The following is a guest article by Doug Clayton from WestFax.
In recent years, we have watched as healthcare providers have migrated away from their costly and inefficient on-premise fax servers to more flexible, secure, and reliable cloud fax services.
A decade ago, concerns about security, bandwidth, and reliable Internet connectivity were still commonplace. For many, on-premise was still the “safe” option, – even if that meant building and managing a server farm, maintaining dedicated telecom assets, and hiring dedicated staff to manage it all. On-premise fax systems typically required multiple vendor contracts, long-term commitments, and costly licensing fees; but for organizations seeking stable, reliable, secure fax systems, such costs have been viewed as necessary evils.
Just a few years later, the situation has reversed. Cloud services have evolved rapidly. Bandwidth and connectivity are reliable. Security standards for the cloud have proven to be at least as effective as for on-premise systems, – often more so. Cloud service providers have mastered the specialized skills required to manage infrastructure, with experts on call 24×7. Over the past decade, the economics of cloud fax services and the attractiveness of outsourcing have shifted the adoption curve dramatically. More and more C-level leaders in healthcare organizations are asking the question: “Why would we want to manage all that complexity in-house?”
Cloud fax providers have come a long way in the last decade. SIP and advanced automations (including OCR), structured data integrations, and integrations with Direct and FHIR have further extended the cloud’s advantage over on-premise options.
The expenses associated with maintaining servers on-site, high electric bills, and licensing fees should all be a thing of the past. Just as Office365 online has eclipsed Microsoft’s on-premise Exchange product; cloud fax services have emerged as the logical replacement for those fax server boards, phone lines, and on-premise software.
Cost has emerged as the primary driver for the adoption of cloud fax services. The price of fax server boards and user licenses, power consumption, and telco charges far exceed the costs associated with cloud fax. The cloud’s simplified billing model makes for predictable and affordable budgeting.
Security has always been a concern preventing deployment to cloud-based platforms but data transport on the internet has come a long way. For example., ten years ago it might have been unthinkable for the Department of Defense to use cloud services as a platform for its warfighter systems; but today we see the DoD moving some of their largest, most complex mission-critical systems to the cloud. Numerous other organizations, both in the public sector and in private industry, have chosen a similar path.
Another factor driving the adoption of cloud fax is bundling. In the past, MFP and copier vendors were limited to offering a hardware add-on whenever a customer required fax capabilities. That required customers to install a physical phone line. With cloud fax bundling, these MFP devices can be deployed with cloud fax already available out-of-the-box. By nature, cloud fax is vastly more flexible than hardware-based solutions. MFP’s are just one of many ways that fax can be integrated into an organization.
Advanced tooling and automation
Print drivers allow users to simply print a document directly to fax, making the process vastly easier than ever before. This kind of innovation eliminates the need for a user to log into a website every time they want to send a fax. Fax API’s and automations are giving integrators more power to leverage fax in their EHR deployments. Barry Clark, President of WestFax has seen a lot more interest in cloud fax; “We have seen a wave of new VARS and integrators who want to partner with us to offer cloud based fax. Their clients need fax capabilities, and these integrators need to get faxes in and out of their platforms to satisfy their customers’ needs. Cloud fax quickly and easily fills that need, without having to invest in telecom and hardware.”
Hospitals, healthcare networks, and even many smaller provider networks are facing budgetary pressures. Cloud fax offers healthcare organizations a clear opportunity to reduce expenses and implement a more predictable cost structure. Upgrading to cloud fax also adds advanced capabilities such as automation, advanced AI/ML driven workflows, Direct/FHIR integration, and more. On-premise fax is nearing end-of-life. Cloud fax has clearly become the default choice.
About Doug Clayton
Doug works as a Senior Analyst for WestFax, Inc, a Colorado based cloud fax provider specializing in HIPAA secure fax. Doug started his long career helping the DoD convert legacy logistics software from mainframes to modern stacks. He also worked on currency conversion systems at the World Bank in Washington DC and consulted for many leading non-profits based in the DC area. At WestFax he wears many hats ranging from devops, sales, engineering to developer relations. You can find Doug on LinkedIn.
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