Computer faxing, or Internet faxing, has come of age and the idea of getting a fax machine with a separate telephone line is becoming a little outdated. Fax machines, lines and supplies can be a huge expense, especially for larger organizations, and technological alternatives have been developed that reduce those costs considerably and make faxing much more convenient, confidential and organized.
There are about a dozen major players in the computer faxing industry who handle the bulk of the traffic. These companies specialize in providing computer faxing services that companies, large and small, can purchase. Signing up for service is relatively fast, easy and inexpensive.
The concept behind computer faxing is simple. You get a toll free or local fax number that people use to send you faxes. However, the fax number does not go to an actual fax machine. Rather, it goes to a server that converts the fax into a viewable file (like a pdf) and it is sent to your email inbox. Once you receive the fax in your email, you can save it, forward it or print it out. Faxing from your computer is also simple. If your computer crashes, your faxes are stored on a secured server that you can access online from any computer, so you never have to worry about losing a fax.
One of the biggest questions involving computer faxing is, "What happens when I receive a fax in my email that I have to sign and fax back?" The solution is using an electronic signature you can easily create for yourself. Many of the computer fax services include that capability in software you'll get as part of the service.
One of the most popular computer fax services is RingCentral, a communications company in California that has broken through the promotional clutter and made a name for itself by offering prospective customers a free 30 day trial. They offer several different levels of programs, depending on your usage and needs and their pricing is extremely competitive. For example for $7.99 a month you get 300 fax pages. They offer a number of other features as well, including text alerts to let you know when faxes have arrived.
Overall, many experts predicted the demise of faxing when people learned how to send file attachments with email. That had an impact no doubt, but faxing is still alive and well for a variety of reasons. And with the evolving fax technology, and with the cost and convenience of computer faxing, it looks like fax will be around for a long time.
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