The growing adoption of mobile devices in enterprises has created the need for powerful wireless expense management strategies. The competition in telecom expense management (TEM) is getting stiffer as more and more companies are entering this highly lucrative market.

The latest to join the competition in the wireless expense management arena is Dimension Data (News - Alert), a provider of IT solutions and services to global companies. The company is strengthening its TEM portfolio with the acquisition of Xigo, a U.S.-based provider of TEM and wireless management solutions to enterprises.

The $5.8 billion global IT specialist has major plans to deliver integrated cost optimization solutions for spend analysis, sourcing, provisioning and invoice processing across the enterprise, the company said in a press statement.

Steve Joubert, group executive of global solutions at Dimension Data, said, “As clients evolve their networks to address globalization, mobile device proliferation, virtualization and the cloud, Xigo will be instrumental to helping them implement the most cost-effective roadmaps and architectures for both internal and external communications.”

Xigo and Dimension Data have been partners for over five years. Both companies concluded a strategic global partnership agreement in 2010 to deliver the first localized global telecom expense management solution.

The immediate focus of Dimension Data will be to integrate Xigo’s U.S. market share while also meeting the TEM needs of multinational organizations. Over time, the services will be rolled out to other countries in the Group.

“Currently telecom expense management has grown to encompass the entire lifecycle of telecommunication services, including inventory and asset management, ordering and provisioning,” Joubert added. 

The acquisition of Xigo will complement Dimension Data as it extends their capabilities beyond integration and management of technology, according to Joubert.

“Today, the center of business sits at the edge of the network, and companies need a firm grasp on their mobile and fixed network costs to operate in an increasingly global economy,” said Dave Spofford (News - Alert), CEO of Xigo, in a statement. “The combination of Dimension Data’s global footprint and Xigo’s unique cloud-delivered services creates a tremendous opportunity for organizations to manage their voice and data networks more cost-efficiently with a complete lifecycle of services.”

Additionally, Xigo clients with operations outside of North America will benefit from Dimension Data’s global footprint in 51 countries along with its deep experience in planning, building and operating IT infrastructures for multinational corporations.

Spofford will continue as CEO of Xigo and will report to Dimension Data’s Americas CEO, Jere Brown, on the company’s operations; and to Joubert on strategy.