Ensuring Reliability for Fax Documents and Services

Would you hire a writer who could not spell? Would you hire an attorney who flunked the bar? Would you go to a doctor who had never been to med school? The answer to these questions is an obvious “No!” — Some things you cannot compromise.

Ensuring reliability in your fax service is one of them.

Faxed documents often contain highly sensitive and personal information — information protected by privacy laws. Unfortunately, many organizations put their information and data at risk when they use legacy fax technology. This is akin to letting the unprepared doctor operate on you; it is not a risk any well-run organization should be willing to take.

Fax failures impair an organization’s ability to accomplish crucial business goals. In 2013, the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) lost one of their star players to free agency, defensive star Elvis Dumervil, because a revised contract faxed to the league office arrived five minutes after the deadline.

Two years later across the pond, a professional Spanish soccer team, Real Madrid, lost the chance to acquire star player David De Gea from Manchester United because a broken fax machine interfered with their negotiations.

More than simple stories that make sports fans cringe, these events underscore the fact that fax errors can be extremely damaging to business. This is especially true in data-driven fields like healthcare, where electronic transmission of sensitive personal information has become the rule. Consider, for example, a fax failure containing crucial authorization of care or a life-changing prescription. The consequences of these errors are nothing short of life threatening.

The Dangers of Clinging to a Legacy Fax System

Companies still using legacy fax systems expose themselves to these kinds of risks all too often. Legacy fax is vulnerable to failure in five crucial ways, namely:

  1. Fax machines frequently fail because of mechanical malfunction, such as a broken or jammed machine or an empty toner cartridge.
  2. Phone line issues can also wreak havoc on fax transmissions. Analog networks suffer from underinvestment, which makes them vulnerable to poor performance.
  3. Migration of fax transmissions to the Internet has not eliminated technical problems. Fax transmission via voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) is vulnerable to packet loss and other data transmission failures.
  4. Many companies rely on servers to support their legacy fax operations, but fax server downtime and lock- up also interfere with transmissions.
  5. Finally, any fax system that relies on legacy equipment is susceptible to power failure, whether caused by a natural disaster or non-natural, technical malfunction.

Fax use is growing, and companies that rely on fax for their business do not have to suffer the risks of outdated technology. The good news is that there is a reliable and cost-effective alternative to legacy fax: cloud-based faxing.

Cloud-based Faxing: A Secure, Digital Solution

Migrating to cloud-based fax technology introduces a number of positive factors into an organization’s fax strategy that address the above-mentioned risks. For example, digital cloud fax technology meets compliance and regulation requirements found in many industries, including healthcare. Furthermore, digital cloud fax has built-in security features, enables interoperability, increases workflow efficiencies, and costs far less than hybrid or traditional paper fax systems. 

The key to unlocking these benefits is understanding that not all cloud fax providers are equal. When choosing a cloud technology provider, customers should ask several crucial questions:

  1. Do authorities that are relevant to your organization’s regulatory standards certify the provider? Think HIPAA and HITRUST, for example. If not, then that provider is not delivering to the quality and security standards set by the regulations and regulators that govern your industry.
  2. Does the provider possess an infrastructure that provides redundancy, scalability, and the proactive ability to grow? If not, even though their system is digital, it may not provide the performance that you need to compete in your industry and maintain beneficial client relationships.
  3. Finally, does the service ensure resiliency in the face of natural disasters and other disruptive occurrences? If not, storms or other natural disasters could undermine crucial fax exchanges between you and your customers. You need a provider that has redundant systems and failovers to ensure your business operates uninterrupted.

Cloud faxing offers the most reliable and scalable platform for a critical business function. By asking good questions and choosing the right provider, an organization can find a service that provides them with critical certification and built-in integrations to aide in their workflows.

Remember, do not trust writers who cannot spell, do not hire shady lawyers, and stay away from sketchy doctors. And before you send a fax, think about using the cloud.

Learn more about the advantages of digital cloud fax technology at eFax Corporate.