Around the globe there is a general misconception that fax as a method of document transmission is redundant and outdated and has been replaced by scanning of documents and email. Despite the arrival of email and the Internet, fax technology has not disappeared, specifically in South Africa and the African continent. There are nearly 200 million fax machines installed worldwide and in the 2005/2006 financial year, Telkom reported an increase of 3% in fax traffic to a staggering 250 million fax minutes per month.

But like any technology, there are advancements, video cassette to DVD, CD’s to mp3’s, analogue Television to HD television and now fax is also becoming digital with Fax2Email.

Fax2Email is a complete digital fax solution that facilitates the receiving and sending of faxes via email. Fax2Email provides the benefits of email without losing the advantages of conventional faxing

Legislation has played a key role in the prolonged existence of the fax. Whilst email is still the most common form of business communication, until the digital signature is deemed as a legal entity, many industries are still reliant on faxing. Most legal documents need to be physically signed and delivered. The primary way to do this is still via the fax. A poll of Fortune 500 companies conducted in the US during 2006 discovered that faxing is still the number one method for sending and receiving official international messages that must be signed for.

As with any form of technology, fax capabilities have evolved and the shift towards a paperless office environment is seeing people move away from using traditional fax machines to sending faxes through the internet – Fax2Email. It is not a case of comparing fax with email but rather combining the strengths of two technologies for optimal results. Fax2Email provides the benefits of email without losing the advantages of conventional faxing.