600K Minutes, $220K Saved: The Telecom Success Story You Can’t Miss!

Shift Ahead Technologies scaled daily telecom traffic from 50K to 600K minutes, achieving 1,100% growth, $220K+ annual savings, and a 72% revenue increase within 11 months.

Scaling​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ to 600K Minutes: How Shift Ahead Technologies Helped a Global Telecom Leader Cut $220,000 in Annual Expenses

Among the many factors that differentiate one telecom operator from another in today’s cutting-edge industry, being able to scale one’s infrastructure without a parallel increase in operational costs (OpEx) is the most prominent one. With the growing demand for global connectivity, companies seem to be trapped in a dilemma of either compromising the quality of their services or their cost efficiency.

Contrary to this conventional wisdom, at Shift Ahead Technologies we showed that it is a false one. By combining offshore technical talent and process re-engineering, we accomplished a telecom client to more than double their daily traffic by over 1,100% while lowering their unit cost by 70%.

We deconstruct the story of how Shift Ahead Technologies saved the client $220,000+ per annum, and turned a regional business unit into a scalable 24/7/365 operation.

The Issue: How to Handle 10x Growth Without the Cost Ballooning

Our client was at a crossroads. They were handling around 50,000 call minutes daily but growing plans were aggressive and clear. Keeping the support model entirely in the US would be too expensive for a 24/7 operation, as the salaries of the senior IT engineers were more than $150,000 per person.

Partnering with someone who could offer monitoring, billing, and technical support at a Network Operation Center (NOC) cost enabling the client to achieve 600,000 minutes daily was the way out for the client.

How: Following a Careful Roadmap to Offshore Excellence

We introduced a phased transition that not only ensured a quick change but also a stable one. It was not only about the overseas addressee of the tasks but we also fundamentally restructured the operation of the client.

1: Identifying Opportunities for Process Re-engineering & Documentation

As an initial step, we thoroughly documented each technical process. We conceptualized "ideal profiles" for customer service and technical roles and consequently, the Indian team was recruited in line with client’s high standards of service.

2: The Deployment (One-Month Go-Live)

We own a provider-managed infrastructure and thus, we have the possibility to bypass the regular setup timing of three to six months. In fact, in less than 30 days, after having reached a "Go-Live" status, our team was ready and during the following two month period, the focus was put on the first-call resolution (FCR) optimization.

3: The 24/7/365 Integration

Around the clock network monitoring, complex billing queries, dispute resolution, and client retention approaches through the comprehensive services provided by the dedicated Indian team were the product of this integration. The US headquarters of the client was able to rest, and the network plus the customers didn’t feel the difference as they were supported in real-time.

Where Exactly Do the $220K Come from?

The collaboration with Shift Ahead Technologies has led to the overall annual savings of more than $220,000. This figure was not pulled from the blue; instead, it is the sum of three, so-called "Savings Components" working together to get to the least cost situation.

· Labor Cost Arbitrage (60-70% of Total Savings): Senior IT engineers in the US are in a position to demand salaries of $150,000+. The client effectively cut the labor cost by $132K to $154K yearly by employing Shift Ahead’s offshore senior engineers at approximately $40,000 annually.

· Overhead Elimination (20-25% of Total Savings): Since our Indian members of the team work in a provider-managed infrastructure, no client’s budgets were spent on facilities, hardware provisioning, utilities, or employee benefits. The part of the budgets that were spared accounted for $44,000 to $55,000.

· Recruitment & Onboarding Efficiency (10-15% of Total Savings): It usually takes 20-30% of the new IT resource’s annual salary to recruit and train them in the US market. Shift Ahead thus avoided the rehiring and turnover costs of $22,000 to $33,000 through hiring and training which were completely their responsibility.

Deliverables: Quite an Impact the client had not expected!

At a deeper look, the partnership made the client gain much more than a significant cost saving. The strategic redeployment of the huge portion (70%) of the support budget that underwent trimming led to an outstanding business growth, which was triggered by marketing campaigns and became 10x in just six months. In 11 months the client’s total revenue increased by 72%.

On top of that, the client’s customer satisfaction (CSAT) ratings got visibly raised. Thanks to enhanced ticket management and the main emphasis being on the resolution of the customer’s issue in the first call, the client was able to increase the number of daily minutes twelve times (from 50,000 to 600,000) without requiring any expansion of their in-house team.

Engage Shift Ahead and Scale Your Business the Right Way Using Our Proven Framework

Shift Ahead Technologies is more than an outsourcing firm offering you "offshore staffing". What we offer is a growth-enabling strategy roadmap. Using our infrastructure and working experience in India, your firm is able to realize the same 70% cost cut and, hence, be in a position to reinvest in what really matters: your product and your market share.

Are you all set for the next jump? By Shift Ahead Technologies make it ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌happen.