Once upon a time, postage was needed. Instructors sent their unofficial transcripts, new hire paperwork, and other documents via the mail, FedEx, UPS, or fax machine. Recently eFax has changed how online administrators handle such documents. A fax machine is no longer a required piece of hardware in an online office. eFax has changed all of that. While the sender may still send their documents from an old fashioned fax machine, eFax brings documents directly to an administrator's email box rather than an unattended fax machine. No longer is there any worry about whether there is paper in the fax machine or whether the message got disconnected or timed out. The message travels the internet via email like much of our daily communications, enabling the sender some assurances that the message was safely received in a timely fashion.
The primary pitfall with eFax will some day arrive when the need for the artificial fax telephone number disappears. When the sender is just as capable as the receiver of simply scanning and attaching their documents to an email, the need for the eFax fix will disappear. Until the day that fax machines are an entirely obsolete technology, however, the eFax system is a simple and easy way to transmit important documents directly to someone's email.
Kimberly, the eFax is an interesting idea, one I've been aware of since the early 90s. I used to use it regularly with my business. I found it funny that my school had a physical fax, but I believe that the financial aid and other federally compliant departments may need to use a physical fax for compliance. I'll ask around tomorrow at the office and let you know then.
ReplyDeleteAnother necessity along with the eFax is the document storage and organization needed to replace the physical file cabinet. I actually did a project last summer regarding the virtual file cabinet options. There are some amazing options to help organizations stay organized.