Which Fax Providers Are Most Active on Twitter

April 9, 2015/in Online Fax /by KateH

Thanks to social media, people and businesses have myriad channels of communication – and that extends to customer service. Today it’s expected that companies, including online fax providers, will have a presence on Twitter, and actively monitor that account to effectively communicate with their customers. While most companies do have a Twitter handle, it’s not a given that all of them are active.

Here’s a look at the online fax companies who are most active and responsive to their customer service requests on Twitter, and which ones let their Twitter feed languish.

The Most Active

MetroFax: MetroFax doesn’t post prolifically, but it does a good job of responding to customer queries and complaints, and following up with updates or conversations through direct messages. Follow the company @MetroFax.
RingCentral: This company has a very active Twitter feed, with lots of content and specific replies to questions. Follow the company @RingCentral
Nextiva: Nextiva has some very impressive customer service activity on its Twitter feed, with responses and follow-ups, and even replies to customers posted in video form within Twitter messages. Follow the company @Nextiva
MyFax: MyFax appears to have robust customer service through its Twitter feed. The company answers specific questions quickly, and also makes it easy to find numbers for phone support. Follow the company @myfax_
HelloFax: This provider has a quick response time, upbeat tone, and an active Twitter feed. Follow the company @hellofax.

So-So Activity

eFax: eFax doesn’t post a Twitter tab on its website, but a quick search in Twitter brings up its feed. The company is very active and responsive on Twitter, but the timbre of the messages the company replies to – and the number of apologies it posts – suggests that customers are contacting eFax on Twitter mostly to vent about frustrating phone support experiences. eFax also apparently has a Twitter feed dedicated to customer service – “eFax Can Help” – but it’s been inactive since 2010. Follow the company @eFax.
SRFax: Most of SRFax’s Twitter feed shows glowing customer reviews from one review website. There’s not much else in the way of content, and very few exchanges with customers. Follow the company @SRFax.

Barely Any Pulse

Faxage: Faxage’s Twitter activity seems to be sporadic, and most of its Twitter feed is taken up with positive reviews from its own website. Follow the company @faxage.
Fax.com and RapidFax: We couldn’t find any active accounts for these providers, both of which are owned by j2.
MaxEmail: MaxEmail didn’t join Twitter until 2011, and has apparently not used the account since 2012. Follow the company at @MaxEmail.
Fax87: Fax87’s Twitter feed hasn’t been active since December 2013, and even then, its activity was lackluster. We found only a few customer correspondences, and those had a defensive and sloppy tone. Follow the company @fax87.

j2 Global Acquires SugarSync

April 5, 2015/in Online Fax /by KateH

Updated September 1, 2016 to reflect additional recent j2 acquisitions.

j2 Global Continues Acquisition Streak with Purchase of Online Backup & File Sharing Service SugarSync

j2 Global, primarily know for their brands Ziff Davis and eFax, has been expanding its cloud backup business, and this March the company purchased the popular cloud file sharing, file sync, and online backup services company SugarSync.

j2 already has a significant presence in the cloud services and digital media field, with past purchases in cloud services divisions including Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, online backup, and unified communications. The company’s purchase of SugarSync adds to j2 Global’s cloud back portfolio of LiveDrive and KeepItSafe and could signal more acquisitions in this space. The company’s Mergers and Acquisitions page specifically names online data backup, voice services, email and email marketing, Internet based fax solutions and digital publishing as prime targets. The page also notes interest in collaboration, document management/ archiving, domain registration and web hosting.

j2 has been buying companies at an accelerated pace in recent years. Here is a complete history of j2’s acquisitions (list updated September of 2016):

