Some Tips on setting up MS Teams

To hear more about transitioning to or making the most of Teams if you’re already using it, join us next Friday 1 May for a live event on Teams. Our Principal Consultant Matt Walton will be talking to Microsoft Technical Specialist Lalita Jat to answer these key questions:

• What is Microsoft Teams and how can NFPs access it?

• What should you consider when planning, designing and setting up Teams?

• How can you use Teams to replace your phone system?

• Is Teams secure and how should we set it up to ensure strong governance, security and permissions?

• How can you help your organisation manage the change and adapt to using Teams quickly?

• What’s new in Teams and what new features are coming soon?

• What are the top tips for charities and government using Teams?

Register for next weeks live event (limited to NFP & Government organisations).

Your Telco bills are about to go up a lot due to coronavirus. Are you prepared?

With the unprecedented shift to working from home, we’re all using our mobiles much more, and that means there’s now a big risk of bill shock.

Dog and Bone have a specialist independent telecommunications management service, we call it TMaaS (Telecommunications Management as a Service), which is dedicated to managing client’s mobile fleets.

The team has been flat out managing the dramatic surge and this is what we have noticed:

• Data Usage has increased by at least 75% for most clients, up to 135% in extreme cases.

• Some clients’ mobile costs are up 200%!

• We expect this to only increase, given that for the last month most of our clients only had their staff off site for half the month.

• Fixed data networks (especially so with our reliance on these networks for voice) are also showing signs of strain, causing increased mobile usage as a backup.

We observed a huge spike in mobile data usage for our clients in March, during the unprecedented shift to remote working.

According to the TMaaS team they have not had one client that wasn’t set to exceed their existing data allowance for March. While this is no surprise considering the impact of COVID-19, and the enormous proportion of Australians that have shifted to working from home, it is important that steps be taken by vendors and customers alike to mitigate against dramatic excess data charges. Here is a brief summary of what you need to know about the data surge and how to manage it:

•  Both Telstra and Optus have announced that they are providing extra data to ‘facilitate the need for a more mobile workforce’. Several smaller providers, such as Vaya, are offering unlimited data. However, so far only individual consumers and small businesses are eligible. The big carriers are yet to announce extra data allowances for Not For Profit or corporate organisations. To date we’re not aware of TPAMS25 (the Victorian State Government pricing plan) customers receiving additional mobile data allowance.

• Easily the single most important step any organisation can take is to ensure that their mobile fleet has a Shared Data Allowance. This is always vital, but even more so at the current time. This means that all (or most) mobile plans (both voice and data) share their individual data allowance to create a common pool that all users can access. A shared data allowance reduces costs and makes managing a mobile fleet considerably easier.

• Make sure you’re familiar with your vendors ‘fair use policies’.

• It is crucial that organisations are proactive with their mobile data management. This is especially true given that the ‘live’ data tracking provided by most carriers isn’t necessarily live; with Telstra for instance there can be up to a forty-eight-hour lag in reporting. Thus by the time you get close to reaching your data allowance you may already have exceeded it. It’s important to get out in front of this.

• Previously, as a general rule we advised creating a data buffer of a min of 20% (the larger the fleet the smaller buffer you can tolerate, as a rule and most of Dog and Bone’s clients have significant fleets). That is, have an overall data allowance that is at least 20% higher than your organisation’s average data usage: if you use 100GB per month, maintain a data allowance of 120GB. We now advise that you maintain a buffer of at least 50% (or even higher). Data usage in April is likely to be even higher than in March (since we only shifted to remote working in mid-March). In most cases, an organisation’s average data usage can be worked out from the most recent electronic billing.

If you are at a loss as to how to manage this unprecedented increase in data usage or have too much on your plate as your organisation tries to adapt to the new circumstances, feel free to reach out to us about how this can be best managed. 

HOW WE MANAGE MOBILE DATA

With Shared Data Allowances, it might seem counter-intuitive, but it doesn’t generally matter how much data any individual user requires. It only matters how much data the organisation as a whole requires. Unlimited plans complicate this somewhat and often some plans don’t aggregate with overall fleet.

Often the model that is suggested by vendors is to put everyone on an unlimited plan with large data packs. While this can deliver a fleet that is easier to manage for the client, it is often a costly benefit. For small fleets (say sub 50) then this approach has more merit, as the extra management costs may not covered by the savings of a fully optimised fleet. 

