TEM programs once concerned themselves specifically to the telecom lines and bills of an enterprise. As the telecommunications world has expanded so has the discipline, and a number of sub-practices now fall under the umbrella of TEM.
TEMIA has introduced the term Telecommunications Management to convey all the activities that enterprises manage as part of overseeing mobile and fixed telecommunications networks, and is the term we’ll be using in these posts. Other terms used include Communications Lifecycle Management (CLM), Communications Expense Management, Communications Service Management and others to differentiate their offerings and demonstrate services or software that offers additional capabilities. It includes savings, visibility and control for global communications services, TEM, Wireless Expense Management (WEM), Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Application Management (MAM), Managed Mobility Services (MMS) and Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) and Mobile Security Management (MSM).
These variations on TEM reflect effort by the industry to explain its offering and value proposition more effectively because

  • A “one size fits all” focus on expense reduction that is often associated with TEM does not meet every client’s needs.
  • Expense management is reactive and tactical while Telecommunications Management is more strategic.
  • TEM does not address the full value proposition from supply chain management and employee enablement with more effective communications that drive productivity.
  • These Solutions Providers seek to re-position themselves in a more strategic role with customers and compete in a larger market with more opportunities.