Unified communications is a hot topic these days. Now that so many enterprise staffers are accustomed to working with advanced IT hardware and programming, companies are realizing that they are able to capitalize on the modern worker's inherent tech skills.
While there has been a primary focus on getting voice online with email and other digital channels, one necessary endpoint has gone underevaluated – the fax machine. Some people believe that faxing is a dated technology, but in actuality it is still used commonly and is even mandated by law in several industries. This is due to faxing's inherently secure nature.
But just because present fax systems may appear obsolete does not mean the concept can't use a bit of an update. Just like office phone service, fax solutions can be leveraged in the cloud. This frees the technology from its physical limitations and allows it to be utilized from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Enterprise could fax solutions is the perfect tool for organizations still in need of fax but that tire of antiquated equipment. In order to properly enable modern employees and, in many cases, remain in regulation, it will be essential to implement faxing in the cloud.
Present-day fax looks much different
One of the biggest misconceptions about faxing is that it is somehow a limited technology with a narrow scope of applications. The truth is that the channel has experienced a significant facelift with the widespread arrival of the cloud. Just like how VoIP has enabled telephone service to transcend traditional expectations, FoIP, or fax over IP, allows faxing to become something more than it used to be.
According to TMCnet contributor Mae Kowalke, there are a number of different functions that cloud-based fax can handle besides the obvious. By using touchscreen-friendly applications, employees can send and receive faxes through their smartphones and tablets. This allows secure transmissions to occur even when staff members are on the go or working from home – something that would have previously kept them out of the loop.
Additionally, missives can be forwarded to email accounts when intended recipients cannot be reached by fax and the document is appropriate for sending in this way. Compared to fax, email has many security shortcomings that can make it risky to use exclusively. In fact, according to Kowalke, even traditional faxing can be considered unsafe when compared to the protocol that goes into it's cloud-based equivalents.
"There's been a lot of talk recently about data security and cyber hackers, but most businesses don't think about the fact that these signed documents they send via fax can be intercepted," Kowalke wrote. "But with FoIP, faxes can be sent and received using HTTPS encryption, the same security that bank Web sites and credit card payment engines use."
Faxing still essential
Just because fax services appear to be aging doesn't mean that it can be written off and retired. Modern companies need to update their fax capabilities in order to stay relevant.
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