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Why Faxing Remains Relevant as Office Equipment

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We have email, which is fast and powerful. We have old fashioned snail mail, which remains reliable and tangible. But what about faxing? This venerable office technology is a classic that remains beneficial to businesses for good reason: it’s fast, easy, direct, secure, legal, and tangible. Read on for a few reasons why faxing is still a critical piece of office equipment for many small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs)

The Original Push Notification
There you are, going about your day, when a document appears that needs attention. That’s right, faxes are the original push notification. When a fax is received and a physical document is printed, that document serves as notice and reminder to the recipient—this is an item to be dealt with. Don’t have the time to stop and check your emails all day? Let the faxes come to you.

Dependability
Fax machines communicate through direct connections over a standard telephone line. Internet service down? No problem. Fax machines make it possible to send documents even if the recipient doesn’t have high-speed Internet. Moreover, with faxing you don’t have to worry about file compatibility issues. All that’s needed to access your faxed document is your recipient’s eyes.

Security
Unlike email, there’s a very low risk of interception when sending faxes, which is why they’re ideal for documents that need to stay safe and private. Fax machines cannot be ‘hacked’ like your email server can, and incoming documents are also secure—not vulnerable to the hidden malware and viruses that can come with email attachments.

Legality
While changes are underway regarding the validity of digital forms of signature, signatures on faxed documents have long been accepted as official signatures—as good as the original. Finance, retail, legal, real estate, medical — all of these industries recognize the validity of a faxed signature. Sending signed official documents by fax is still the standard.

Fast, secure, reliable, tangible. With these benefits, no wonder there’s still an important role for fax technology in today’s small and mid-sized businesses. If you’re looking for attention-getting communications that are secure and legally accepted, fax just might be the tool you need. From dedicated fax machines to integrated multi-function devices, contact Infomax Office Systems today to get all the facts about fax office equipment.

Why Leasing Office Technology Might Be Right for You

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When it comes time to replace or upgrade your office equipment, an important decision must be made for your organization: should you lease or buy? For a great number businesses, leasing is the most popular choice when it comes to acquiring office technology. To learn why, let’s take a look at two of the most common types of leases, capital leases and operating leases. Understanding the ins and outs of these leasing options will help prepare you for when it comes to time to make the final decision.

Capital leases
With a capital lease, your organization experiences all of the benefits and downfalls of owning the equipment. Capital leases are typically used in instances where the lessee plans to buy the device at the end of the lease term for a specific amount. Both the interest and principal being paid for the lease go toward the cost of the equipment, and all assets and liabilities for the device are placed on the lessee’s balance sheet. This type of lease is the least common option used, most often when a business wants to purchase a device without paying for it up front.

Operating leases
An operating lease keeps equipment off of the lessee’s balance sheet. The lender owns the equipment and receives the benefits associated with depreciation. This is a good option if you plan to finance equipment for a short period of time, or if you plan to replace the equipment with upgraded technology at the end of the lease period. This is the more popular lease option among businesses.

Leasing brings benefits
The many benefits of leasing office technology make it very difficult to turn down. Here are just some of the benefits that come along with leasing devices:

– Leases are easy to qualify for, making them a great choice for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with limited capital
– Leases can often be secured without a sizable down payment or none at all
– Leasing allows you to move on and upgrade your equipment when you need to, preventing you from owning outdated technology
– Leases come with a low, predictable, monthly cost, one that typically comes with maintenance included as a part of the leasing agreement

Leasing is an extremely popular option among businesses today for these very reasons. It’s likely that one of these benefits will stand out to your organization. For more information on leasing office technology and help deciding whether it’s the right option for your company, contact Infomax Office Systems today.

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Getting the Most Out of SMB Cloud Storage

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As Internet speeds get faster and data storage gets smaller and cheaper, storage in the cloud is opening new doors for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). However, the number of doors available to your SMB depends on how you utilize this technology. It’s clearly more than a trend, so how can your SMB get the most out of cloud storage?

Understand Your Purpose — Having a clear picture of your goals will help guide your cloud strategy.
●    Sync and Share — If your goal is to connect people, the cloud is the perfect setting. File sharing and collaboration is a common offering, enabling users to add comments and edit a document simultaneously. User access is provided through a web portal or mobile application, with selective syncing for designated files and devices.
●    Backup — Turn to the cloud to protect, retain, and eventually restore your data. Note that in a sync-and-share environment, a user could inadvertently delete important files, so a distinct solution is needed for backup—one that preserves files separately from their everyday usage.
●    Archive — Cloud storage can be a good solution when saving documents for regulatory compliance or historical reference. It can also work as a form of content distribution, for example, a library of images, logos, and other media.

