Fax Servers are Fast & Save Money

FAX it! Those are two of the most commonly used words in business today. For some, it may be hard to imagine or even remember what life was like BF (Before Fax). Today faxing is faster and cheaper than US Mail or overnight courier, more widely available than electronic mail and more durable than a telephone call.

The latest fax technology replaces the free-standing fax machine with a fax server installed on the network. Compared to conventional fax machines, fax servers save time, are easier to use and offer better quality. Fax servers let you share a fax board and phone lines among several users on a network.

What to Consider

Like any piece of equipment you are buying you need to decide what features are important to you and, of course, price is based on how many bells and whistles you need and the number of users. Here are some of the features and terminology you'll need to know when choosing a fax server for your business.

• Broadcasting is when you send the same fax to multiple recipients - like news releases to multiple media outlets, product announcements to your sales force, meeting notices to committee members, etc.

• Queuing is a feature which lets you reduce fax transmission cost by storing and scheduling your faxes on the server so they can be sent during off-peak hours.

• In-bound routing forwards an incoming fax to the appropriate PC/user on the network. Most software can be programmed to alert the user by tone or visual signal when they receive a fax on their PC.

• Is a stand-alone fax obsolete? Not really. Small businesses that don't have the volume or routing needs of a network fax server are probably better off with a stand-alone fax or single PC faxing capability. Computer faxing also requires a scanner for hard-copy use, making the standard fax machine still a necessity for the smaller business. For those companies that can benefit by installing a system, the cost depends on the number of employees and fax lines on your network.