Small Business Internet Fax Benefits

Changes brought about by the Internet and the “old” way of faxing messages

There are many benefits that the advent of Internet usage has brought to the world of business. One aspect of business communication that has been significantly altered is the way that fax messages are sent and received. At one time, one of the major expenses that a small business needed to deal with was the acquisition of a reliable fax machine. Because of the importance of this form of communication, a high quality machine with an attached service contract would have been recommended. In addition, office personnel would need to be trained in the mechanical aspects of maintaining the operation of this equipment. This meant dealing with the inevitable paper jams and changing out expensive, proprietary ink cartridges (which always seemed to run low at inopportune times).

In addition, since communication was established by phone line, a dedicated phone line was needed. If the small business was unable to afford an expensive separate line, then the fax machine would need to share a line with a voice telephone. This meant a choice was made between making an important phone call and receiving a time-sensitive fax. There are many of us who can recall dialing the phone number of a business – only to receive the harsh signal indicating that the line was connected to that company’s fax machine. Then there was the endless wait for a fax line to connect and fax messages that were unintelligible. Large fax jobs were slow in sending and receiving with the possibility of a paper jam adding even more wasted time to the procedure.

Internet Faxing Benefits

One of the greatest benefits of online faxing is the fact that you are no longer tied to the office fax machine when it comes to sending and receiving faxes. Since an Internet fax is sent and received through an email account, any place that you are able to connect to the Internet can instantly become your “fax machine” location. Even more importantly, this means that you have a variety of devices that may be used – from a standard desktop PC to a laptop or even a smart phone! As an indication of this level of convenience, consider using the smart phone in your jacket pocket as opposed to dealing with a paper jam or a leaking ink cartridge.

As far as security is concerned, an encrypted, password locked email account is far more secure than a stack of faxed documents sitting on a fax machine that can easily be intercepted or casually read by the wrong individual. Additional layers of unprecedented security may be achieved through an inexpensive online fax service, which will store a fax on an encrypted server that may be retrieved from anywhere in the world. These faxes can even be archived, at your request, for a year, if necessary.

Choosing the right online fax service

Another major advantage to using an online fax service is its flexibility. Unlike a limited use fax machine, the online fax service may be tailored to fit the specific needs of a small business. This translates into more than just a convenience. It means not only saving time and money, but it can play a major role in the actual business strategy. This is especially true in situations where scenarios such as targeted business announcements need to be faxed to clients and potential clients.

In the long run, an Internet based service can provide a small business with increased mobility, a broader range of features and a higher level of efficiency. It’s the difference between the flexibility of programmable software vs. the rigidity of a hard-wired machine.