Faxing may not be the first tool you think of when you imagine a digitally transforming business environment, but it is certainly not as obsolete as many people perceive. Research shows faxing is alive and well around the world, with millions of faxes traveling daily and actually increasing. What has changed is the method through which faxes fly and the technology that processes faxes.
Today, there are multiple options for advanced faxing tools that can positively impact a business’s productivity, efficiency, and bottom line. Fax machines are still useful, and they have been combined into the multi-functional devices we see every day being used for scanning, printing, and faxing. Software-based fax solutions eliminate the paper from one end or both ends of the fax machine and are part of the digital transformation all companies are seeking.
One of the most useful cases for using fax servers instead of fax machines is when businesses receive orders. Whether it be a direct order from a customer or a prescription from a medical provider, many businesses are still mired in a paper-based process where they scan the fax with the order data into a digital workflow. Software-based fax solutions eliminate that step of manually scanning paper, so the fax’s data can go right into the workflow seamlessly.
What Is Enterprise Fax?
Enterprise fax is a bi-directional software application that can address incoming and outgoing faxes. Historically, on-premise fax solutions have been the most popular way to process faxes – requiring hardware and software to operate. While on-premise fax is still considered by many to be the most reliable, scalable method of faxing, hybrid and cloud solutions have emerged that give on-premise a run for its money.
Hybrid fax enables a business to deploy an enterprise fax system with virtual servers and cloud services to enjoy increased operational efficiency and high-availability faxing capabilities.
Cloud fax enables businesses to eliminate phone lines, software, and hardware systems to send and receive faxes from email. You can receive faxes with a local or toll-free number, as PDFs or TIFF files, and attach and send faxes with email integration.
How Does Enterprise Fax Work?
Enterprise fax solutions can help facilitate information capture by capturing incoming faxes as images. Once captured, the images can be sent through the same processes as a scanned image but with no paper-based interactions needed. Processes become more streamlined and auditable earlier on when information can be captured electronically versus turning paper into an image twice in a process.
Outbound fax is consistently used in document delivery workflows for delivering documents like invoices, credits, statements, and electronic funds transfers. Documents can be delivered as a fax or an email. This is a preference for companies because fax is one of the most secure methods of sending information from one party to another.
Enterprise fax solutions can also enable desktop faxing for both outbound and inbound at every workstation. Users can leverage email integration to send or receive faxes and “print” a document using a virtual printer that sends the document to the fax server.
While faxing is more secure than email in many instances, physical fax machines introduce layers of security risks, including outdated technology, unauthorized document access, missent information, and other problems related to human error. Enterprise fax systems eliminate those risks. Digital fax solutions are highly secure methods to transmit documents and are the method of choice for industries with strict compliance regulations such as the medical field.
The Benefits of Hybrid and Cloud Enterprise Fax
Going the paperless route has helped many businesses realize the following benefits when it comes to fax:
Cost Savings – Plus Improved Efficiency and Productivity
Eliminating paper alone will save your business money, but fax servers provide the lowest cost per page. You’ll see savings on labor, too, since employees will no longer need to process paper or waste time retrieving, storing, and physically faxing documents.
You’ll automate fax processes, which will improve workflow speed and quality. Employees no longer need to leave their desks to wait in line at the fax machine, so they’ll save time, and workflows will go unhindered by paper-based processes.
Business Continuity
Enterprise fax provides seamless experiences for users as cloud faxing handles peak volumes of inbound and outbound traffic. With automatic failover and load balancing, faxes move non-stop, and users never get a busy signal.
Device Ubiquity
With cloud-based fax, users can access documents across devices – a vital element for collaboration in any remote or hybrid-remote work environment. Users can access faxing through web clients, desktop clients, Microsoft Outlook/email add-ons, and mobile apps.
Better Visibility and Control
Enterprise fax solutions centralize the management of fax-based processes so you can gain a complete view of your fax environment. You can easily deploy, monitor, and manage fax services, and you can integrate fax solutions with existing applications through APIs.
Secure Document Transfer
Enterprise fax ensures encryption while documents are both in transit and at rest. With authenticated access and detailed audit trails, your documents will only be seen by the right parties and will be compliant-ready.
Ensured Compliance
The right enterprise fax provider will offer HIPAA, SOX, and FERPA-compliant fax solutions so you can rest assured you’ll have a complete audit trail of communication and documents should you need them.
Instant Set-Up
No matter the size of your business, you’re able to start cloud faxing rapidly since no hardware is required.
Contact All Star Software Systems today to discover which enterprise fax solution is right for your business. We’ve been helping enterprises like yours navigate the world of fax for years, and our experts are ready to help you determine which solution will help you grow.
