If you have been following the whole online faxing phenomenon in the last few years, no doubt you will have also heard of virtual PBX. Actually, you often hear the two of them mentioned in the same sentence and the conversation will usually turn to the following question. What is the difference between online fax and virtual PBX?

Maybe a little explanation is called for here, online fax is simply using your email system and your web connection to send/receive all your faxes. Whereas PBX stands for Public Branch Exchange which handles all the communications in an office setting or for a company. With a Virtual PBX service, all these communication chores are handled online or through a third party server or provider.

The main confusion usually arises because most Virtual PBX services will include online fax as one of their main features or components. A virtual pbx service can be very comprehensive – providing voice mail, answering services, email forwarding, online fax and even a virtual receptionist who will handle or direct all your office or company communications. Therein lies the difference, online fax is usually considered a \”stand-alone\” service which deals with just online or email faxing. Virtual PBX is a fully loaded service covering all aspects of your office communications, including online or Internet fax.

However, what further confuses many people, is the fact that many of the major online fax providers also offer PXB services to their customers. You can purchase the stand-alone online fax or you can sign-up for a full-featured PXB service. Obviously, the latter will be more expensive since you are receiving many more services.

Which one should I get or do I need both?

That would entirely depend upon your company\’s needs and operations. If you already have a \”human\” receptionist, you probably don\’t need a virtual one. If you already have a conventional fax machine that can easily handle your faxes, you may not need an Internet fax service. But many companies just starting out, do go with these kinds of virtual services in order to save time and money.

Regardless of which type of service you pick, you must remember that these are virtual or web-based services. They will be much less expensive than traditional services and your start-up costs will be next to nil since everything is done through a virtual environment. There is no need for dedicated phone lines and the like. In addition, these virtual services have many benefits – they\’re paperless, completely portable and operate around the clock. Also, they are completely scalable, so you can easily scale up or down the number of lines your business needs, very important factor in this struggling economy.

Both online fax and virtual PBX are probably the wave of the future, where both the web and computers will play an ever-increasing role in the workplace and in our lives. These two new forms of communicating are here to stay and will probably grow in importance as we head into the first full century of computer usage.

For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online fax Comparison Guide: virtual pbx. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax service providers. Titus Hoskins Copyright. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online fax Comparison Guide: http://www.onlinefaxguide.com/virtual_pbx.htm. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: http://www.bizwaremagic.com/internet_fax_service_guide.htm
Titus Hoskins Copyright.

Author Bio: For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online fax Comparison Guide: virtual pbx. Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax service providers. Titus Hoskins Copyright. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Category: Business
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