If you're in an industry that has strict compliance standards – or just in an office that isn't as up to date as you'd like – you're probably familiar with fax machines. These legacy systems have been around for decades and were once the peak of technological advancement. But with the Internet allowing for much more convenient modes of communication, these old machines have fallen behind the times.
However, this doesn't mean that faxing itself should be thrown out the window. Fax over IP has become the next step in the evolution of this technology. Aside from meeting the same compliance regulations as legacy fax, FoIP can bring many benefits for the modern office.
Archiving
Have you ever misplaced a vitally important document just before a meeting? If so, you know the intense feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach as the seconds tick by without any success in finding it. Faxing documents will do that to you, as you’re required to keep diligent track of where they are at all times. This is the digital age, and wasting precious moments looking for a scrap of paper is no longer a necessity with technologies like fax over IP.
FoIP allows you the rare opportunity of faxing and archiving the documents coming into your office without having to take another step to ensure their storage. These files are then accessible at any time from any device, allowing you true flexibility in keeping track of your most important information. Speaking of accessing messages at any time …
You can view documents from anywhere in the world
Yet another disadvantage of legacy fax systems is the fact that they require you to be in the building in order to read a message. This setup was just fine in past years, as the office was the only place that work tasks were completed. That said, times have changed, and employees are no longer confined to their desks. A growing trend of working from home has emerged. Improvements in modes of communication, coupled with the Internet allowing access to multiple online resources, has led to many employers opting to let their staff members work at home.
"61 percent of employees work from home part of the time"
In fact, Citrix has stated that 61 percent of employees work from home or in places that are not within the office "at least part of the time." What's more, getting out of the office to complete work seems to be beneficial to both staff members and employers. The 2015 Workplace Flexibility Study conducted by Workplacetrends.com, which surveyed 1,087 employees and 116 Human Resources professionals, found that 87 percent of HR leaders thought that letting people work from home was good for company morale. On top of that, almost 70 percent of the same group used these programs in order to recruit new employees and hold on to old ones.
Unlike legacy fax systems, faxing over IP allows employees the unique opportunity of accessing faxed documents from anywhere in the world. All these people need is a solid Internet connection and the right level of clearance, and they can instantly look at any messages received. Systems like FaxCore allow the employee to simply use a Web browser to see the faxes, which cuts down on the awkward process of explaining a faxed document over the phone.
While all of these are great benefits to any workplace, the real kicker is that faxing over IP doesn’t require you to throw out your old fax machines. A simple piece of equipment routes the messages through the Internet, allowing them to be viewed by anyone in the company.
Enhance enterprise communication, collaboration and compliance efforts with a proven FoIP solution from FaxCore. Contact FaxCore today to learn more about their 'Partly-Cloudy' fax solutions.
