Fax machines used to be the pinnacle of technology. Being able to transmit exact copies of important documents over long distances at the speed of light was an incredible development, but that was decades ago. Now, the internet reigns supreme and dominates just about every company’s document transfer needs.
That said, many companies are still relying on legacy fax solutions, generally due to compliance regulations imposed on their industry. However, this technology isn’t the only one capable of meeting these demands. To that end, let’s take a look at some of the major inefficiencies of legacy fax systems, some fax machine alternatives, as well as how you can upgrade your current systems.
Employees want to work at home
Perhaps the most important aspect of the internet age is the ability to connect to anyone, anytime from anywhere. Something as simple as a conversation between co-workers or even as complex as mission-critical work applications can be either solved or even improved with an internet-based solution. This high level of connectivity has lead to an interesting trend: telecommuting.
“Allowing employees to complete tasks at home has many benefits.”
Although nothing will ever fully replace getting work done in the office, allowing employees to complete tasks at home has many benefits. To begin, this method completely cuts out the issue of time lost to traffic jams or public transportation infrastructure breakdowns. On top of this, employee retention can be improved due to the fact that people just love working at home.
According to GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com, between 80 percent and 90 percent of employees in the U.S. have stated that they want to telecommute “at least part time.” Sadly, legacy fax solutions simply don’t allow employers to tap into this desire, as they require workers to be in the office in order to receive important information.
Mobility is an absolute necessity
Another major issue with legacy fax solutions is the fact that they don’t allow employees to use mobile devices in order to tackle their daily duties. Again, this limits where staff members are allowed to work, thereby killing the chances of a work-from-home policy. However, this can even be an issue for people who actually come into the office.
Personally owned devices are making a big splash in modern companies.People generally don’t separate themselves from their phones for too long, which means any messages they can receive on these devices can be instantly replied to and handled. In fact, a report from Tech Pro Research found that nearly three-quarters of organizations were allowing employees to use their own gadgets for work-related purposes, or planned to in the near future.
Relying on a legacy fax machine means the worker has to constantly get up from his desk and check to see if a document has been sent through, which can be a major time sink. This is not the case, however, with more advanced technologies like modern fax server software.
FoIP is the next step
Those looking to mitigate these risks have a simple solution: Fax over IP. This incredible fax from computer software technology allows you to send faxes without a fax machine, via the Internet, which allows employees to both work from home and use their mobile devices to read important documents.
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.
