CFOs Be Aware: Mobile Telephone/Computer Expenses Will Go Up This Year
Feb 01 2016
Paul Eitmant
I remember the days as a salesman: you carried a lot of quarters in your pocket and hunted for a pay telephone at a gas station so you could call your answering service to retrieve the day’s messages. That was in 1974.
Research in Motion was founded in 1984 in Waterloo, ON and revolutionized the mobile industry when the BlackBerry email pager was introduced in 1999. Back in the good old days, these types of devices cost around $250, depending on which one you purchased.
Today we have BlackBerrys and smartphones available for mobile telephone requirements. Apple I think has won the battle of being the number one provider. At the same time, Apple and other smartphone manufacturers have realized that a new generation of users also enjoy the other applications they can be used in a smartphone — photos, music, and videos, as well as those important documents that the company provides to make your job easier.
Photo: smartcanucks.ca
Most of our salespeople now fall into the category of Millennials. Their internal need for information as fast has possible requires mobile devices that will satisfy this need.
And we know nothing is free life and the expense is always passed on to the employer. Today salespeople are also provided with a laptop computer to make their jobs more efficient. These computers also have the ability to hold more information and have a host of additional office/photos/video and music applications. In 1982, I also remember my first computer was a Commodore 64, which used a dot matrix printer, made a lot of noise ,and always ran out of ink after limited usage.
At the June 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, Commodore lowered the retail price of the Commodore 64 to $300, and stores sold it for as little as $199.
During the same time period Apple introduced the Apple 1 personal computer, 1978 Apple II and in 1983 Apple III. Steve Jobs has made an impact in the market place.
Today an Apple Macbook Pro with read Rtina Display costs around US$1500, but when you add Microsoft Office the cist would run up to US$1,600 to US$1700.
A new Apple 6S plus with AppleCare and protective cover will cost around US$1,000. Like all salesmen they want all information you can store on the phone, which means an additional cost for the company to upgrade to a 64GB or 128GB, which would add an additional $100 per upgrade. Therefore the total cost would be around $1,100 to $1,200US.
All mobile carriers have discontinued the contract packages that included a free phone at the end of your contract. Therefore, when calculating your budgets for telephone/computer expense during the next fiscal year, expect that the increase will be well above the average 5/7% per year you used in the past.
The only advice that I can given is understand the needs of your salesforce and provide them with the best tools/devices to satisfy the requirements for increased sales and profits in the next fiscal year.
Paul Eitmant is President and CEO of IP Group International, which serves the needs of business-to-business enterprises in over 30 countries worldwide by adding specialized expertise to the business planning and implementation process; Tel: 480.488.5646; paulipgroup@cox.net.
