Get rid of that fax!

Recently in dealing with a benefits provider, I really thought about the use of fax machines.  They requested that I fax something over to them and when I asked if I could email it instead they actually paused to think about it.

Back in the day, I understand that fax machines really served a purpose.  It was way better than having to send documents in the mail.  Instead of waiting for days, they could now have the documents in hand within the hour.  Besides the whole modem/fax technology was cutting edge technology at that time.

Since those days, we’ve pretty much seen the demise of the modem (obviously still exist in some places).  We’ve seen the beginning of the end of long-distance telephone service.  The idea of local landline phone service is even starting to become a out of date idea.  Even if landline service remains, it will probably be across your cable or some other fiber optic line not to far into the future.  Also, we’ve seen the explosion of mobile technology.  We instantly receive emails, text messages, and social media texts.  We can share information and documents right from our smartphones.

The time has come for the fax machine to become a museum piece.  Replaced by a simple scanner and email (or maybe a Drop.io drop).  This puts the document in image form so that you can view it on your smartphone or store it in your document repository.  Then if you still need the paper… send it to the printer.

That’s just the way I see it.  What say you?

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Tagged as: email, Fax