Faxing as a communication method is a fundamental part of many industries. Advancements in technology, however, are calling old processes into question.
While it has previously been common practice to maintain an in-house fax server, is it time your business looked for modern solutions?
These are the drawbacks of using internal fax servers:
But if an internal server system is not
eFax online cloud-faxing services can offer an effective alternative to in-house servers and physical fax machines. By moving your fax processes to an entirely digital and online space, you are free to:
Our online faxing solutions are used by almost half of all Fortune 500 companies. The benefits of moving from old-fashioned internal servers can be felt immediately.
Sign up to eFax today and enjoy our free trial offer. Access our full range of eFax services and experience exactly how cloud faxing can transform your fax processes
For many years, IT departments around the world used in-house fax servers to help
It has been noted in recent times that there are numerous disadvantages related to the traditional fax server architecture which has formed a central part of many
The following are four compelling reasons which may make you reconsider your company’s approach to fax servers. and consider moving to an online fax solution
As with anything related to the running of a successful business enterprise, one of the first things you need to look at is how much something costs; and business fax server systems are no different in this regard.
Unfortunately, your typical fax server system isn’t the most versatile or agile form of IT infrastructure, and
When such time comes around, your company will find itself having to make a big decision; persist with your existing fax server architecture or invest in upgrading to an entirely new one. Obviously, both options come with their own unique disadvantages.
The latter option, on the other hand, represents a substantial financial outlay. Purchasing an entirely new fax server system can cost thousands in terms of hardware. That’s not even taking the costs of associated software into account. Such additions can see the price of installation suddenly double. Then you have to take maintenance costs into account as well. Such large monetary outlays are not business decisions
The financial costs associated with transmitting over digital ‘phone lines’ and
Analog and telecom costs are fast becoming a thing of the past as far as modern business IT is concerned. Such expenses can be removed from a company’s outlay fairly easily. All that needs to be done is to commit to converging all of your business’ fax traffic into your internet access network. From an IT perspective, this is a sensible move toward working efficiency.
Another often overlooked indirect outlay associated with running traditional fax servers from your office space is what it costs in terms of ‘man hours’. No doubt, your company’s IT team will have to maintain the associated fax machines, resolve ongoing operational issues as they arise and provide training to other members of staff so that they can use the
In addition to the above, the IT team will need to carefully monitor the output and usage of any internal fax servers, with a view to judging when said systems are approaching their maximum usage capacity, and in turn making recommendations as to when the system needs to be upgraded. This is not as clear cut a task as one might think initially, as
While the costs associated with IT ‘man hours’ are considerably more difficult to pin down and quantify than the aforementioned ‘hard’ costs which have been covered earlier in this article, they should not be overlooked as they are still costing your company money, whether you can physically see where the money is going or not. Remember as well, that time spent here is
Another extremely important consideration to take into account when considering the viability of using a fax server system in your day-to-day business is that of security. Many traditional fax servers do not properly encrypt their hard drive’s data in an effective manner, which creates an obvious ‘soft spot’ point for the company which can be exploited by opportunistic hackers. This can be of particular concern if the fax server is connected to your company’s main network.
Such vulnerabilities in terms of security become all the more problematic when we take into account that your company may be handling data which could potentially lead to a client or customer’s personal information falling into the wrong hands. Such information falls under the remit of very strict privacy and data protection laws. The loss of such data could have serious legal repercussions for your company, as well as the loss of reputation.
It should also be noted that it is still a standard form of procedure in many businesses for a company administrator to perform what is known as a ‘content purge’
When we take the aforementioned reasons into account, a clear case emerges that it is high time that modern businesses put an end to their use of traditional fax server systems. Ideally, they should be replaced with more secure, efficient and cost-effective solutions. While there are several different options available on the market, here at eFax UK we firmly believe that the ideal course of action to take is to replace your company’s existing fax server with a cloud-based faxing system
become a thing of the past, allowing you to quickly and efficiently respond to clients and customers without having to worry about time-consuming printing and the dreaded paper jam.
Cloud-based faxing services are also a lot more cost-effective than your standard wired fax server system. Instead of having to pay up front for the use of your server and specific telephone lines, you can simply ‘pay as you go’, meaning you won’t end up overspending during times when you aren’t sending or receiving as many faxes. Essentially, the cloud ensures that you are getting exactly what you are paying for, a much fairer system than the old method of paying for your potential faxing ability, only to have to pay yet again once the pre-conceived capacity is reached.
To recap, here is what you are saving on when you move faxing services to a cloud-based system:
The many advantages associated with upgrading your fax server to a cloud-based system are clear. This is why eFax Corporate has become a trusted business solution for upward of 11 million customers worldwide, and is even used by almost half of the world’s Fortune 500 companies.