While fax machines are hardly considered cutting-edge technology, they are still necessities for many companies. As more organizations migrate to VoIP solutions, transitioning fax machines over to the new system has resulted in a VoIP fax nightmare for many.
The Trouble with VoIP Fax Systems
Fax technology was designed to work over analog phone lines residing on circuit-switched networks. Often, transitioning the concept to packet-based networks, including VoIP solutions, has produced less than desirable results. VoIP fax systems are notoriously unreliable. Workflows are hindered as a result and productivity dips. In companies were faxing is a necessity – including many healthcare, financial, legal, and insurance organizations – these failures are disastrous, creating backlogs and preventing critical tasks from being accomplished in a timely manner. However, dedicating traditional phone lines to fax often reduces some of the benefits of a VoIP implementation. Often, companies want to eliminate their old phone services, so keeping a few lines open for fax machines is a costly alternatively that many want to avoid. While IT departments can continue to do battle with VoIP fax solutions, there is also a better approach. Here’s how the cloud can eliminate the VoIP fax nightmare once and for all.
Cloud eFax vs. VoIP Fax Systems
Instead of wrestling with VoIP fax, cloud-based eFax solutions can be a suitable alternative. This approach to faxing does not rely on VoIP technology, though it also doesn’t require a traditional phone line either. An eFax is sent to the company over an encrypted network. The document is then received as an email attachment, residing in the company’s secure email system. If a paper copy of the fax is needed, it can be printed on a network printer. If your company uses a PIN to print approach, ensuring that the page doesn’t print until the person who requested it approaches the machine, this approach can actually be more secure than allowing a VoIP fax to print the page out on a widely accessible device automatically. Additionally, since the eFax is a digital version of the document, it can easily be stored based on a company’s digital recordkeeping requirements. It eliminates the need to scan a printed copy, which can be a timesaver. Plus, if a digital record is all an organization requires, printing is eliminated entirely. The emailed eFax can be saved in the proper location, and no paper is used to complete the process. Ultimately, cloud-based eFax solutions can be the ideal solution to the VoIP fax nightmare, eliminating the need to force fax transmission over a packet-based system that doesn’t align with the original technology. Further, it can make cost-controlling easier, ensuring the business does not have to maintain separate phone lines for faxes. This approach can even enhance security and reduce printing needs, saving toner and paper. eFax options in the cloud can be suitable for businesses of any size as well. Cloud eFax systems can be designed based on a company’s exact needs and preferences, ensuring they can receive their fax-based communications with ease while remaining firmly in the modern communications era.
