4 Fax Myths People Still Believe

Fax has been around for quite a while now, which means that while it’s well established as a strong method of communication, it’s also had its fair share of time grinding through the rumour mill. Myths seem to surge around technological advances as other technologies become obsolete, but fax always rides it out. Misinformation has a habit of spreading, so we’d like to set readers straight on what’s happening – or not happening – with fax. Here are the top 4 myths about fax that we’re still correcting:

Fax is dead

It’s not. Nor will it die for many years to come. At least, not until a more secure communication option materialises; said option has had decades to appear but it still lurks on the shadowy horizons of developers’ grey matter. There are still sectors that heavily rely on fax because of its security: think finance, public sector, health, legal. The data they deal with is highly sensitive, so organisation within these sectors can’t afford to move to different methods of communication which are insecure and not compliant with data protection regulations.

Young workers don’t use fax

Many offices enjoy longstanding jokes aimed at millennial staff members whenever the topic of fax is brought up. If you’re under 30 and have been near a fax machine, you’ve no doubt been asked “do you even know what this is?” or “I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen a real life fax before?” often followed by a chuckle, because somehow that joke never gets old – pun intended. However, it’s not the age that matters when it comes to fax, but – as mentioned above – the sector. Fax still matters in data-sensitive sectors, so young professionals aren’t shying away from it. They’re the generation who have been raised in one of the most rapidly advancing technological landscapes since the industrial revolution, so they know a thing or two about adapting to whatever technology surrounds them to get the job done.

Traditional fax machines are gone

This is sadly false, although we wish we could say otherwise. 30% of British workers place fax machines above tablets as “essential” to their organisation, and while fax machines have definitely taken a secondary role compared to newer faxing methods like FoIP, they’re still very much alive and kicking. Personally, we’re advocates of getting rid of fax machines and moving onto a server for more secure, cost effective faxing capabilities.

Email is safer than fax

To quote the first point: “it’s not.” Email has undoubtedly changed the world, paving the way for instant online communication – snail mail on steroids (and without the snail). The problem is, it’s not secure and it likely never will be. How many email hacking scandals have we had in the last decade? How many firewalls does it take to make email impenetrable?

Aside from its technical shortcomings, the margin for human error is impressive. “Reply all” blunders, wrong recipients, falling prey to phishing and scams – there’s always a story. Now cast your mind back to the last “fax hacking” story you heard and watch yourself draw a blank. Using telephony lines, robust encryption, and point-to-point delivery, there’s no room for mistakes if you’re sending a fax.

The main security weakness for fax is having the document sit out in the open on the machine at the other end, but with a fax server you eliminate that problem entirely. Can you guess what ProcessFlows distribute?

Fax is here to stay. Fax machines less so. Move onto a fax server and watch as your data becomes more secure and cheaper to communicate. RightFax is the right solution for the job, so contact us at enquiries@processflows.co.uk to find out more.