As technology evolves, certain things get left behind and become obsolete. For example, keyboards on phones have slowly disappeared as more things have moved towards touchscreen-based typing. However, here is one type of technology that has been around for quite some time, yet hasn’t been thrown to the side thus far. Enterprise fax is still going strong and has actually increased in use over the years, and there are a couple of reasons for this.

One is that enterprise faxing has proven to be the most secure way of transferring documents. Because it is through a phone line, it is very difficult to intercept or hack. An e-mail on the other hand is a much easier for a hacker to get their hands on. In industries including healthcare or government where document privacy is crucial, an enterprise fax is a far better option than an e-mail. Faxes will also indicate the time it was sent and received which is crucial in financial markets when buy and sell orders are being made across the stock market.

The other reason that faxing has sustained itself so long is because it has adapted. While you’ll still see old fax machines being used, many are now a part of multi-purpose devices that will also scan and print documents, making it a great corporate device.

“People have been predicting the end of the fax for more than 10 years,” said Dan Natale, a senior system administrator at Medtronic, where faxing is used frequently to protect medical information. “But fax is growing, not just hanging on. The cost is low, it’s easy to set up, and it works. You could set up a secure e-mail system instead, but it would be very expensive.”

While faxes tend to be universally understood, it may not be that way in the near future. You have my generation that has been brought up on e-mail and as we enter the workforce there may be a shift to setting up secure e-mail networks as opposed to faxing. That being said, faxing has only grown at a rate of 15 percent and overall the enterprise fax market being valued at over $2 billion this year alone.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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