MaxEmail, August 2016
SMTP email marketing, 2nd quarter 2016
Game Trailers, 2nd quarter 2016
Publicaster, 2nd quarter 2016
Electronic Vaulting Services, 2nd quarter 2016
Safebackup, 2nd quarter 2016
24sevenbackup, 2nd quarter 2016
VaultLogix, 1st quarter 2016
Callstream, 1st quarter 2016
Yotta280, 1st quarter 2016
Mailout Interactive, 1st quarter 2016
GDV server backup assets, 1st quarter 2016
Backup Solutions server backup assets, 1st quarter 2016
Offers.com, January 2016
SugarSync, March 2015
Nuvotera, February 2015
UnityFax, February 2015
Firstway (distributor for FaxBox), February 2015
Excel Micro, October 2014
Web24 Group, September 2014
MXSweep, August 2014
City Numbers, February 2014
LiveDrive, February 2014
NetShelter (which owned AndroidCentral.com, MacRumors.com, Neoseeker.com, SlashGear.com and TechSpot.com), May 2013
MetroFax, March 2013
IGN Entertainment (which owned 1UP.com, UGO.com and AskMen.com), February 2013
Ziff Davis (which owned PCMag.com, ComputerShopper, ExtremeTech, Toolbox.com and Geek.com), November 2012
MyFax (which had already absorbed Packetel), My1Voice and Campaigner (all were subsidiaries of Canadian company Protus) December 2010
KeepItSafe, October 2010
FuseMail, May 2010
TrustFax (which had already absorbed FAXaFILE), February 2010
CallWave, February 2009
RapidFax, December 2007
Send2Fax, July 2006
Fax.com (which had already absorbed FaxMicro, OneFax and 101Fax) and SmartFax, July 2005
OneBox, August 2004
eFax, April 2000 (j2 Global was then operating under the name JFax)

In its brief press release, j2 did not make a statement about what its purchase might mean for current SugarSync customers, but so far SugarSync’s customers have not been posting complaints. SugarSync release a new desktop app in March, and customers have responded well to that, as well as praising prompt technical support, on the company’s Twitter feed.

However, some SugarSync employees have been less than thrilled with changes in the company post-acquisition, complaining that there have been significant layoffs in the engineering, product, and operations teams. When j2 has purchased purchased online fax companies, customer complaints have skyrocketed around issues of billing and service. Whether or not that pattern will continue with SugarSync remains to be seen.

j2 Global Acquires UnityFax

March 12, 2015/in Online Fax /by LeoW

j2 Global, a technology company based in California, has made a number of online fax service acquisitions in the last few years, and now has added another another online fax company to its lineup.

j2 Cloud Services, Inc., a division of j2 Global, has acquired UnityFax.com. UnityFax’s services and terms of service were redirected to Fax.com, another company owned by j2, effective August 6, 2014. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

j2 Global is a publicly traded company founded in 1995 as JFax by Jaye Muller and Jack Rieley. The company changed its name to j2 Global in 2011 to reflect its growth beyond phone number-centric services.

j2 has two divisions, Business Cloud Services and Digital Media. Included in j2’s Business Cloud Services segment are Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, and online backup offerings. Brand names it owns include eFax, eVoice, FuseMail, Campaigner, KeepItSafe, and Onebox.

Other online fax companies acquired by j2 include MetroFax, MyFax, TrustFax, CallWave, RapidFax, Send2Fax, and Fax.com.

UnityFax’s website says it offers a range of local number plans and toll-free number plans. Included in its local number plans are a pay as you go option with different monthly pricing structures, as well as unlimited plans that all allow an unlimited number of in bound pages, and various amounts of outbound pages. Those plans range from as low as $5.99 per month for unlimited inbound and zero outbound pages, all the way to $259.99 per month for unlimited inbound and 1,000 outbound pages per month.

Its toll-free number plans all allow both a mix of inbound and outbound pages, and range from $4.99 per month for the pay as you go option all the way to a 2,000-page inbound and outbound limit for $499.99 per month.

Faxing Software Versus Online Fax Services

March 3, 2015/in Online Fax /by KateH

There are a few different ways to fax from your computer. You can of course use an online fax service, which for a monthly fee, allows you to send, receive, and manage faxes anywhere you have Internet access. Another way is to use fax software. This software uses a landline to essentially turn your computer into a replacement of a physical fax machine.