OPTIMISED MOBILE FLEETS

By far the best way to manage costs with a large organisation’s mobile phones and data services is to optimise the fleet, and then manage it. An optimised fleet is in basic terms where you try to manage the usage of the service with the pricing plan from the vendor, overlaid with the above data considerations.

For example: An emergency phone in a community bus’s glove box would have a very low plan, with no data, and the CEO might have one that provides additional benefits like international calls or global roaming (not much use right now!).

It sounds complicated, well it is. To really optimise a fleet you need specialist software or maybe a maths genius with some time on their hands. We know this because 18 years ago we started with a maths genius and got them to build a software program to optimise fleets.

We consistently find that this model delivers 20-35% additional cost reduction, even when using the existing contract and when the fleet is large this is more than enough to compensate for the extra management overhead.

Sing out if you’ve got a fleet that you are interested at looking into cost reduction opportunities for.

Remote Working Strategies

A free webinar: Dog and Bone Supporting the NFP & Government sector through COVID-19

While it might seem from recent activity in Australia that toilet paper is the number one priority during this pandemic, we’re taking a slightly more practical approach. As countries around the world put in place precautionary measures to contain COVID-19, social distancing has been identified as Australia’s strongest defence. This has led to an unprecedented requirement for remote working capabilities, with businesses worldwide encouraging, and in some cases, mandating that all staff work from home, in a bid to decrease the chances of exposure to COVID-19 and to ‘flatten the curve’. Dog and Bone are advising clients to plan for this situation immediately.

During this period especially we are working overtime supporting our clients with independent technical advice, however remote workforce capability planning has been at the top of our clients’ lists, so we’re focusing our initial support here.

Dog and Bone are hosting a webinar on Friday 20th March 2020 11am AEDT, where our technical experts will deliver an initial high-level webinar that focuses on remote working approaches for organisation’s leaders and IT teams alike, covering:

• Video conference, internally and with clients

• Unified communications (ie. leveraging Teams), working together

• Telecommunications considerations (Phone/call centre diversions, remote reception, PABX work arounds, mobile data access etc.)

• Remote access to data, systems and applications

• Security considerations

• There will be time at the end for you or your team to ask questions

Register for Webinar (limited to NFP & Government organisations)

Dog and Bone’s mission is to empower purpose driven organisations to leverage technology for a better world. In times of crisis it feels imperative that we live this. Surviving COVID-19 for many, but especially the vulnerable, is going to come down to NFP’s and government being able to best deliver on your mission and if we can support you in that we’re in!

If you are not able to join the webinar, we will be offering free 1-hour technical advisory/briefing sessions on Wednesday Afternoons to NFPs and Government organisations (via video of course!).

Register your interest via advice@dogandbone.com.au, supplying organisation name and support required.

We're B Corp (Re)Certified!

As a business that always strives to do well and to do good, Dog and Bone’s decision to seek certification as a B Corp was simple. B Corp is a global movement that is challenging old beliefs about how businesses should operate. It is redefining success as the impact a business has on its employees, customers, community and the environment; not merely its shareholders.  

What is B Corp? 

B Corporations  - B Corps for short -  are for profit (or for benefit) organisations certified as being at the forefront of a major culture shift in business where the traditional bottom line of Profit has been expanded to include triple bottom line of Profit, People and Planet.  

B Corp is the only certification process that measures a company’s ‘entire social and environmental performance’ (B-Lab, 2019). The growth and success of the movement can be attributed to the profound cultural shift in attitudes towards each other and the planet. As the co-founders of B Lab and the B Corp certification state, it’s a community of people using ‘business as a force for good’.  

B Corp has set out on a mission to provide: 

• Tools for businesses to transition to an ethical and environmentally sustainable model; 

• Global benchmarks of ethical and sustainable practice so that transition can be measured.; 

• A certification process through which businesses can verify their ethical and (environmentally) sustainable practices as genuine and enduring. This process is conducted with the utmost rigour, which in turn provides consumers with a certification they can trust.

• ‘An integrated network of interdependent regional organisations operating around the world in partnership with B Lab’. 

