Small, start-up businesses often struggle to reach the same levels of service that their more established rivals can offer. But in terms of communication methods, it is exceptionally important to have as many points of contact as possible, through any and every medium that is available.
It is often assumed that faxing is a relic of a bygone era: why would people still use what is perceived as an ‘outdated’ form of communication when there are so many more easy to use and instantly accessible methods? Whilst it is true that emails, telephone and video calls are widely used, fax still plays a vital part in many business models – especially those who process sensitive information – and still holds advantages over its more modern counterparts.
For instance, although not common knowledge, the contents of any email can be intercepted multiple times en route to its final destination. Messages are frequently “read” and stored by ISPs, servers, firewalls, virus checkers and unscrupulous ‘bots’ that harvest email data.
This is just one reason why secure Internet faxing is so beneficial to small businesses, as it ensures that the sensitive data being sent and received is done so securely and that it is not going to be read or intercepted along the way.
And using Internet fax doesn’t have to be a slow, cumbersome process, involving any sort of hardware. In fact, faxes can be sent as simply as an email, with all the security benefits kept intact. Internet fax allows the user to have a regular inbox and use it as a faxing device, sending, receiving and storing faxes digitally.
With Internet faxing, you can eliminate that dedicated fax line saving you $40-50/month in line fees alone. Faxes can then be easily downloaded or printed off as and when they are needed, which is another bonus. Ink and paper costs can really add up over time, as anyone working in the era of spam faxes will tell you. It is the time factor where the real savings are made. Avoid those wasted hours ‘feeding’ your fax machine or waiting for that important fax to arrive. Simply send and receive faxes straight from your desktop.
Also, this is a far greener way to do things, which falls in line with the eco-friendly approach many companies are taking nowadays.
As another advantage, cloud computing now enables users to connect to their Internet accounts from anywhere with a WiFi or 3G connection. So faxes can be easily accessed on the move – something that would have been next to impossible 20 years ago!
All these benefits can be purchased at very reasonable prices, with some services offering free trials. This means that all businesses, both small or large, can easily and inexpensively ensure that they have faxing capabilities.
Even with all the methods of communication on offer nowadays, if you haven’t got a faxing system in place, now is the time to look into it. With all the great services on offer, there’s no reason not to have Internet fax as part of your communication arsenal.
Written by Aleks Szymanski CEO, SecureCare Technologies, Inc. SecureCare securely digitizes, processes and stores sensitive information to eliminate manual processes and paper. Today it provides a ‘double encrypted’ HIPAA-compliant online fax service for the healthcare sector named Sfax.