Faxing was introduced in the mid-1800s – and while the technology wowed the public at the time, fax machines are somewhat less than awe-inspiring in the digital age. On the contrary: old, run-down fax machines tend to date offices back to the days when “penciling in” was a literal phrase.
Now, business VoIP providers offer VoIP faxing: a secure, digital alternative to traditional faxing. With VoIP fax technology, users can simply scan documents and fax them using their email, bypassing clunky analog technology.
Here are the top three undeniable advantages to kicking your fax machine to the curb in favor of VoIP.
- Lose the Equipment
While most offices aren’t using original, 19th-century faxing technology, their machines are still likely decades old and no stranger to technical difficulties.
Despite increasing repair needs, finding support for old technology (or digging up original manuals from the 1980s) is no small feat. Repairs tend to be expensive and time-consuming – and as technology ages, it needs repairs more and more frequently.
With VoIP, offices don’t need a fax machine at all. Instead, they can fax files using their email. For paper files, employees can simply upload them to their computer with a scanner before virtually faxing them.
Further, VoIP faxing alleviates offices from other fax machine hassles like paper jams and busy tones.
Ditching the analog equipment for digital faxing streamlines inter-office file sharing, offering more precise communication without the headache (or the eye-sore – fax machines are notoriously bulky and don’t exactly scream “modern”).
- Get Eco-Friendly
Businesses still using analog fax machines can throw out any dreams of going paperless. Faxing creates paper. And, conservationism aside, sending paper files with aging tech creates serious documentation problems.
The healthcare industry, for example, uses mostly analog faxing, with frequent document quality and security issues fueling the healthcare industry’s push for digitization. Some have even suggested that the only way to fix documentation problems in the healthcare industry is to outlaw analog faxing.
And healthcare isn’t the only industry making the switch. Many insurance companies have been switching to digital fax, and most VoIP call centers use digital faxing rather than analog. VoIP SIP’s scalability makes it easy for organizations of all sizes to customize faxing and other features to meet their needs.
- Boost Efficiency and Savings
First off, traditional fax machines are expensive to purchase, install and fix. With VoIP fax, equipment is largely digital, making updates and repairs quick and easy (and inexpensive).
Secondly, fax lines are generally more expensive than virtual ones. On top of those costs, businesses still using landlines for their phone and fax needs are likely paying much more than they would be with VoIP. In fact, many businesses cut their phone bills in half when they switch to a VoIP solution.
In addition to the savings, VoIP faxing helps improve overall workplace efficiency, cutting out redundant steps and boosting productivity. For example, VoIP fax systems can transfer faxes directly into workflows or document processing systems to streamline processing.
VoIP faxing also smooths other operations by cutting equipment troubleshooting time and providing employees with a more user-friendly option. Next to its analog counterpart, there’s no contest: VoIP fax is faster, more efficient and easier to use.
The Undeniable Advantages of VoIP Solutions
The benefits of VoIP service expand far beyond streamlined faxing. With more affordable service, better support and increased uptime, VoIP is now the number one choice for businesses. To learn about some of the other advantages driving businesses to switch to VoIP, check out our infographic on the top ten benefits to 4Voice’s business VoIP solutions.
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