Why did Dog and Bone become a certified B Corp and why we’re proud of being re-certified 

Dog and Bone’s vision of creating ‘a better world through technology’ aligned perfectly with ‘B Lab’s vision that all people in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand benefit from an economy that builds community and regenerates the environment’. Dog and Bone was purposefully set up as an ethical business with a mission ‘to empower purpose driven organisations to leverage technology for a better world’. However, while it’s easy to say that kind of thing, B Lab insists that businesses actually walk the walk. 

Dog and Bone was thrilled to receive B Corp certification in 2016.  

As great as that was, however, it’s wasn’t a lifetime achievement award. As mentioned, transformation must be both enduring and continual, and in order to maintain certification you’re obliged to undergo the process every three years. Not only that, but the criteria grows stricter each time. As B Lab AuNZ CEO, Andrew Davies put it, if B Corps are defined as outperforming other businesses, ‘as there are more B Corps, the standards must go up, otherwise you’re effectively lowering the bar’.

For the past 6 months many of us at Dog and Bone have been involved in one way or another in our B Impact assessment; collecting data and evidence to back up the responses to the extensive list of questions that a B Corp assessment requires.

B Corp – one of the most rigorous corporate social responsibility certification  

To become a certified B Corp, you must first take the B Impact assessment, completing a lengthy questionnaire comprised of 200+ questions. The B Impact Assessment is a thorough and detailed survey of your business’ social and environmental performance in the five areas of governance, workers, environment, community and customers.

We’re proud to say that after months of measuring, calculating, collating and compiling we have re-certified as a B Corp, scoring 92.8 on the B Impact Assessment, which as per B Corps commitment to transparency is publicly available here. And we can say that if achieving certification once felt great, re-certification feels even better.

B Corp and the Corporate Social Responsibility movement 

B Corp challenges the long-held business assumption that behaving ethically comes at the expense of profit. Increasingly, consumers and business owners are debunking this myth, proving that doing good can also be good for business. According to The Global Sustainability Report by Nielsen ‘brands that demonstrate a commitment to [environmental] sustainability out-perform those that don’t’. With ‘73% [of consumers] saying they would definitely or probably change a behaviour to reduce their impact on the planet’. 

Indeed, a report by the Yale Centre for Business and the Environment, Patagonia Inc., and Caprock, revealed that B Corps ‘had a greater revenue growth rate than public firms of comparable size during the Great Recession…researchers at the School of Management at SUNY Binghamton found that certified B Corps had an impressive 50.48 percent revenue growth rate during the 2008 financial crisis’, a testament to the financial durability of the all-stakeholder governance model. 

Of significant importance to the B Lab model, Andrew Davies says, ‘is that it is suitable for virtually all business’, regardless of size or industry. There are also a number of benefits that different sized businesses bring to the B Corp movement for example, larger B Corps come with considerable scale of impact and are able to very effectively build awareness, while small businesses are able to effect change much faster with easier access to their leadership. As Mr Davies said, B Corp is ‘thrilled to have businesses like Dog and Bone, who are the backbone of the B Corp community, not only become certified but then go on through re-certification and meet those increasingly higher standards. It’s recognition that becoming a B Corp isn’t just a once off tick box exercise, it’s an ongoing process driving improved impact’.

And word is spreading: certified B Corps are now found in 71 countries across 150 different industries.

B Corp: A growing global movement 

The collective strength of the B Corp community was demonstrated earlier this year with the powerful Lets Get To Work campaign. 33 B Corp CEOs took out a full page add in the New York Times calling on the Business Roundtable CEOs to make good on their statement that they were shifting away from shareholder primacy and would instead prioritise all stakeholders. Closer to home we saw the powerful impact of 36 B Corp CEOs including our own, Dan McKinley, coming together to place full page ads in The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian online, calling on businesses to support their employees in joining students striking for climate action. Supporting the Not Business as Usual campaign was an example of the kind of solidarity and advocacy that the B Corp community embodies. 

Dog and Bone is in good company 

Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand is now the fastest growing B Corp region per capita, with ‘a seven-fold increase in local B Corps since 2014’. Globally B Corp boasts such brands as: 

•   Patagonia

• The Guardian

• Ben & Jerry’s

• Kathmandu 

• Beyond Bank

• Intrepid Group

• The Body Shop  

• Koala 

• Australian Ethical Investment

• KeepCup 

Given the supportive and collaborative nature of the B Corp community, it’s particularly exciting for Dog and Bone to be in such good company.  

