Who still faxes in 2018? If the statistics that came from surveys in 2017 are any indication, many companies from a variety of industries still rely on faxing to keep their businesses running.
While faxing isn’t an integral part of every industry, there are several industries where the technology is a key part of day-to-day operations, and it keeps growing each year. The International Data Corporation’s (IDC) 2017 fax survey found that 82% of users saw fax usage increase or stay the same over the previous year. The average growth was 27%, and almost a quarter of respondents reported growth between 50-74%.
Some of the major industries who still fax include:
Healthcare
Security and compliance are two major concerns for healthcare companies, which is why fax is still used as one of the primary forms of document transmission. HIPAA regulations and doctor-patient confidentiality has produced a need for increased security, and the fax industry has kept up with each new regulation and concern for privacy.
According to the IDC survey, faxing in healthcare grew by 9% in 2017.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing contributes trillions of dollars to the U.S economy every year. It is a massive industry that has more than 250,000 firms and 12.5 million workers (accounting for about 8.5% of the US workforce). As the industry grows, exports increase and more goods are produced, manufacturers have a greater need for reliable faxing. Manufacturers still use software/services like RightFax to transmit purchase orders, receipts, product specifications and many other document that are vital to their operations.
It’s no wonder that this industry led the way in fax growth last year, increasing by more than 16%, according to the IDC survey.
Finance
Like the healthcare industry, financial firms are heavily concerned with security and compliance with government regulations. The regulations put forth by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 cover a wide range of financial aspects including tax returns, accounting oversight, financial disclosures and much more.
The smallest financial firms to major Fortune 500 investment companies still fax, and the IDC reports that their use of the technology grew by 7% in 2017.
Government
From state and local municipalities to major federal government departments, the public sector still relies on fax to keep the country running strong. It even has a significant impact in the education industry, both private and public. Although the growth was slow last year, the IDC still found that government fax usage grew by 3% in 2017.
The Future of Fax
Fax growth is still strong, and although the usage of standalone fax machines is on the decline, the technology has evolved to incorporate email and Cloud technology, breathing new life into the fax industry. Businesses and organizations now have the option of sending faxes via email and hosting their fax servers in the Cloud, making faxing easier and more secure than ever.
Need to upgrade your fax server? Looking to move your fax operations to the Cloud? Contact The Fax Guys today for all of your fax needs.
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