Commercial VoIP services are rapidly gaining in popularity. The market is, by recent estimates, worth over $100 billion—and that number is steadily increasing. Along with other features, VoIP fax is becoming more commonly used.

VoIP fax refers to a technology and method by which fax documents are sent over a local- or wide-area IP network. This is much different from the way faxes have always been handled. In the past, fax transmissions were handled over the publicly switched telephone network or PSTN. Now, VoIP fax bypasses the PSTN completely.

It works much like VoIP telephony, but additional bandwidth is required because of the increased size of transmitted documents. Here are a few ways virtual fax can help businesses of all sizes.

VoIP is an efficient, affordable way to fax. VOIP fax services typically cost between $5 and $50 per month, while conventional fax machines may cost several times that much in operational, maintenance, and replacement expenses. Nearly 100 billion faxes are sent worldwide each year, so now is the time for business owners to get their share of the savings.

With VoIP fax, users can receive and send faxes without a dedicated line or a conventional machine as everything is done online. It doesn't just save hundreds of dollars per year in paper and cartridges, it also improves productivity and morale by streamlining operations.

Because faxes are received and sent virtually, businesses can accept multiple incoming messages at one time. Furthermore, VoIP faxes are received at all hours, even during employee downtime. This offers team members more flexibility with receiving and sending faxes, as it can be done online through an intuitive interface.

With VoIP, faxes are clear and crisp every time. Fax communications are sent to a recipient's email inbox with PDF attachments that are easy to print, save, forward, and read.

Because VoIP fax numbers send directly to recipients' email addresses, there's less risk of a sensitive fax falling into the wrong hands or sitting unread in a fax print tray. VoIP fax services often use OpenSSL and similar encryption methods to protect and send information.

VoIP faxes are sent and received online, and backups are stored in the cloud. By comparison, conventional faxes may be lost or discarded, which can be a significant inconvenience if a fax contained crucial information. There's no need to worry about losing a VoIP fax as they're safe in the cloud as soon as they're received, which means users always have access.

Traditional fax machines use over 200 billion pieces of paper in the United States alone. Changing only five percent of these machines to VoIP fax would save millions of trees every year. For business owners who are looking to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint, VoIP fax is a viable solution.

Faxing is still an integral part of daily business communication. With VoIP fax solutions, it's possible to avoid misplaced documents, paper jams, busy signals, and other troubles. The benefits go far beyond simplicity, though. With affordable service, increased uptime, and affordable service, VoIP is a top choice among today's business owners. Request additional information online or call today to make the switch.