The next step in the B Corp journey: campaigning for the Benefit Company status

Taking the next step towards genuine and enduring change B Lab is leading the push globally to introduce the opt-in Benefit Company legal status. The ‘Benefit Company is a model of corporate governance that creates commercial sustainability by providing companies with a framework to embed purpose, consider stakeholders, and report on impact.’ The opt in Benefit company status legally enshrines your commitment to all stakeholders or the triple bottom line of ‘profit, people and planet’.

Another signal of the changing times and significant shift towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy are the 8,000 companies globally that have adopted the Benefit Company status, collectively raising $2 billion in capital to date. Also known as Benefit Corporation the alternative legal structure is widely available across the USA and a number of other countries.

 Although it is not yet legislated for in all countries there is growing momentum in Australia and parts of Asia and Europe something Dog and Bone is keen to support and adopt once the appropriate laws are passed. As Dan McKinley puts it: ‘having your commitment to people and planet enshrined in your business’ constitution would legally enable and protect impact and purpose driven businesses to fulfil their commitments to all stakeholders and not be solely legally bound to shareholder interests as is the case now.’

We look forward to supporting the push to introduce the opt in Benefit Company status so we can take our ethical mindset and practices a step further by legally enshrining our commitment to people and planet. 

The benefits of B Corp and what it means to us

Dog and Bone’s CEO Dan McKinley grew up surrounded by people working in the Not For Profit sector. Indeed his parents were social workers who with other like-minded people co-founded their own non-profit organisation. It was a combination of Dan’s entrepreneurial instincts and his passion for social and environmental justice that lead him to found a business that would contribute to a better world.

Most of the work we do is with Not For Profit organisations so our biggest impact is the flow on effect to the communities that they serve. Indeed, 2018 saw us put $21M of direct cost down into the Not For Profit sector alone. We have been able to provide strategic guidance and support which according to some of our clients has had invaluable long-term impact. We also look to use our resources – be they financial, leveraging connections and community or our amazing team’s capability – to give back to the community and make a lasting impact where we can.

The B Corp certification has given us recognition of the impact we are having and is an independent third party verification that both businesses and consumers can trust.

Through B Lab and the B Corp community we learn better ways to achieve growth whilst running a socially and environmentally responsible business. Increasingly, we’re finding that our clients are demanding their suppliers and partners align with their values.

Beyond being a trusted benchmark for ethical practice B Corp is confirmation that businesses world ever believe that they should be set up to benefit the people, communities and environment that they impact. Most reassuringly B Corp is a community of like-minded people wanting to be the change the world needs, ‘forming regional networks, supporting each other and sharing global platforms, cultivating business opportunities aligned with the B Corp ethos of balancing purpose and profit’.

‘It has to be a global movement for real change to happen. B Corps’ approach of harnessing the power of business to effect the change that the world so desperately needs, is going to be a pivotal point in our history. I’m super proud to be a part of this.’ – Dan McKinley, Dog and Bone CEO.

Can business be a ‘green’ force for good?

A lot of people talk about greening their business but what does it actually involve? Hint: it doesn’t mean filling your office with indoor plants (despite that making it look a lot greener). In February 2018, Dog and Bone signed up to partake in City of Darebin’s Green your Business initiative, an ongoing community wide effort to improve businesses’ sustainability and environmental impact. The initiative helps businesses adopt greener practices across a range of areas and recognises those businesses that already have them in place. A concept that we’re all reasonably familiar with these days. If you find yourself curious, participating businesses are listed on the City of Darebin’s Green Business directory. Given today is World Environment Day, what better time to reflect on what it means to be a ‘green’ or aspiring ‘green’ business; why we, as an ethical business believe being environmentally conscious is important and why movements like the B-Corp one are pushing for a greener, sustainable economy too.

Thinking about the impact your business has on the environment and making changes to ensure that it’s a good one, is exactly the kind of thinking that underpins the B-Corp philosophy. If you don’t know what B-Corp is, it’s worth looking into. In short though, the B-Corp movement aims to build a global economy made up of businesses that balance purpose with profit in order to have a meaningful and ‘positive impact [on] employees, communities and environment’ (B-Lab, 2019). Precisely what we set out to do when we started Dog and Bone. When we certified as a B-Corp in 2016 we were excited to have found a movement so closely aligned with our values. Although the rigorous B-Corp assessment takes a lot of time and effort it’s a certification well worth having given it’s ‘the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance’ (B-Lab, 2019), and a movement well worth joining. Currently, there are over 2,500 B-Corps, in over 50 countries (120 of which are in Melbourne).

