7 Key Features To Look For In An Internet Fax Service Provider

One of the best ways for your business to stay relevant and competitive in the industry is by ensuring that the systems and functions in place are up to date.

Your fax needs, for instance. Today in this digital age, the traditional faxing system has been made easier and more convenient with internet faxing or online faxing system.

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What Is Internet Faxing?

Generally, internet faxing allows you to send a fax and transmit documents while freeing you from the need for a fax machine, ink, or paper for you to send a fax. Unlike traditional faxing, internet faxing runs on a digital platform. This means that you can easily send a fax by email, either using your laptop or computer or even your smartphone. Aside from the convenience, organizations can also reduce their environmental footprint when switching to online faxing.

If you're considering adopting online fax for your business needs, one of the good ways to start is by choosing a reliable service provider. To help you get started, this article will outline some of the key features to look for in an internet fax service provider.

1. Fax Tracking

Fax tracking plays a role in securing that your message gets to its destination. This feature can give you real-time insights into what's happening to your documents once you send them and allows you to estimate how long it might take to get responses.

More so, since it runs on a digital platform, using email when sending fax allows you to keep a trail of your transactions, making it easy to locate files should they ever get lost or misplaced.

2. Data Security

Much like other internet-based services, transmitting data online has its share of risks and vulnerabilities. That said, a good internet fax service provider must have security measures in place to ensure that cyberattacks can be prevented and easily mitigated.

It'd be a good idea to check how much data security they offer. This should preferably include passwords or encryption on messages as they are being transmitted. Check also if they have a secure storage system that allows for backups and for you to retrieve your data if you should lose it at some point.

3. Transfer of Large Files

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A good thing to check for before choosing a fax services provider is their capacity to accommodate bulk file transfer. This might be in terms of sending many files simultaneously to a long list of specified individuals or in terms of the file size you need to send. Check the service's capacity and limitations, if any, in these regards.

More so, if you are intending on faxing photos, it'd be worth noting also to check if the service provider allows you to send them without reducing their sizes and quality.

4. Mobile Compatibility

For most people, their mobile phone is the most convenient device to work from, especially when they're always on the go. That said, it'd be good to make sure that your faxing services aren't limited to only when you have access to a desktop.

Also, another good thing to consider is if it would be possible to link all your devices. This way, you can have a backup measure should you have trouble with one of your devices. This can significantly help limit the number of times downtime might end up affecting your business communications.

5. Efficient Client Support

For an integral service such as internet faxing, your service provider must always be available to handle queries and technical problems that you might encounter.

If their customer support is less than standard, you could lose a lot of business time and money while you wait for a response from their end. So, even when you choose a service based on its cheap pricing, it's still important to factor in things like how well managed their client support is because it might pop up as a hidden and indirect cost your business will ultimately incur due to lost time.

6. Cloud Storage

This will be a step towards that paperless dream for your business. Ensure that your online fax services provider can offer you unlimited cloud storage as part of your faxing plan. Additionally, ensure that everyone in your company has access to the cloud account and can share the documents within it.

Just make sure the facility is well secured with two-factor authentication and passwords, among other things, to keep your data safe while in storage.

7. Electronic Signature

You aren't really going paperless if you still need to print your documents to sign them. That's why it's important to make sure that your faxing plan allows for electronic signatures. This can give your documents undoubted ownership and authority to whoever receives them and ensure your faxing services can initiate and finish off business transactions without needing to shift to a different platform. It can also come in handy when you need to sign documents remotely.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why you might decide to migrate your faxing needs to internet faxing as a business. For one, it can offer you convenience, and more so, data added security. If you're migrating from traditional faxing, you also have a wide array of things to gain, such as moving away from needing to have a physical machine, ink, and paper and reducing your environmental footprint.

No matter the reason, there are several key features you should always make sure your internet fax service provider can offer you to make sure you get the most of the service.