Remembering Dick and Myra Larkin - National Association of ...

faxes via a traditional fax machine can beproblematic. Waiting in line to send afax is time wasted. Then, if you are waitingfor an urgent incoming fax, you mayfind yourself waiting as other faxes finishprinting. With an Internet fax service,though, you can send and receive faxesanywhere you can get an Internet connection– even if you’re away from theoffice on client calls. In today’s age of themobile worker, that alone might make itworth it.In addition, you can store all your faxeson your laptop or other mobile device, allowingyou to keep those important documentsat your fingertips. Some serviceseven allow you to store faxes online foras long as a year, letting you access themeven if you forget your mobile device.• No (or at least less) paper. Fax machinescreate paper documents. Papercosts money and can get lost, misplacedor destroyed. It also takes up a lot of spacein filing cabinets when there is a lot of it.Because documents faxed via an Internetfax service are electronic, they’re mucheasier to handle and manage. The onlytime you’ll need paper is if you chooseto print a particular fax. That’s better forthe environment and better for your bottomline too.• Lower cost. To operate a fax machine,first, of course, you need to buy themachine itself. Then you have to pay toinstall another phone line. Each monthyou have the cost of paper, toner, electricityto keep it ready to use 24 x 7, andongoing phone line charges. Maybe evena maintenance fee for the machine. Withan Internet fax service, the only expenseis the cost of the service itself – whichis lower than just about any one of theabove expenditures.• Increased privacy/security. Faxmachines tend to be placed in commonareas for the sake of convenience. Theproblem with common areas is that anyonecan go there, which means that theconfidential fax you’re sending or receivingis potentially left open to prying eyes.This scenario is not exactly what youwould call tight security, which is criticalin an insurance agency, where nearly allinformation is confidential.Since Internet fax services deliverfaxes directly to the user’s desktop, thechances of unauthorized eyes seeing aparticular fax are reduced by an order ofmagnitude. It certainly keeps the amateursand busybodies away. For thosedealing with medical records, HIPAAlaws do not allow confidential recordsto be sent via email due to security risks.But they do allow faxes. A good Internetfax service will have built-in encryptionof all faxes, increasing the security whilecomplying with the law.• No more lost faxes. As mentionedearlier, fax machines generate paperfaxes. Paper faxes can be misfiled, blownoff desks by a breeze, become stuck toanother piece of paper, accidentally gettossed in the trash or suffer other calamitousfates. Should that happen, the contentsare lost, sometimes forever. Electronicdocuments generated by Internetfax services not only are immune to allthat, they can also be backed up and restoredin case of a catastrophic loss. Thisis extremely important if the contents aremission-critical, such as a contract for anew piece of business. Finally, you canrun a desktop search to help you find anelectronic fax from six months ago that issuddenly important again. With a paperfax you’ll be hunting through the filingcabinets – hoping it was filed correctlyway back then.• No extra cost for a toll-free number.If you want to look big in the eyesof your customers by having a toll-freephone number, you’re going to pay extrafor it if you’re using a fax machine. Andevery time one of those customers usesyour toll-free number you’ll pay again.Most Internet fax services allow you tochoose between local and toll-free numbersfor the same cost.• No extra space required. A fax machinetakes up space, pure and simple. Sodo the filing cabinets required to storepaper faxes. An Internet fax service freesup that space. Use it to put in extra desks,or maybe even a few nice plants to dressup the office.The bottom line is there’s simply nogood reason to keep a fax machine in theoffice anymore. Sign up for an Internetfax service and you can finally banishyour old machine to the Island of ObsoleteOffice Equipment. Don’t feel badabout it, though. It can always turn tothe steno machine for company.Steve Adams is Vice President of Marketingfor MyFax (www.myfax.com), a providerof Internet faxing services for individualhome users, small businesses, and large corporations.MyFax has won a number ofawards in head-to-head competitions forease of use, reliability and best overall value.He can be reached at sadams@protus.com.Summer 2009 Exclusivefocus — 53