Business mobile devices can be a lifeline for increasing your employee productivity -but how do you realize value when the costs of managing enterprise mobility are so high?

This was the focus of a new study, released today by Cisco, in which Forrester was commissioned to survey over 300 decision makers who manage mobile devices and services within their company.

The survey reveals the core issues that lead to the increasing cost of mobility management in today's mobile first environment and how automation can optimize mobility management TCO.

To find out more, you can:

• Join our webinar with Forrester on Nov. 14 (or view on demand after) -and -
• Download the Forrester report

Beyond the bill -what's really increasing mobility TCO?

In managing a mobile workforce, subscription costs such as monthly telecom bills and overages are a central expense. But those costs make up only 33% of the typical overall mobility budget, according to Forrester's survey findings.

In the report, "Optimize Mobility Management TCO Through Automation," Forrester noted the majority of mobility expense goes into maintenance tasks like mobile services management, employee support, and managing device inventory, upgrades, and security.

The primary challenges driving up mobility TCO costs include:

• Manual processes-With too few self-serve, online tools and no way to automate processes, it takes more staff and more time to handle thousands of mobile device and service changes every month.
• Domestic and roaming overages-Without real-time visibility to monitor usage during the billing cycle, you may frequently be hit with unexpected charges. (Nearly 90% of companies see overages on their bills every year, per Forrester.)
• Unused devices-Lack of visibility into usage also means you may be paying for deployed mobile devices that aren't getting used. (Forrester found nearly 20% of devices go unused on average.)
• Costs of third-party tools-While telecom expense management (TEM) or managed mobility services (MMS) vendors alleviate part of your internal support burden, they can add to the already high mobility TCO. (High TEM/MMS costs are the second biggest challenge in reducing mobility TCO, per Forrester.)

Automating away the costs of mobility management

Whether your employees have spikes in mobile data usage, travel into new regions or countries, or leave the company, automating your mobility management can help you dramatically lower TCO. Automation transforms how you manage mobility, accelerating processes and reducing the cost of monthly telecom services, device management, and reporting.

To learn more, join us on our webinar on Nov. 14, "Optimize Mobility TCO with Automation" (or view on demand after). Hear from Michele Pelino, Principal Analyst at Forrester on what's impacting your mobility costs and how automation can solve your challenges. You'll also see how to automate your mobility management with Cisco Jasper's innovative platform, Control Center for Mobile Enterprise.