Dallas-Based TAG Reaches Across the Globe to Partner With Ezwim

DALLAS -

- Partnership enables U.S. based organizations to gain control over rapidly increasing global wireless communication costs

As if the recession wasn’t bad enough … the iPhone, BlackBerry and other mobile devices are chipping away at corporate bottom lines.

Multi-nationals are overspending millions because management of international based mobiles is perceived as just too complicated.

According to TAG (www.i-tag.net/), a U.S.-based telecom expense management company with Fortune 500 clients, several factors are to blame:

– The rapid unmonitored proliferation of mobile phones as a business device … with companies lacking a centralized tool to evaluate and control costs — Personal use on corporate mobile devices is more common than ever — Data (texts, e-mail, downloads between and to devices) is a growing cost category — Overages occur for multiple billing periods unchecked or uncorrected — Privacy laws, worker unions, language barriers, and currency conversions add to the complexity

TAG founder and CEO Dieter Thompson (www.i-tag.net/Bio/Management/Thompson_Bio.htm) says U.S. multinationals have been slow to react to the growing problem. “Wireless technology is nothing new to the enterprise, but tracking the expenses of those technologies has become more challenging as wireless devices have evolved from simple text and voice services to enterprise computing assets,” Thompson explains.

But a joint effort between TAG and Netherlands-based global telecom leader Ezwim (www.ezwim.com/) is ready to solve that problem by offering U.S.-based multinationals a service that European companies have successfully used for the last decade.

“The basic problem that multinationals face is that it is hard for them to understand and manage their total cost of mobile communications,” said Ron van Valkengoed, CEO of Ezwim.

“In Western Europe many multinationals are seeing the benefit of central management of telecommunications as complexity is growing and the Ezwim services were developed to provide them with a truly global service. It addresses their need of insight and control of telecommunications with advanced reporting and management tools while being in compliance with local regulation around data protection, security and fiscal aspects. We are very proud of our partnership with TAG. The Ezwim Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offers TAG’s customers the best service in terms of functionality, usabilility, performance and TCO,” van Valkengoed adds.

RECENT STUDY, HISTORICAL DATA VALIDATES FINDINGS

A 2009 Aberdeen study (www.prweb.com/releases/2009/02/prweb2025854.htm) sponsored by TAG validates the historical data TAG and Ezwim have collected in their case studies, as well as their general findings regarding wireless expense management.

According to the study, “Mobile services are becoming increasingly complicated. As the cell phone has transformed into a smart phone, new sets of services are available that were not before on previous bills.

These services can include location based services (LBS), mobile data connections, mobile applications, photo capabilities, and mobile messaging capabilities. As these charges have joined the already-numerous line items related to domestic voice, long distance, international roaming, text messaging, phone features, and related taxes and surcharges, wireless invoices have steadily grown in their size and scope.”

“TAG mobility expert David Schofield (www.i-tag.net/Bio/Management/Schofield_Bio.htm) agrees that U.S. multinationals are missing an opportunity to save millions of dollars and maintain those savings. “What used to be a very time consuming and painstaking process puts each region on a single reporting platform, and is made easy with a centralized technology solution implementing ISO 27001 for information security,” he explains. “We are really excited about the potential of our relationship with Ezwim to mirror the success and savings European-based corporations have realized the last several years. Clients start saving with this solution and manage to avoid going back in time by keeping this solution in place through operational management excellence.”

About TAG

Dallas-based TAG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, specializes in the procurement of telecommunications services including voice, data, wireless, internet, local, and international services for national and multi-national companies. TAG’s mission is to provide its clients with a maximum return for their telecommunications investment. TAG’s people, process and proprietary tools help clients achieve savings and optimal performance for the duration of their telecommunications contract.

About EZWIM

Ezwim, a global leader in Telecom Management provides Telecom Expense Management and Telecom Service Management software to enterprises and operators. Ezwim’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution enables global organizations to gain visibility into, and control over, the mobile and fixed communications assets and costs. Ezwim services enable dramatic telecom cost reductions and process efficiencies.

Source: TAG

Amy Power of TAG, +1-214-693-2146, amy at powerpublicrelations.com; or Wendy van Meer, Marketing Manager of Ezwim, +31-(0)20-888-4388, wvanmeer at ezwim.com