Telecommunications Department Management

1
Chapter 15

• Telecommunications Department Management

2
Need for Proactive Telecom Management

• 1. Telecom is a strategic asset
• Visible to company management
• 2. Telecom industry competition creates choices
• Choose technology your company needs
• 3. Voice and data communication systems are
  merging
• Added complexity requires planning and control
• 4. Networks are evolving
• Require new outlook on management
• 5. More money is spent on telecom now
• Significant part of corporate budgets

3
Where the Telecom Department Fits in a Company

• Originally only voice communications
• Reliable - did not require too much maintenance
• Phone company provided expertise to find business
  solutions
• No special department for voice communication
  responsibility
• Data communications had fast growth
• Business solutions more diverse and complex than
  for voice

4
Old-Style Organization
5
Where the Telecom Department Fits in a Company

• Companies starting to combine voice and data
  system responsibility in one department
• Main reasons for combining
• Efficiency
• Productivity
• Cost
• Main obstacle is political
• Voice and data in separate departments have
  separate budgets, people, etc.
• Department managers gain/lose power

6
Organization After Merging Voice and Data
Communications
7
Where the Telecom Department Fits in a Company

• Where should the telecommunications department
  go?
• Under Administration?
• Under Information Systems?
• Under some other department?
• In a department by itself?

8
Where the Telecom Department Fits in a Company

• Reasons to merge voice group with data group
  under Information Systems department
• IS department has a history of handling technical
  problems
• Easier for data communications people to learn
  voice communications than the other way
• Facilities needed for a PBX already exist in the
  computer room
• More efficient for companies to concentrate their
  technical people responsible for communications
  in one department
• In large organizations Information Systems (or
  similar) department is formed
• Head of IS sometimes called Chief Information
  Officer (CIO)
• Sometimes CIO is a Vice President
• Examples Insurance, Banking, Airline industries

9
Separate Information Systems Dept.
10
Organization When Telecom is of Strategic
Importance
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Telecom Department Functions

• Design and implement new facilities and services
• Network operations and technical support
• Administrative support
• Clerical support to telecom department
• Arrange for modifications
• User registration
• User training

12
Telecom Management Responsibilities

• Management functions
• Staffing
• Organization
• Planning
• Directing
• Controlling
• The need for good management skills has only
  recently been recognized in many companies

13
Staffing

• Difficult function for managers
• Only recently have colleges introduced programs
  educating people for telecom careers
• Easier to obtain the right mix of skills in a
  larger telecom department
• Smaller department can augment skills with
  consultants

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Telecom Manager

• Skills
• Visualizes how telecom can solve business
  problems
• Communicates well
• Grasps technical subjects
• Credentials
• Good planner and decision maker
• College degree in management, telecom, or
  engineering

15
Designers and Implementers

• Skills
• Good understanding of communication systems
• Creative
• Understand project management
• Good communications skills
• Credentials
• Usually have 4-year degree

16
Network Operations Staff

• Skills
• Service oriented
• Often interfaces with others
• Good communication skills
• Understand network hardware and software
• Credentials
• Usually 4 or 2-year degree
• Sometimes high school diploma

17
Technical Support Staff

• Skills
• Understand hardware and software
• Analytical problem solvers
• Credentials
• Usually a 4-year degree

18
Planning

• Essential to plan activities to best utilize
  budget and personnel

19
Long Range Plan

• Put together by telecom manager
• Covers 3 to 5 year

20
Medium Range Plan

• More detailed than long range plan
• Show starting and ending times for all projects
• Gantt chart

21
Gantt Chart Used for Medium-Range Plan
22
Project Plan

• Detailed plan of a project
• Manhours, cost, people resources

23
More Detailed Project Plan Schedule
24
Controlling

• Financial controls
• Budget, costs, income
• Quality controls
• Should have standards of performance
• Need ways to assess how close you come to the
  standards
• Audits
• Need to periodically check how well you are doing
  and review control procedures
• Sometimes done by internal or external auditors
• Many times auditors have little or no telecom
  experience
• Management of audited department usually needs to
  respond to the audit

25
Telecom Audit Checklist
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Other Management Issues

• Selling the telecom department capabilities
• Some companies see the telecom department as
  overhead
• Focus on cost control, saving money
• Other companies see the value of the telecom
  department as a profit center
• Examples banks, airlines
• Transnational data flow
• Must be aware of laws and regulations affecting
  data moving across international borders

27
Telecom Management Trends

• From Teleconnect Magazine in 1996
• 1. Large companies still separate voice and data
• 2. Telecom department staffing levels will tend
  to be constant
• Productivity needs to increase
• 3. Telephone call charges must be tracked
• Control costs
• 4. Outsourcing of service and maintenance
• 5. Managers dissatisfied with service from
  vendors
• 6. Video conferencing increasing
• Schools and hospitals lead the way

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Telecom Management Trends 2003

• Teleconferencing with email and attachments.
• More merging of voice and data.
• Decrease in staffing levels with increase in
  productivity.
• Outsourcing is being replaced by increases in
  productivity.
• Increase in research investment.
• Flat fee pricing more prevalent.
• Managers working more closely with vendors as
  partners.