Watch Your Costs — Cloud storage has tremendous scalability and low cost per unit of storage. However, be sure to keep an eye out for hidden costs, such as fees for data transfers, metadata functions, and bandwidth.

Look for Administrative Controls — Make sure you have administrative control and visibility of your cloud storage. Controls may include monitoring usage, setting user permissions, controlling file sharing, transferring files, and even remotely wiping devices. Protecting your data is particularly important during employee turnover or when sharing with external partners.

Be BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)-Friendly — For employees to use cloud storage, it has to be convenient and accessible. Usually this is achieved through apps on personal mobile devices or via the web on a laptop. Look for strong security features paired with maximum flexibility for users.

Cloud storage is an exciting and cost-effective opportunity for businesses to become more agile, improve collaboration, and manage large volumes of data. To get the most out of your cloud storage, know your goals, watch your costs, demand robust administrative controls, and be device-agnostic. For help developing your cloud storage strategy, contact Infomax Office Systems today.

It’s Time for New Office Technology

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Are your employees spending too much time on routine tasks? Is your office equipment constantly breaking down, resulting in bottlenecks in your workflows? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, it’s time to consider some technology upgrades within your office space. There is no shortage of revolutionary new office technology features out there that can help improve the efficiency of your daily workflows.

Here are some of the benefits you’ll realize by upgrading your office equipment and taking advantage of the advancements made in office technology in recent years.

Save time and money – New technology is designed with productivity and budgets in mind to save businesses both time and money. Everyday office tasks can be completed quicker than ever, giving your employees the chance to excel in areas that directly affect your core business rather than wasting time on mundane, manual tasks. For example, today’s copiers can do much more than make copies. They can e-mail, scan, fax, image archive, and much more. They also require significantly less upkeep than older devices, minimizing downtime and cutting back on maintenance costs.

Collaborate easier than ever – In order for businesses to succeed, it takes a team effort. Fortunately, today’s office technology makes it simple to collaborate regardless of location. Employees can work remotely, connecting to a central network from anywhere in the world via an Internet connection. Mobile integration technology allows employees to utilize smartphones, laptops, and tablets to email, video chat, conduct sales transactions, and much more.

Say goodbye to learning curves – New technology is designed to be user friendly. If your devices are too complicated for the average employee to operate, that’s a problem. Today’s software is simple, and much of it is customizable to your particular business. For example, you can set up monthly invoice requests to be sent out automatically to all of your regular customers. A small change like this limits data entry work, allowing your employees to get work done in other areas.

Today’s latest technology is designed to make your work life easier. Contact Infomax Office Systems to learn more about some of the exciting new office technology advancements that will positively impact your business.

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Choosing the Best Multifunction Office Printer

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Multifunction office printers, or MFPs, are devices that consolidate the functions of printers, copiers, scanners, and/or fax machines all into one tidy machine. For many budget-oriented companies, multifunction printers are the obvious choice when the goal is to consolidate assets, reduce printing costs, and improve work efficiency.

If you are interested in looking for a multifunction office printer for your small- to medium-sized business, be sure you are making an informed decision with these considerations from Infomax Office Systems:

Understand your office requirements

Before you embark on finding a multifunction office printer, understand what your office requires from the printer. Beyond printing and copying, how can a multifunction printer help manage documents, reduce paper usage, optimize workflows, or manage documents? How often do you need to scan, copy, print, or fax? How many of your employees will be utilizing the office printer? There are many requirements you need to consider before your start your search.

Bottom line cost

When evaluating a multifunction printer, you will need to think beyond the initial cost of just the hardware. There are a number of other expenditures to consider, including supplies and maintenance. Multifunction printers that are initially perceived as being low-cost do not factor in the cost of ink, other consumables, or service costs, and often have a much higher total cost of ownership.

Multifunction printers are useful assets for managing and controlling print and imaging costs. They can add new capabilities to your business if you do your research. The right MFP for your business can improve management of resources for your company, which improves business efficiency.

Connection to existing networks

Another factor to take into consideration when purchasing a multifunction office printer is the integration of the MFP with your existing network. Consider all the components required to deploy your business printer, such as start-up training, software installation, troubleshooting, or upgrading.

Easy usage

Choose a multifunction printer that’s user-friendly to prevent backup and costly employee downtime. Look for MFPs with user-friendly interfaces, minimal training requirements, and easy access to online support. If your MFP does need servicing, find a Managed Print Services company to keep your office printer up and running and stocked with printer supplies.

Document security

Does the multifunction office printer provide the appropriate amount of document security your company requires? If necessary, is the MFP scalable to provide more security if your company needs change?

 

Infomax Office Systems provides businesses with print management services. If your company operates with a multifunction printer and you’re interested in our Managed Print Services, contact us today for more information!