Being a B-Corp and ethical business, Dog and Bone has always strongly believed in the importance of running an environmentally conscious business and encouraging the broader community to do the same. There are many big and small things that can be done as a business to contribute to a more sustainable future. Increasingly the business world is realising that not only is there a good business case to be made for ‘going green’ but also that it is an absolute necessity in the face of significant environmental issues such as the plastic crisis and climate change. Although green initiatives can be perceived by some businesses as a costly burden, ‘environmentally inclined investment can in many ways bolster financial performance, be it directly through reduction in operating costs, or indirectly through the reputational advantages that may be obtained by an environmental focus.’ (Green, IBISWorld, 2018). For example you may not think that working from home has much to do with being a greener business but one report suggested that exploring ‘flexible work arrangements and work from home schemes’ could not only result in ‘potential benefits to employee motivation and retention, such practices also allow employees to cut down on their travel time and, thereby, their CO2 emissions,’ (Green, IBISWorld, 2018).

While good government policy and campaigns are critical in leading the way towards an environmentally sustainable future, businesses also have a huge role to play and can have a massive impact on the movement towards a greener more sustainable world. We have the opportunity as a community of businesses to show true leadership and use business as a force for good. We all have the opportunity to be the change the world needs, whether it’s through simple and easy things you can do to improve your business’ environmental impact such as these  or a more thought out and purposeful shift in the thinking that drives your business’ decisions around environmental sustainability such as these. We believe, that every effort is worth it and, on that note, Happy World Environment Day!

Out with the old, in with the new – Australia’s telecommunications is changing

Australia’s telecommunications is embarking on a major transitional phase as the ageing copper network (created nearly 100 years ago) is replaced by optic fibre (NBN).

What does this mean for your organisation?

As a leading provider of independent ICT advisory to the not-for-profit and government sectors, Dog and Bone make it our aim to support organisations to leverage technology to best support their mission.

In order to support you to make informed decisions during this transition we have put together a list of things to consider:

Act now… Disconnection dates for critical voice (ISDN) and data services start from 30 September 2019. So if you don’t want to be left without services and a means to communicate with clients, volunteers, partners, and the broader community, then the time to act is now.

Consider your investment… This migration will either incur relatively minor costs (i.e. tactical fix), or require significant shift in IT investment, if changing strategic platforms (SIP/Enterprise Telephony/Unified Communications).

Careful consideration must be given to this decision as the strategic and technical impacts will affect IT more broadly. For example, things like your application stack and organisational capabilities around collaboration and procurement.

Take stock… Understand your current environment and scope of change, to establish a current IT state from which to start planning. Ensure you understand current and future requirements before considering solution design and choice. We believe technology shouldn’t drive organisational strategy, it should support it and align with your business objectives to deliver the best value. 

Think strategically… a strategic approach will avoid last minute decisions, lost opportunity, inappropriate technology choices and irrecoverable sunk costs. Part of this is to understand your options. If you haven’t started preparations already, the time to act is now. With the encroaching timeline (30 September 2019), your window to take a strategic approach is narrowing.

Know your options… before you are forced into making a rushed decision around SIP/UC solutions, take a step back and understand most importantly, you have options, and then work out what option will best be suited for your organisation.

For further information, or if you are interested in an independent briefing on the technical ramifications of migrating your ISDN services, and to explore what options you have please contact Dog and Bone 03 9403 5700.

Key dates for the ISDN phase-out are:

·        September 30 2019: Telstra will start disconnecting existing ISDN services.

·        2022: Telstra will end support for ISDN2, ISDN2 Enhanced, ISDN10/20/30, and further related legacy services.

Why being a B Corp matters to Dog and Bone

In an effort to participate in the first global activation of B Corps, Dog and Bone has been asked to outline what being a B Corp means to us and why we care.

