Some might think that the use of fax is now obsolete. In reality, it has not disappeared, but has simply evolved to adapt to the digital transformation requirements of companies.
The fax indeed brings real added value by offering automation options, thus facilitating the digitization of previously analog workflows.
Yet, to fully exploit the benefits offered by this well-established channel, businesses must use cloud-based fax services and modern fax APIs. Focus.
Uses of fax today
If the use of the fax experienced its boom in the 1960s, it is still popular today for many uses specific to administrative services and companies in the health, real estate and finance sectors. It can be used, for example, to transmit vital laboratory reports directly during an intervention, hundreds of thousands of delivery notes to florists for Mother’s Day or even the digitization and automation of quotes or contracts. . From a legal point of view, it serves in particular as commercial proof consent, which makes it a privileged communication channel for sending important documents, in complete security and reliability. It is therefore generally adopted in the process of contract subscription or termination, order dispatch, on a large scale and worldwide.
But traditional fax servers have had their day, due to the many problems they encounter. Expensive service contracts, terminated or suspended manufacturer support, server failures or even problems of excess and insufficient capacity are all reasons that have motivated companies to find an alternative capable of adapting to the new challenges of digital transformation.
Cloud fax such as mFax offers a range of different services for sending and receiving faxes, as well as integrating faxed documents into further downstream processes. All documents are automatically available in scanned format. They can be received in the email client (via PDF), the document management system, or even in the CRM, ECM or ERP system. In the form of a file or structured data for automated processing. In a way that best suits business processes. Unlike fax solutions running on-premises (i.e. fax servers), the business does not have to provide the fax infrastructure itself, e.g. hardware, software or cables. All process steps are carried out in the cloud provided by the provider.
New opportunities with cloud fax services
While email is already commonly used as a cloud service, fax is less often the case, yet this means of communication can bring significant benefits to businesses.
To meet growing business demands for flexibility and performance, cloud fax services offer a highly optimized infrastructure with highly scalable send and receive capabilities. Indeed, companies always have the possibility to adapt their workflows, their processes and their collaboration. They decide for themselves which channel they want to use to address their customers or suppliers, without having to waste precious time using different devices and platforms. Additionally, their enterprise-grade services are connected to multiple Tier-1 carriers and local providers to provide redundancy and greater reliability.
This allows businesses to reduce or completely eliminate expenses related to telephony and fax hardware, fax servers, software licenses, software upgrades, and reduce compliance, administrative and maintenance. Cloud fax services also offer transparent, usage-based billing models where only per-batch or per-page prices are charged. Investment and process costs can therefore be reduced by more than 70% compared to traditional fax infrastructures.
Encompass all technologies, including fax, for successful cloudification
If the company wants to consolidate its data centers or relocate hardware and applications, then it would be very wise to move the fax communication to the cloud to ensure a quick and easy cloudification migration process. The fax communication does not pass through the VoIP infrastructure of the telecommunications provider, but directly through the data center of the specialized provider. Cloud fax services enable uninterrupted communication, even in all-IP environments.
In addition, modern cloud fax services can be integrated into applications using standard interfaces, web services and programmable interfaces. The wide variety of APIs offered facilitates quick and easy direct integration between cloud fax and enterprise applications such as SAP Cloud, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or Salesforce.
From a security point of view, the interfaces are certified and comply with legal provisions, in accordance with European data protection directives and specific to each sector. In this way, cloud service fs can react immediately to new threats with continuous updates and guarantee the encryption of sensitive company content. Tailor-made service solutions can also be implemented, such as the integration of global assistance, digital signature or archiving of incoming messages. The supplier can thus support the customer, responding to the specific needs of the company on a case-by-case basis.
Although we may have believed it for a time, the fax machine is in fact far from dead. If the advent of the Internet and the digital transformation of companies have somewhat shaken up the fax in paper format, the latter has been able to adapt to the times. Fax is an integral part of many business processes and is the preferred means of communication when it comes to exchanging sensitive data in a universal, secure and auditable manner. With enterprise-level cloud fax business services, the proven benefits of fax communication can be translated into digital environments with high levels of reliability and security.