When you use fax software, you’ll need a few things before getting started: most importantly, you need to have a phone or fax line. You’ll also have to be able to connect your computer to that line with a modem or fax board.

Windows users can use programs like Windows Fax and Scan. It allows you to send and receive documents just as a standalone fax machine would, and lets you custom design cover pages. Here’s a simple step-by-step overview of how to use Fax and Scan.

Unfortunately for Mac users, the USB fax/modem that Apple used to offer is no longer compatible with OS X, which means you cannot use fax software with the system.

Online fax providers offer a different faxing experience than you would get if you downloaded software and used your computer. Because they offer the ability to fax directly from the Internet, you don’t need a dedicated phone line to use them. Online fax services also let you manage faxes from a number of devices, like tablets or smartphones, and will assign you a number.

Downloading software can be a good choice for small businesses using PCs that don’t want to pay for a subscription and don’t have frequent faxing needs. For larger businesses that need more constant access to fax services, an online fax service is probably a better fit.

image via Creative Commons

eFax: New Features and Specs

February 24, 2015/in Online Fax /by LeoW

The eFax company started in 1999, when the business changed its name from JetFax and launched its online faxing solution. Aimed at businesses, individuals and education systems, eFax built its business as a replacement for hardware fax machines. eFax has recently rolled out new features to expand its product offerings. This new line of services is designed to both make their online faxing product more flexible and convenient and to compete with other services available in the cloud space. The new key features are the eFax app, electronic signatures, heightened security and large file transfers.

There’s an App for That

Like so many companies, eFax has gotten into the mobile app market. eFax’s app for Android and iOS devices can be used for sending and receiving faxes and is also integrated with eFax’s other new product offerings, including electronic signatures and file sharing. iPhone, iPad and Android users can send and receive faxes without a laptop or desktop. The app can also be used to forward sent or received faxes to email, add notes to faxes and collaborate.

Sign on the Dotted Line

Another new feature from eFax is their electronic signature product. Similar to services like Docusign or AuthentiSign, it allows eFax users to sign faxes electronically, eliminating the need for a traditional hard paper fax and manual signature. The electronic signature can be performed either the user swiping their signature on their mobile device’s screen or by taking a picture of their handwritten signature. These options allow eFax users the convenience and responsiveness of signing documents on the go instead of waiting to get back to the office. Signatures are protected by encryption.

More Secure

eFax has added encryption features for extra security. This includes at-rest AES encryption, designed to safeguard faxes stored on customers’ eFax accounts. This is important because eFax saves a complete history of sent and received faxes. 128-bit SSL encryption is a standard feature of eFax’s portal site to ensure secure access to incoming faxes. The company also stipulates that they do not share customer data with third parties and that they are fully HIPAA and GLB compliant.

Files Too Big to Fax?

The final new feature to spotlight is eFax’s large file sharing offering. Completely separate from their faxing product, think of this as eFax’s answer to Dropbox or Google Drive. The large file sharing component allows eFax customers to share files up to 3GB in size. Shared via secure link, these files can be any format, including zipped files, and are available for 90 days. The link can be sent to up to 20 addresses at a time and users receive an email notification when recipients download the files. This feature is offered to all eFax users and is not an additional feature with a separate charge.

In addition to these new, expanded offerings, eFax provides standard features including lifetime fax storage and fax search so that customers can find and retrieve any sent or received fax, which is helpful for finding and sending a standard style of fax on the go. eFax also offers a fax preview feature so users can see exactly what outgoing faxes will look like, toll free phone numbers and the ability to send from up to five email addresses per account.

Comparing HelloFax and FaxNgo

February 3, 2015/in Online Fax /by KateH

As online faxing’s popularity grows, new service providers are entering the marketplace. Here we take a look at two of those newer providers, FaxNGo and HelloFax.

HelloFax is pricier than some of its competitors, with monthly plans at $9.99 per month for 300 total pages, $19.99 per month for 500 total pages, and $39.99 per month for 1,000 total pages. That’s more money for fewer pages compared with plans that other providers offer, but HelloFax does offer international faxing, unlimited storage of sent and received faxes, and eSignatures.