First off, if you have never heard of B corps we recommend you check out their website: http://bcorporation.com.au/. Essentially, B Corps are companies who care deeply about the society and world in which they operate, and who conduct themselves at all times in a manner consistent with this.

B Lab Australia and New Zealand executive director Andrea De Almeida explains the ethos behind being a B Corp as using “business as a force for good” and “understanding the impact businesses have on customers, employees, supply chain, the environment, and the community they are operating in”.

Founder and CEO of Dog and Bone, Dan McKinley, at the ripe age of 21 concluded that his best opportunity to make a significant difference was to do so through running an ethical organisation and “business as a force for good”, aptly sums up Dan’s motivation for starting Dog and Bone. 

For mass change to happen quickly, Dan believes that solutions must be both sustainable (self-funding) and also, they must set an example. Dan sees socially responsible business as a key element in driving change.

As well as providing an example of how B Corps can be successful, Dog and Bone has a passion for supporting frontline organisations to focus on achieving amazing outcomes for the people they support. We are passionate about enabling decision makers to make informed and strategical sound ICT decisions.

Empowering organisations to make strategic ICT decisions can have a profound effect on supporting them to deliver their mission. We also help them to significantly reduce costs. Over the last year, we have reduced ICT spend by over 35 million for a range of not-for-profit and government organisations.

Obviously, freeing up this amount of funds, allows these organisations to dramatically increase their effectiveness in doing what they do best. Our biggest impact is through empowering others and this makes us proud to exist and proud to be recognised as a certified B Corp.

10 Telecommunications Questions You Need To Ask

Here at Dog and Bone we conduct a lot of Telecommunications Tenders, and we invariably save our clients a great deal of money, time and heartache in the process.

A key part of the tendering process is determining an organisation’s specific needs. If you don’t know what you have, you don’t know what you need.

Every organisation is different, even within the same sector. Whilst there are of course common requirements across many organisations, there are always important points of difference.

Lazily applying one-size-fits-all approaches is one of the ways by which the telco industry gained its reputation for unscrupulousness. It’s one of the things we work hard to combat.

We’ve found that the more you know about your current situation, the better placed you will be to  work out what you need, and better able to resist sales spiels, fads masquerading as solutions and solutions to problems you don’t have. Forewarned is forearmed, knowledge is power and other assorted clichés.

In order to help you better understand your organisation’s Telecommunications Strategy and positioning, Dog and Bone has come up with ten essential questions you need to ask yourself before entering into a Telecommunications Tender and Review process.

In assessing each of the areas, it is important to consider your organisation’s Risk / Capability.

1.       Do you feel your use of Telecommunications is supporting a competitive advantage?

This largely speaks for itself, I suppose, but you need to honestly consider whether your organisation is being held back, or at any rate not helped, by your current Telecommunications deployment. Is it something that’s just ‘there’, because it has to be?

2.       Do you have a current Telecommunications Strategy, or is Telecommunications covered in adequate detail in your ICT strategy?

If so, is it meeting your organisation’s requirements? Does this strategy promote or inhibit organisational growth?

3.       Do you have key hardware that is old, or nearing end of life?

This can include an aging mobile fleet. What about your core phone systems? (These typically have a life span of approx. 5 to 7 years.) Do you rely heavily on the old-style copper network (e.g. PSTN, ISDN) and do you have a plan in place to migrate to SIP and VoIP?

4.       Do your Asset Registers accurately reflect the operating environment?

For example, do you know what services support lift/alarm/ADSL services? Are all mobile phones accounted for an properly assigned to the correct users?

5.       How do you feel your incumbent vendor meets your needs and responds to organisational requests?

Your relationship with your telco providers is a very important one. Do you only hear from your account executive when it’s time to sign a new contract? Are they working actively to retain your business? In most cases, you have a choice of vendors.

6.       Are you able to identify and understand where significant variations in expenditure occur from month to month?

Every company has usage and cost spikes from month to month. Some of these are normal, but often they aren’t, and they can reveal pain points that really need to be addressed.

7.       Are you satisfied with your Acceptable Use and Procurement Policy frameworks, and do staff understand and abide by them?

You’d be amazed how organisation we come across whose staff have never even seen these documents. You don’t have to rule with an iron fist, but it doesn’t hurt to make these frameworks visible and enforceable.

