These days, anyone in business or operating a home office, will probably have heard of online or Internet faxing. However, hosted PBX (Public Branch Exchange) services might not be as well known to many business owners; it would mainly depend on whether or not your company is very tech/computer savvy.
But which service is right for your business – online fax or a virtual PBX service?
Online fax is using your email system and your Internet connection to send and receive all your faxes. But you first have to sign-up to an Internet fax service provider where you’re given a local or toll-free fax number. Your faxes are sent as email attachments, usually in Tiff or PDF formats. These services usually cost around $10 a month, although if you shop around you can get a quality service for a lot less, especially if your faxing demands are very minimum.
Many companies and small business owners are switching over to online faxing mainly because it’s the modern way to fax. You can fax anywhere, anytime, as long as you have Internet access. Which basically means your company is open for business 24/7, instead of the regular 9 to 5 routine. If your company depends heavily upon faxing to bring in new sales or for contacting clients, one can easily see why this new way of faxing has become very popular.
Now, virtual PBX services goes a few steps further by handling all your office communications – voicemail, call forwarding, message alerts, virtual phone or even a virtual receptionist who will handle all your messages for your company. Virtual PBX, like online fax, is a form of “cloud computing” where your business computer services are “outsourced” to an outside company or service.
Obviously, for those companies or small business owners who are on a tight budget, using these virtual business services is ideal. Your start-up costs are very low because you don’t have to put in extra phone lines, you don’t have to buy your own equipment or hardware (like a fax machine, desks, office space) and perhaps best of all, you don’t have to hire a receptionist or other office staff. Once you consider that these virtual services are much more cheaper than going the traditional route, it’s a no-brainer.
However, should you go with a PBX service or an Internet fax service? Actually, it would all depend on your own company’s requirements, but you should keep in mind, that while PBX services are a little more expensive – most of them have online faxing as a major component already built-in, so you can take advantage of all the other features (voicemail, call forwarding, etc.) while still enjoying the benefits of online fax.
If your business or company already has a receptionist or office secretarial staff, then just using an Internet fax service would probably be better suited for your company. Regardless, you can still take advantage of the many benefits offered by using this new way of faxing.
Author: Titus Hoskins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing
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