‍Common Considerations when Switching to Online Fax

Enterprises looking to set up online fax services must consider factors like scalability, flexibility, integration capabilities, and geographical service coverage to ensure the chosen solution meets their business needs and regulatory compliance standards.

The setup process for an enterprise online fax solution includes registering with a provider that matches business faxing volume, acquiring and managing multiple fax numbers, and configuring user accounts and permissions to maintain control and collaboration within the organization.

Online faxing offers advanced features such as direct faxing through email and mobile devices, customization options for cover pages, detailed analytics, automated distribution, and routing all while focusing on upholding security and compliance standards like encryption and adherence to regulations like HIPAA.

How Do I Setup an Enterprise Online Fax Service?

Assess Your Business Requirements

Evaluating your business requirements is a necessary step before choosing a cloud fax service. This involves estimating your monthly fax volume (usually measured in pages per month).

You will also need to assess which unique fax features your business requires. For instance, some enterprises may need compatibility with existing fax machines or the ability to send to numbers with extensions.

Moreover, selecting an online fax service also entails checking whether they provide fax numbers in key regions that are significant for your enterprise’s operations.

Each of these features may be vitally important for your online faxing needs, so identifying an online faxing service that provides these unique capabilities should be your first step in the decision making process.

Compare Security and Compliance Features

Security is a top priority in any business communication, and faxing is no exception. Hence, when comparing the security and compliance features of different online fax services, look for features like:

• SSL or PGP encryption
• Password protection to secure sensitive information
• TLS encryption used by the recipient’s mail provider to prevent the compromise of metadata during fax transmissions.

Furthermore, adherence to industry-specific regulatory compliance such as HIPAA is necessary for businesses dealing with confidential information.

Industries like healthcare, government, legal, and education have been loyal to fax communications due to the secure nature of fax machines, but as online faxing services become more prevalent, security must remain a top priority.

Evaluate Integration Capabilities

An effective online fax service should offer core integration features like alerts, mobile faxing, e-signatures, and multiple API tools for seamless operation with your company’s existing software infrastructure.

Online faxing will be an integral part of your businesses communications and should be able to fit easily into your daily operations as a business. 

Integrating online fax services with software like CRM systems can streamline enterprise workflows, automating tasks such as data entry into databases and logging faxes in accounting records.

Having a cloud based fax service that doesn’t fit into your current tech stack is not an effective investment and will frustrate the employees tasked with using this service. Therefore, scrutinizing the integration capabilities of the online fax service is necessary before making a decision. 

Avoiding Cloud Fax Migration Issues

Once you have an idea in place on how you would like to utilize a cloud fax deployment, proper planning is needed to ensure that there is a smooth transition for your business. 

The most common migration issues include numbers not porting over properly, lack of employee training in cloud fax adoption, and lack of testing prior to deploying a cloud-based fax solution. 

Porting numbers (i.e. relocating your current fax number over to a new one) can be the most time-consuming aspect of switching to a cloud-based fax solution. Number porting usually takes between 7-10 business days to complete. During the porting process, ensure that you are not eliminating your previous fax vendor so that fax traffic will not be interrupted during the process.

Test and Gather Feedback

Ensure proper testing is conducted prior to making a purchasing decision. The delivery of faxes sent and received using the method chosen is critical. You will also want to keep in mind you are getting end-user feedback to ensure the deployment method chosen is efficient.

Take it Slow

Taking your migration slowly and working individually with each department or user group at a time can help mitigate any potential pitfalls that may come from the migration process. Also, ensure that you have a backup system in place to protect in the event of data loss.

Plan for Every Stage

This process can be tedious and filled with potential pitfalls that could hamper your business and cause critical loss of information if not done properly. Look for a cloud fax provider than helps you scope what your deployment will entail, trains employees on using the system, onboards the people, equipment, and software, and then offers ongoing support after deployment.

Post-Deployment Support

The last step in a successful cloud fax deployment is to ensure that you have a plan in place for ongoing support. Ensuring there is a project owner in place to take the lead on any support challenges that come up is vital. 

A cloud fax provider that has support hours during your implementation process is vital. Fax has a fail rate, no matter how reliable the service, so support that is reliable and available when you need it can make the difference between a successful implementation and one that causes significant issues for your business. 

Benefits of Cloud-Based Online Fax Services

Increased security

Traditional fax machines and multifunction printers can have significant security problems. For example, when sending sensitive information to a fax machine, anyone can see the incoming faxes on the paper tray.

These devices can also allow unauthorized persons access to your network to access files kept on an unencrypted hard drive.

By sending faxes through the cloud, documents are encrypted in transit and at rest. No longer do incoming faxes have to be printed out on a physical fax machine in order to be sent securely.

Most cloud fax providers meet requirements for keeping data secure that meet HIPAA, SOX, GLBA, and PCI DSS regulations.

Application integration

Utilizing a traditional fax machine requires an antiquated method of sending a fax message through a physical fax machine. Users may also have to scan in a received fax if it is being stored digitally. Cloud fax providers that allow you to integrate your online faxing service into existing applications not only save your workers time and effort, but also save on costs as well.

Cost savings

Cloud fax on average saves up to $1200 p/month. This comes in the material form of eliminating your telephone bill, and not having to purchase ink, toner, or paper to send and receive faxes. Cloud faxing services are much more reliable than traditional faxing, saving on manpower for lost time due to resending faxes if they don’t print out properly due to issues with the physical fax machine. 

How do I decide what method of cloud faxing is best for my business?

In order to avoid cloud fax deployment challenges, you must understand the function of fax in your business and who is using it. Planning ahead helps clarify your company’s reasons for moving to the cloud. Why does your business need to send faxes and what are your specific security requirements?

In a healthcare setting, cloud fax data security risks are also something to keep in mind. Email to fax is a very convenient option, but it comes with security risks that are not present in a web portal or API-based deployment. 

Weighing the benefits and risks of each deployment is something that needs to be considered before moving to online faxing services.

Our industry-leading implementation and support experts can help you determine what features you may need and how mFax helps meet those needs. 

What is cloud fax?

Cloud fax is a 100% cloud based online faxing service. It enables you to send and receive faxes over the internet through a services provider’s cloud-based platform rather than using a traditional phone line. Instead of storing data locally, your fax information is stored on a cloud-based server. mFax offers multiple options for data storage to allow you to meet your business goals.

How do cloud faxing services work?

To send faxes with a cloud or online faxing service, you can simply log in, input the recipient’s fax number, and attach your document. With the rise of online faxing, there is a very high chance your recipient is utilizing a cloud-based fax solution as well.

The faxed document is encrypted while it travels through the internet to the fax company’s server, where it remains encrypted. The faxing system then dials the recipient’s fax number and translates the file into a format that the fax machine can understand. 

If you are using mFax, you have several options for sending and receiving faxes through the cloud. You can use the web portal, email to fax, print to fax, a Fax Machine Connector to cloud enable your MFP or fax machine, or utilize our API to integrate into a workflow already utilized inside of your business. 

Getting Started

There are so many factors at play when deciding on which online fax service to use. And there are many potential pitfalls that could hamper your business, or, worse, put it at significant risk due to security concerns. Implementing a cloud-based fax service without proper support is not an advisable thing to do for your business.

That's why choosing a company like mFax that has the experience and support to work with you from implementation and beyond is vital.

Talk to one of our fax specialists today to discuss these options and find out how online faxing can improve your business.

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