Why your business should switch to cloud faxing

Traditional fax machines have been a famous, reliable part of the office for generations, but for modern day businesses can be an unnecessary hindrance. However, with cloud-based faxing you can avoid the problems associated with fax servers and start streamlining your business workflow.

Here are five ways in which cloud faxing can benefit your business:

Problem 1: Unpredictable costs
Traditional fax machines are by no means a one-off purchase. When fax is used regularly in a busy office, ink and paper costs can soon pile up. Together with possible on-going maintenance costs from engineers fax machines can be an unnecessary expense.

Solution: Cost-effective, paperless service
Cloud faxing services like Sfax negate the need for ink and paper, as faxes are sent, received and stored digitally – in the cloud. The financial security of a fixed, monthly subscription, including support, makes cloud fax a cost-effective communication solution for large organizations and home businesses alike.

Problem 2: Sensitive data
There are plenty of industries that regularly deal with personal, sensitive information such as healthcare records. These may need to be transferred between departments or health institutions, and as such security is an utmost priority to ensure the protected information is not seen by unwanted third parties. Although data is encrypted when transmitted via fax servers, if not monitored the information may be exposed once received.

Solution: Improved security and HIPAA compliance
While traditional fax has lasted over the years due to its security measures, cloud fax brings those measures into the twenty-first century. Sfax provides a range of physical, organizational and administrative procedures designed to keep users’ data as safe and secure as possible. From firewalls and limited physical access to comprehensive training, Sfax is HIPAA-compliant, giving users peace of mind that any sensitive information they transmit will be protected and delivered directly to the intended recipient.

Problem 3: Limited access
With many organizations undergoing business abroad or on other sides of the country, there is often the need for travel. Traditional fax machines are therefore completely impractical, and the nature of the information may require more security than a simple email.

Solution: On-the-go faxing from mobile devices
The availability of cloud fax on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets means the service can be accessed on the move. This gives users the ability to send, receive, and digitally sign faxes in airports, on the train, at home, or anywhere else there is access to the internet. Whether you are self-employed or part of a hundred-strong enterprise, cloud internet fax is a necessity for your business.

Problem 4: Physical space
With more and more people working from home and not everyone having the luxury of a home office, fax machines can often be a bulky and impractical use of space. As well as the machine itself, the system requires spare paper and ink which must all be stored – often in a small space.

Solution: Send and receive faxes online with cloud fax
Cloud fax allows users the ability to send, receive and digitally sign faxes at home without the need for a physical fax machine. The browser version of Sfax, for example, acts just like an email service in the way a user can select recipients, write a subject line, and attach documents, as well as receiving faxes online which can be viewed immediately. This negates the need for a physical fax machine, giving small and home businesses more space and freedom.

Problem 5: Developer Integration
Some software developers may wish to implement a cloud faxing service into their application, such as healthcare billing, document management, or ePrescribing software, for which fax servers are a nonviable or troublesome option.

Solution: Cloud fax API
A set of programming instructions and standards, or an Fax API, is made available by cloud fax providers so that third party developers can use the code to integrate cloud faxing into their own applications. The code is available in all major programming languages, making secure cloud faxing a flexible and useful tool for users and developers alike.