A good majority of businesses might consider the fax to be a thing of the past -- an outdated mode of communication that has been supplanted by much more instantaneous email and electronic messaging services. But the fact is, many businesses still fax documents back and forth on a daily basis. A new "fax to email" technology allows this process to combine both the utility of faxes with the speed of email. The question is, which businesses are most likely to benefit from this new technology?
Business Which Send International Faxes
One reason that the fax machines have fallen out of favor among many businesses is due to the fact that a fax must be sent over a phone line and sent to a designated number on the other end. That number may be long distance and, just like traditional landline phones, a fax machine will need long distance clearance to make the transmission. For businesses that send lots of faxes out of their home area, those bills can add up quickly. Combine that with the shrinking size of our planet due to new technologies, and the inclination toward sending faxes internationally, and it's easy to see how the fees can add up and become a burden on any business.
That is not the case when a businesses uses fax to email services. These services allow a fax to be sent by attaching a document (such as a Word or Adobe Acrobat file) to an email, including a small note to the client on the other end, and then emailing the fax to a phone number. Behind-the-scenes technology routes the fax through the email to fax service's phone lines and the cost to your business is minimal.
Fax to email services generally charge low monthly fees that stay the same every single month; they eliminate the gamble that most businesses take on their long distance or international phone bills. And because the flat fee for an email to fax service is generally dramatically lower than the cost of many long distance or international phone call, the service results in a net savings for businesses.
Businesses Pressed for Time
How many minutes have been wasted trying to get a fax machine to behave properly, diligently feeding a fax through the machine and hoping that it goes through on the first try? And there's the waiting for the fax machine to dial the fax number, connect to the other end of the call, and then transmit the actual data itself. Paper jams are frequent and can lead to increased amounts of lost productivity.
With fax to email services, there simply is no paper to feed through a machine, no dial tones to suffer through, and no need to fear that the call will dropped, the fax will be rejected, or the paper will jam up just before the process is finished.
By being able to attach electronic documents to an email and send it as a fax, a business can also save a significant amount of money on things like paper and ink cartridges. But the big draw for most businesses, when considering fax to email services, is the time savings. The email that gets sent as a fax is dispatched instantly and transmitted to the client without your intervention. A backend web service handles every aspect of the actual fax process itself.
Conclusions
If your business sends a lot of faxes out of the area -- or even abroad -- an email to fax service is a great way to save money every month and dedicate your business' budget to something a bit more useful for employees or clients. If you're pressed for time or chronically short-staffed, fax to email services are a great way to reclaim precious lost time and productivity without sacrificing communication with other businesses and clients as the need arises. They are a solid, affordable option that enhances most modern businesses.
Author Resource:
The author is a contributor and researcher of small business software and products on subjects such as fax to email services . Please visit http://online-fax.choosewhat.com for more info on frequently asked web fax questions.