If you work in the financial sector and your responsibilities extend to your company’s IT operations, your colleagues probably ensure that you are kept up-to-date on their latest challenges with the company fax machine.
Here we explore the merits and pitfalls of fax and why cloud faxing is the go-to alternative for the finance industry.
Why Email Can’t Replace Fax
While scanning documents and attaching them to an email might appear to be the cost-effective solution to your colleagues’ tedious and frustrating encounters with the fax machine, in truth it introduces a much bigger problem: security. These days we see frequent headlines in the media regarding data breaches that have exposed consumer data on a significant scale. Clearly, email does not offer the same level of security as fax.
Security Isn’t Enough for the Analogue Fax
While analogue faxing is indeed more secure than email, it doesn’t offer the same modern conveniences. One universally understood pain point with analogue faxing is simply the time it takes to send and receive documents.
Employees working in finance are used to queueing and waiting their turn to use the fax machine. Plus, they must deal with busy signals, entering recipient’s details, the transmission itself, and then standing around waiting for a confirmation page. This, of course, doesn’t include repeatedly replacing toner cartridges and restocking the paper supply.
Even fax servers come with their disadvantages. For instance, as the person responsible for your team’s IT, you are well aware of the significant, ongoing maintenance that these servers require. If you are already stretched in your role, fax server maintenance only increases responsibility.
The dilemma is clear. Traditional faxing lacks the convenience and cost-effectiveness of email, while email lacks the security of faxing, a critical component of business in today’s financial industry. The question remains: Is there a viable alternative to traditional fax services that delivers on convenience, cost and security?
There is. It’s called cloud faxing.
Why Switch to Cloud Faxing?
- Advanced encryption technology
- Trusted by more Fortune 500 companies
- Reduces use of IT resources and increases productivity
- Fast, convenient and highly secure
Advanced Encryption Technology
Firstly, cloud faxing combines the modern conveniences of email with the trustworthiness of traditional analogue fax services, as well as an additional layer of security.
This extra security is due to eFax Corporate’s advanced levels of encryption technology, namely, Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). These protocols are far more advanced than the more widely known, but outdated Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Trusted by Fortune 500
Since its inception, more than half of the Fortune 500 companies have made substantial investments in cloud faxing and with eFax Corporate in particular. Large scale media conglomerates, international banks, insurance and accountancy firms are now cloud fax users, with increasing numbers following suit.
Reduces Admin and Increase Productivity
By removing the associated hassles of traditional fax machines, and introducing cloud faxing, many businesses in the financial sector are streamlining their day-to-day activities, saving time, and ultimately, money.
The time and resources that cloud faxing frees up enables employees to focus on their most important tasks and increase their productivity. Online faxing services also enable businesses to cut down on administrative expenses and resources such as paper, cartridges and additional phone lines.
Fast, Secure Communications
Fast and secure document transfer is mission critical for financial institutions.
Cloud fax expedites these communications, such as loan and mortgage applications, insurance, and a myriad of financial transactions. In addition, these communications are highly regulated to ensure maximum protection from potential security breaches.
All the Benefits of the Cloud
With internet faxing, faxes are immediately converted into easy-to-read digital files, so it’s no longer necessary to print out documents or make hard-copy edits. Instead, edits can be completed online and your faxes securely stored and filed, indefinitely, or until you decide they can be deleted.
How Cloud Faxing Works
- Send faxes using any web-enabled device.
- Instantly download any attached PDF document.
- View and reply instantly.
No Scanning Necessary
Financial institutions must prioritise efficient processes to ensure that they remain competitive in their industry. Quicker and more efficient processes benefit your customers, your staff, and the company’s bottom line.
Speed is a key benefit when using eFax Corporate, offering your employees a ‘no scan’ faxing solution, and the ability to fax almost any file type, which is then sent to your recipient’s fax machine.
Files that can be transmitted via cloud fax include:
- legal forms or contracts
- tax forms
- articles of incorporation
- private and confidential documents
- mortgage forms
- financial transactions and signed documents
Unlike paper documents, digital files don’t become distorted, hard to read or lose their original appearance. For instance, colour PDFs will never be converted to black and white.
After a file has been sent successfully, the recipient can immediately view, print or download the document. eFax Corporate allows users to view, zoom, rotate or print files directly from their laptop, PC or smart phone.
Receiving Faxes
eFax Corporate’s encryption protocols mean that the transmissions of financial institutions are protected and secure. High-level protection means the risk of unauthorised persons gaining access to confidential information is minimal.
One of the main disadvantages of traditional fax services is that while the transmission itself may have been secure, there is no guarantee that all documents were picked up by the intended individual and stored safely.
With eFax Corporate this risk is eliminated, as users can save all incoming faxes securely in the cloud. It is simple to resend a stored fax with a few simple clicks on any web-enabled device, so there is no need for any additional scanning or printing.
In addition, saved faxes are permanently stored in the cloud until an authorised user deletes them. With eFax Corporate you have complete control.
Sending Faxes
Sending a fax via the cloud is as simple as sending an email. To begin, open a new email message and attach your document. Next, type in the recipient’s fax number and hit send. During transmission, the message and data are encrypted and are received via the recipient’s fax machine like any other fax message. In fact, they won’t even be aware that it was sent via email.
eFax Corporate understands the importance of advanced security and encryption for our financial industry clients, which is why we use Transport Layer Security (TLS) during transmission and an AES 256-bit encryption for faxes saved in a user’s email inbox.
Administrator Controls
With eFax, you will always be in control of your faxing. The eFax Corporate Administrator Portal allows administrators to add new fax numbers, create new user profiles, keep track of all faxes, as well as easily troubleshoot any technical difficulties.
With the Administrator Portal, you can easily track, manage and control your faxing infrastructure from one, user-friendly interface.
The End of Busy Signals
You’ll no longer have to endure a ‘busy’ signal notification when you switch to online faxing. If by chance the recipient’s number is busy, eFax Corporate will automatically resend the fax until it successfully transmits.
If, for any reason, the transmission is stalled or paused, the sender will be notified and will receive a status report via email.
A Low-Cost Solution
Cloud faxing is surprisingly cost-effective for your business. Retiring your old faxing infrastructure means an end to replacing ink cartridges and paper, paying for expensive telephone lines and the high costs of maintaining fax servers.
Excellence in Cloud Faxing With eFax Corporate
eFax Corporate provides a competitive cloud-based fax service that enables businesses to grow, increase productivity and lower administrative costs, as well as ensure compliance with national security and privacy regulations and laws.
You don’t have to be an international player in the financial landscape to become an eFax Corporate customer. When your company joins eFax Corporate, you can securely share documents via fax and keep costs to a minimum whether you are a small, medium or large business.
If your company already has existing fax numbers, our team will assist you in switching them over to your eFax Corporate account, so you won’t need a new fax number. As the system functions completely online, there will be no need to purchase new equipment or install complex programmes. Instead, all you need to do to get started is sign in.
Signing up to an eFax Corporate cloud faxing account means you’ll be able to fax the same way you email. This simple solution will streamline communication processes while ensuring unparalleled security.
Interested in learning more about a cloud faxing solution? Call eFax Corporate and discover how internet faxing can benefit your business and enable you to fax more securely today.