Top 10 Reasons to Switch from Traditional to Internet Fax

Traditional fax machines have been the mainstay of most commercial offices for a number of years. In recent years, however, internet faxing is becoming the far more popular way of faxing. Let’s look at the top 10 reasons to switch from traditional to internet faxing.
 
1. Address Your Fax Recipients More Accurately
 
Internet faxing works on a system whereby everyone in an office gets their own dedicated fax number. This fax number is then linked to their personal email address on their computer. This means that when sending a fax to a company, you can address it to a specific person and know with a greater level of certainty that it will get directly to them.
 
2. No More Missing Fax Transmissions
 
Because internet faxing sends information to a specific computer, you know that when faxing the information, it will arrive at their computer. With traditional faxes, there was always the chance that someone else may collect the information from the fax machine. They may place it in the wrong person’s tray or forget to pass the information along. The papers could also get blown off the tray or desk and get lost. Unless you were standing there when the fax came through, you never knew for certain that the fax had arrived.
 
3. Have the Ability to Keep Fax Information Confidential
 
When using internet faxing, you can send information by fax to a specific person. You can have the peace of mind that if the information is confidential, it can only be read by the intended recipient and not just anyone passing the fax machine as with a traditional fax.
 
4. No Need to Print Faxes, Save the Environment
 
With internet faxing, the documents can be read and stored on a computer. There is therefore little need to print the faxes you receive. In addition, when sending faxes, you can take documents or spreadsheets and simply fax them from your computer without having to make a printout first.
 
5. Faxed Documents Are More Secure
 
Because the internet faxing system sends the data directly to your computer, the information in the fax is kept more secure. There is no risk of employees picking up and reading information they shouldn’t know about off the traditional fax machine as they walk past. Customer information can be kept more confidential as well as employee and project information.
 
6. Improve Office Efficiency and Save Time
 
With internet faxing, there is no need for employees to leave their desks and interrupt their work process. Often, when sending a manual fax, you have to stand at the machine and wait until it has dialed through and transmitted the fax. With internet faxing, you can submit the document and then switch back to whatever program you were in and simply continue working while the fax is processed. Once the transmission is completed, you can check the fax log to make sure that it has gone through. Because you can send and receive faxes to a computer without interrupting your workflow, internet faxing allows you to achieve a greater level of work efficiency.  

7. Reduced Costs in Sending and Receiving Faxes
 
Internet faxing systems often allow you to send and receive faxes at a fraction of the cost of traditional faxes. The reason they are able to do this is because they are using internet technology to transmit the fax information rather than telecommunications technology. Some packages allow you to send and receive up to 1,000 faxes a month for less than $15. In addition, there is generally no set limitation on how many of those faxes are either sent or received.
 
8. Integration with Existing Software
 
The internet faxing software is a plug-in that integrates to your existing Microsoft software. There is no need to purchase additional software. The plug-ins are easy to install and operate through existing Microsoft Outlook email programs. This makes it much easier to manage your communications and records or customer correspondence as all the details can be stored in a single program on your computer. 
 
9. Have an Electronic Record of All Transmissions
 
With traditional faxes, the actual fax needed to be printed before being sent and a copy of the transmission slip was often stapled to it. The record of the transmission was therefore a manual record which was then filed away. When you wanted to check on when the information had been sent off, you then had to search through a batch of manual filing systems. With internet faxing, all records of transmissions are kept on the same computer as the actual documents being faxed. This means that when searching for information of transmissions, all you need to do is access the sent or received log.
 
10. Easy-to-Use Interface
 
Internet faxing is an easy-to-use program. Anyone who can use a computer or email will be able to make use of the internet faxing program. The program is easy to understand and requires only basic computer knowledge in order to be able to operate it. 

About the Author

Metro Hi Speed is a leader in online fax solutions for any sized business. Less expensive and more reliable than traditional fax services - you'll enjoy the convenience and well as the cost. Visit us today for more information on our small business and corporate fax solutions.