8.       Are you aware of your current contract status and associated liabilities?

Very important, as you’re no doubt aware. Again, you’d be amazed how few organisations have this information readily to hand.

9.       Are you maximising your purchasing power when negotiating new contracts (e.g. consolidating accounts and entities)?

Especially in the NFP sector, organisations tend to grow quite organically, responding to funding wins or losses or specific programs being brought on/off and increasing absorbing or merging with other organisations as they go. Often this entails acquiring legacy systems, and very often results in a vast array of varied and potentially incompatible systems and accounts. Consolidating these into a few (or even one) account has myriad benefits, not least of which is increased purchasing – and therefore negotiating – power.

10.   Are you eligible for TPAMS2025?

Lest you hadn’t heard, the Victorian State Government has recently released is new TPAMS pricing construct, called TPAMS2025. More information can be found here. The long and short of it is that TPAMS provides access to very good ICT products and pricing across a range of vendors, assuming you’re eligible. Eligibility criteria mainly consist of being at least 25% Victorian State Government funded.

However, even if you aren’t eligible for TPAMS2025, are you an NFP? If so, you might be eligible for similar pricing.

It just requires some skilful negotiation, and a detailed knowledge of exactly where your organisation is placed when it comes to Telecommunications. Answering these ten questions frankly can go a long way towards gaining that knowledge.

Just released TPAMS2025 pricing designed to deliver better value for NFPS & Government

Ready for some exciting news? The new TPAMS is about to be released.

It’s called TPAMS2025. Why 2025? We don’t know. Maybe it sounds futuristic?

Whatever the reason we’re still excited, and you should be, too.

As independent strategic ICT consultants, we’re fated to be thrilled by things that fail to get the average pundit’s pulse racing. Of course, everyone is excited when a new iPhone is released: it does the same thing as the previous iPhone slightly quicker, thus justifying a night on the pavement spent queueing and a price tag requiring scientific notation.

It’s pretty exciting when the NBN arrives in your suburb. That’s understandable; people like downloading stuff, and downloading stuff faster is better.

At Dog and Bone we like to save our clients money, and in many cases lots of money. At the same time, it’s important to us that they have access to the best and most appropriate technologies. TPAMS2025 enables us to do that.

What is TPAMS?

TPAMS stands for Telecommunications Purchasing and Management Strategy (TPAMS). TPAMS is the framework whereby the government procures telecommunications and IT services and equipment from eligible providers. These providers are Telstra, Optus, Vocus, MyNetFone, Mitel, NEC and R-Group.

This framework is separated into five ‘service towers’:

·         Data services

·         Voice services,

·         Mobile services,

·         Internet services and

·         Unified communications.

These services are then made available to all eligible public sector agencies, which of course includes many NFPs. The previous TPAMS arrangement, TCS which expires next month, provided about $150 million of ICT services. The new arrangement should be better (since it’s from the future, remember?)

That’s great, but what does that all mean?

It basically means better services and equipment for cheaper, assuming you know what you’re doing. Luckily for you and us, we know what we’re doing.

Whilst TPAMS makes some effort to simplify things – such as identical contract terms across providers – this is still telco and IT we’re talking about, and there are a lot of moving parts. The contracts themselves allow for considerable customisation (far greater than the previous TPAMS). If you don’t know what to look for, it can get complicated. We have decades of collective experience in this area. We like moving parts.

We’ve thus been very active in the lead-up to the release of TPAMS2025 to work out whether it cuts the mustard. We’ve been working closely with government and TPAMS providers to make certain we understand every nuance. We always try to drill down into the fine detail so that our clients don’t have to, and this process has required fairly extensive drilling.

The good news is that TPAMS2025 looks great. We ran the new TPAMS pricing over an existing client’s data and found immediate savings of 35%. Our understanding was that 15% reduction was the predicted cost down. So this result exceeded our hopes. Bear in mind that this is an existing Dog and Bone client, so they were already on market-leading rates. This is where our independence gets to work for you. We're interested in you getting the best result, but indifferent to which vendor you select.

Not only that, but Dog and Bone is in a unique position to assist organisations to transition to the new TPAMS2025 agreement without having to change providers. We have the know-how, we have the numbers from all vendors, and we have some pretty powerful software to crunch them. We're confident we are best placed to maximise this great opportunity for NFP’s and Government.

So yeah, that’s why we’re excited.