Communication has evolved over time, especially since the rise of the internet and digital solutions brought about alternatives to conventional mail, courier services, and in-person conversations. Still certain time-tested solutions continue to dominate the sector. Phone calls continue to bring people together and aid in resolving business matters, and in many cases, there’s just no substitute for face-to-face meetings. Faxing remains a common means of communication in the business world as well, and it’s not likely to fade away anytime soon.
That being said, faxing itself has changed over the years. Bulky machines are no longer required to send faxes. At the same time, businesses are no longer tied down by outdated landlines. Instead, companies are now able to send cloud faxes via any device with an internet connection without needing additional equipment. Though many people may feel that faxing is fading into the background, it’s still essential for modern businesses for several reasons.
Increased Security
One of the reasons why faxing is so crucial for today’s businesses is its security. Conventional faxes were vulnerable to interception before, during, and after transmission. Email can be just as insecure. That’s not the case with modern fax solutions. They use multiple layers of security to prevent transmissions from falling into the wrong hands. That safeguards sensitive information and guarantees that only the sender and the intended recipient are able to view the content being transmitted. That’s one of the reasons faxing is still popular in so many industries, including finance, healthcare, real estate, and the legal sector.
Ensured Compliance
In addition to improved security in general, certain cloud-based fax solutions go the extra mile. Their providers take specific measures to ensure they remain in compliance with today’s stringent privacy and security regulations. Those include HIPAA, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the General Data Protection Regulation to name a few of the most prominent. For businesses that are governed by those standards, today’s fax solutions can be vital.
Cost-Effectiveness
Modern faxing is also highly cost-effective for businesses. It eliminates the need for the expensive equipment that was required for traditional faxing as well as the need for ongoing maintenance and repairs for those machines. Though subscribing to cloud-based fax solutions is an expense in its own right, businesses can save a great deal of money when compared to the costs of conventional fax machines.
Furthermore, support services, updates, and other essentials are included in the cost of subscriptions. Businesses can choose the plans that best meet their needs and budgets too. Of course, the costs of legal issues, fraud risks, and other problems cloud-based faxing can prevent factor into the equation here as well.
Reliability and Speed
Today’s fax solutions give businesses a reliable means of communication as well. It’s virtually instant as opposed to the time it took to send faxes in the past. It’s certainly faster than mailing documents or sending them via a courier. It’s as fast and simple as sending an email, and there’s no risk of documents getting lost during transmission or being sent to the wrong recipients. Cloud faxing also provides an audit trail so users can track exactly when documents were sent, where they were sent from, when they received, and who received them among other important details.
Making Cloud Faxing Part of Your Business
Many people thought that faxing would become obsolete when email, document sharing, and other solutions came into play. Quite the opposite is true, though. Faxing remains just as essential for businesses as it was before. It could be considered even more valuable in light of its compliance with the privacy and security regulations that are now in place. When you combine that advantage with its security, cost-effectiveness, and reliability, there’s little denying that cloud faxing is crucial for businesses and likely to continue to be moving forward.
