As businesses transition to the cloud and internet services, your faxes should not be left behind. Fax over IP or a FoIP service is an IP telephony service that enables fax transmission via the internet, which makes sending and receiving business documents easier and safer.
What is FoIP? Fax Over IP Explained
Fax over IP — also known as FoIP service or eFaxing — is an telephony feature that sends fax documents using internet protocols instead of the PSTN. Public switched telephone network (PSTN) has dominated the fax transmission game for years. However, internet protocols have paved way for services such as fax over IP to become possible. All that is required is a reliable internet connection and bandwidth to carry the faxes.
How Does Fax Over IP Work?
A FoIP service works similarly to voice over IP; that is, files are converted into digital packets and then transferred from one endpoint to the next. With eFaxing, your fax document is converted into a packet, encapsulated in a transport protocol, and transmitted to the destination. Both endpoints are usually fax machines that work with a FoIP gateway or adapter to enable the sending and receiving of faxes.
In some cases, your business can even get a fax forwarding service that forwards incoming faxes directly to your email. In other words, when your fax machine receives a fax, it can reroute the fax to a predetermined destination such as a business email ID.
4 Benefits of Using a FoIP Service
So, why should your business consider getting FoIP? Here are the top 4 benefits of using a fax over IP service:
1. Unified communications
You can easily fit or integrate FoIP into your existing business communication tools. This means that you do not need a separate or additional analog network to use the service. You can access important communication tools from the same network.
2. Content management
By transmitting fax over an IP network, you can manage important business and customer documents by digitizing, archiving, emailing, and storing them on the cloud.
3. Lower costs
Faxing over IP is often less expensive than using a traditional fax machine. For instance, the per-message rate is lesser than PSTN. Additionally, by unifying network connectivity, you are paying for one less network. This can result in definitive cost-savings.
4. Remote access and usage
Lastly, you can access the faxes from any device; even in areas where physical fax lines cannot be installed. This is an advantage for businesses with remote workers and distributed teams using their own devices.
Is Fax Over IP Right for Your Business?
There is only one way to find out: give a FoIP service a try. If your business deals with faxes on a daily basis and you want a reliable means to handle important documents, then FoIP may be the right solution. Call our experts today to learn more!
