Fax Server Technology: A guide to reducing costs and increasing productivity

Guide www.lanetelecom.com
Fax Server
Technology:
A guide to
reducing costs
and increasing
productivity
A Lane Telecommunications Guide
© 2008 Lane Telecommunications Page 1Fax Server Technology: www.lanetelecom.comA guide to reducing costs andincreasing productivity
2 Introduction The introduction of e-mail and its exponential expansion intoevery aspect of business life presented a significant challenge to3 A closer look at the benefits delivered by fax the fax industry and for some observers it was a foregoneservers conclusion that fax was destined for a rapid demise. It isinteresting to note, therefore, that fax has actually continued on3 Cost reduction a steady growth path that is predicted to continue well intothe future. 3 Productivity Improvements So why is fax still relevant and apparently prospering in the face3 Compliance of increasingly converged communications infrastructures? Theanswer lies in its ubiquitous nature, intrinsic security and legal4 MFP Integration standing. Fax provides reliable, real-time and verifiable point-to-point communications. And in today's increasingly regulated4 Fax over IP world, it offers inherent security and meets compliancerequirements. Whether it's to meet regulations, for archiving, for5 Seamless Integration with legacy systems legally binding contracts with signatures, for drawings or plans,fax still needs to be fully integrated into your business.5 Selecting the right option for your business The issue for many businesses, therefore, is not how theyshould replace fax but how they can integrate it effectively into5 Fax, E-mail and SMS Integration to your their broader communications infrastructure and deal with themain applications all too apparent drawbacks and costs inherent in the traditionalfax interface.5 Least Cost Routing In the rush to converge systems and technologies that facilitate6 Document Management the free flow of information around an organisation, fax wasoften overlooked. Voice communications have increasingly6 Track Record and Accessibility of the Vendor moved onto IP networks and Voice over IP has become amature technology employed by most large organisations and6 Easy Administration many smaller ones as well. But fax was often left out of theconvergence process and consequently often sits outside the6 Interface Options core communications infrastructure. Even where organisationshave upgraded their fax hardware with the latest multi-6 Security functional peripherals (MFP) there is little more integration withmainstream business applications than before as MFPs do not6 Scalability come equipped with required interfaces as standard.6 Conclusion The answer to these issues is a fax server. Any medium to largebusiness, and many smaller ones, still operating with stand-alonefax machines or MFPs are likely to derive considerable benefitfrom installing a fax solution such as Lane's Passport Fax Server.A fax server is essentially a software application that allowsusers, applications and devices to send and receive faxes withoutusing fax machines. So a fax can be sent from anywhere on theLAN/WAN or via a web browser over the internet using virtuallyany application including user's standard e-mail interface. Fax servers also integrate with business workflow processes andautomate faxing from ERP, CRM and business managementsoftware. This allows the smooth and secure exchange ofelectronic documents within an organisation and to anyexternal destination via fax, e-mail or over the internet and evenprovides integration of SMS messages if required. Legacyapplications can be fax enabled and the latest MFP devices canbe fully integrated into the communications network. Faxingto and from the organisation is achieved more quickly,efficiently and securely leading to cost reductions andproductivity improvements.
© 2008 Lane Telecommunications Page 2Fax Server Technology: www.lanetelecom.comA guide to reducing costs andincreasing productivity
A closer look at the benefits delivered . Centralising fax traffic through a fax server over theby fax servers network reduces IT management time associated withoperating multiple fax implementations across theFax servers deliver a multitude of benefits ranging from cost company. Tracking of inbound and outbound faxes andreductions to productivity improvements, better security and monitoring fax configuration anywhere on the networkcompliance with statutor... [download for more]