tangoe One Telecom went to late fees. For an organization managing millions in invoices over a nationwide footprint, that’s the difference between a process that runs itself and one that constantly needs rescuing.
New technology, freed-up teams, and a carrier reset
Access to new technology. Through the engagement, Tangoe worked with one of the provider’s carriers to identify which routers and other equipment, not just phones, could run on a priority-access wireless service, and walked through the pricing models available within the service. With those two pieces in hand, a service the provider had only considered for a smaller subset of their enterprise services, became a practical option across its connectivity footprint.
Freedom to focus on strategy. With Tangoe handling invoice audits, lifecycle management, and contract negotiations, the provider’s internal teams have more time and budget to put toward strategic technology initiatives across the organization.
A better carrier experience. Competition changed the tone of the provider’s carrier relationships. Carriers vying for the business brought renewed energy and stronger service commitments. Through the negotiation, Tangoe secured carrier SLAs with firmer uptime guarantees.
The partnership continues to evolve. As the provider’s footprint shifts, the program adapts alongside it, keeping costs, services, and inventory aligned.
More than 15 years in, the partnership is still finding new value. Find what’s hiding in your IT spend – talk to Tangoe today.
