8 Business Advantages Of Online Fax Services

Ever since emails were introduced, fax machines have become obsolete. After all, who would want to carry a bulky machine if you could achieve what it does best with only a phone? However, while physical fax is no longer viable in an era where one can send files with a few keystrokes, the same cannot be said to its successor—online faxing.   

Online faxing is essentially the act of sending a fax using the internet rather than using telephone connections and a fax machine. In other words, it no longer has the flaws of traditional faxing. 

Online fax services are convenient for businesses for the following reasons.  

1. It Automatically Gives You A Fax Number

Similar to how smartphone users need a number to send a text message to someone, you must also first acquire a fax number before sending a fax, be it via a fax machine or online. 

This is also the number people must use if they want to send a fax to your machine. 

Unbeknownst to many, a fax number also serves as a way to create a local presence in your region. This is especially useful for businesses since presence is one of your main assets to market your products and services. So, how does one obtain a fax number?  

Traditionally, if a person wants to obtain a fax number, they must call a phone company and ask for a phone line. This generally costs money and may take a while to set up.   

However, if you opt for online fax service, the provider should give you a fax number free of charge. This freebie is one of the reasons why online fax services can be helpful for businesses. 

2. Online Fax Services Are Not Susceptible To Cyber Attacks

If you’ve ever watched the latest news, you’re probably with how much impact cyber-attacks have on a business. Not only can it put a dent in your reputation, but it can also potentially cost thousands, if not millions of dollars in damage. For that reason, any step that can improve your cybersecurity will always be advantageous. And believe it or not, an online fax service can do just that. 

For starters, email, the alternative to virtual fax services, is not as secure as people make it out to be. While it is safe to some extent, it’s also a common entry point for hackers.  

Here are some examples of ways hackers can breach your system using emails: 

• Phishing
• Whaling Attacks
• Email Account Compromise (EAC)
• Business Email Compromise (BEC)
• Pay-Per-Click Ad Scams (Click Fraud)
• Malware

While emails are susceptible to these vulnerabilities, online fax services are not. 

This is mainly because every fax you send and receive typically uses an advanced level of encryption. Therefore, only the recipient and the sender can decode the contents of the fax. 

3. You Can Monitor The Transmission Of Online Fax

On top of its secure encryption, you can also monitor the transmission of cloud-based faxes. 

This means you can find out various information from when the fax starts sending up to when the delivery is complete. Such a feature can be handy if you’re delivering classified info. 

Furthermore, since you cannot usually monitor transmissions in email infrastructure, this is a massive advantage of online fax services over emails. 

4. It Allows You To Sign Documents Electronically

One of the main features of online fax services is their electronic signing capabilities. Moreover, it allows you to sign documents online and fax them to the sender afterward.  

This can be incredibly useful, especially to businesses that often deal with contracts, invoices, and other paperwork that requires your signature. Not only is it a convenient process, but eSignatures are also usually more secure than writing your signature on a piece of paper, scanning it via a scanner or printer, and embedding it into the document.  

5. Setting Up An Infrastructure With Online Fax Services Is Easy

While it’s true that setting up an online fax service takes a while, the process is fairly straightforward, even more so than setting up an email system. It involves the following steps: 

1. Sign up for an online fax service.
2. Choose a fax number of your choice.
3. Attach a document to a new fax message.
4. Press the fax or send button of the sort.

On the other hand, if you want to create a business email address, you typically have to create a website first, which is already a time-consuming task by itself. This would give you a domain that you can use for your business email address. Hence, setting up an online fax system is much easier than its alternatives, which is always a plus for businesses.   

6. You Can Browse Through Previous Faxes

One feature that traditional faxing never had is sifting through previous faxes. Fortunately, most online fax services now consist of a history of some sort where you can find the faxes you previously sent. This can be anywhere from the last 300 to the previous 1000 faxes. 

Some platforms also allow you to search faxes using keywords, much like how you’d search for a specific email through your inbox. These features will always come in handy for businesses. 

7. It Enables You To Go Paperless

Every business has, at some point, thought of going paperless. After all, it has a lot of perks to any establishment. For one, it makes document organization much more manageable. They will also be more secure than simply on a piece of paper. And most importantly, going paperless means you won’t need to spend money on paper anymore.   

And as one might imagine, this is precisely what online fax services are for—to enable a paperless environment, much like what email does.   

8. Online Fax Services Are Accessible Via Mobile Devices

While many people argue that online fax services are not as convenient as emails, that’s often not the case. It’s important to understand that email providers’ features can be adapted to an online fax system. For example, you can now access online fax platforms via mobile devices, which was previously only possible with email apps.  

Final Words

Many people believe emails are the absolute best means of communication on the internet, but there’s a reason why online faxing has been gaining more traction lately. But keep in mind that not all online fax services offer the same benefits. Some may be decent, while others are lacking. It’s only up to you how you decide on your service provider.