HelloFax also says it offers HIPAA-compliant features, which means an additional level of safety when faxing sensitive documents like medical records. However, the company won’t sign a Business Associate Agreement, so if HIPAA security is one of your primary faxing needs, read up on exactly what HelloFax’s HIPAA compliance does and doesn’t apply to.

HelloFax has also received a lot of attention for its partnership with Google, allowing users to fax any document right from Google Drive. The company was started by Joseph Walla and Neal O’Mara, who also formed the eSignature service HelloSign.

FaxNgo, like HelloFax, has a sleek design, and is relatively new to the market. It offers only one package: for $12.90 per month, users get unlimited incoming faxes, and can send up to 150 faxes per month. FaxNgo also offers Android and Apple mobile apps. Because of the low volume included in the plan, this provider might be best for small businesses or sole proprietors with few faxing needs.

FaxNgo features include international fax coverage, eSigning, and 24/7 customer support. FaxNgo is owned by ClickMeIn, which is based in Israel.

Unfortunately, there are a few technical glitches that have made signing up for FaxNgo difficult. The website asks for a location in order to assign you a local fax number, but it has not been generating geographically accurate numbers – for example, an attempt to sign up from Austin, TX, ended in a number that’s local to Austin, MN. A few users have also noted problems with the provider not recognizing the account holder’s email, or not letting a would-be user complete the signing up process with their email address.

Hopefully these glitches are growing pains from a new company, and will be addressed quickly.

At least for the time being, HelloFax seems like a more reliable and more established service. However, FaxNgo has some promising features, and with its simple package and reasonable price, it could be a great service once its technical details are ironed out.

Porting A Number

January 21, 2015/in Online Fax /by KateH

What Is Fax Number Porting, And Why Would You Need It?

Porting a fax number means transferring an existing fax number in to a new provider, or porting out a fax number to a telecom or another fax provider.

Why would you want to port a number? If you have an existing fax number that’s printed on marketing materials and that customers or other businesses already know, it makes sense to keep that number. Likewise, it would make sense to take your existing number with you, should you switch providers.

Porting A Number Into A Fax Service

Most fax companies make this an easy process, and some even provide it for free. Among providers that charge a fee, many will offer a discount if you’re looking at a large number (more than 50, for instance) of ports.

Typically, in order to port an existing number into a service, you must first verify that the number is eligible for transfer, and that transferring the number won’t affect other services or contractual agreements you have with your current provider.

If you are able to port your current number, you would then sign up for service with the online provider you’re interested in and contact the provider to let them know you’d like to port a number in. You’ll need to fill out a request form, and then the new provider will handle the transfer for you.

Porting A Number Out Of A Fax Service

Porting out a number can be more complicated. While some fax companies have a policy that a number belongs to a customer and they may do with it as they please, others say the exact opposite. Fax providers owned by j2 Global – which include major brands like eFax, MetroFax, MyFax, TrustFax, RapidFax, Send2Fax, and Fax.com – fall under the latter category. Providers owned by j2 Global expressly prohibit the transfer of a number assigned to you to another provider. If you try anyway, you may be subject to a $500 fee.

There is an exception to the non-porting policy: if you ported in a number, it is yours to port out as well. And if your provider is a traditional phone company of VoIP service, you should also be able to port your number out relatively easily.

Typically porting out a number is similar to porting one in: keeping your service active while you complete the transfer, you would request a letter of agreement from the new provider, which will then contact the current provider. Once portability is verified, the new provider will make the switch.

image via Creative Commons

Which Virtual PBX Services Include Online Faxing?

December 18, 2014/in Online Fax /by KateH

Virtual PBX (Private Branch Exchange) services give businesses the ability to use a range of features without traditional hardware. Virtual PBX is software-based, and will work with existing phones – like mobile and home phones – allowing workers to connect with business services like conference calling and call management features from anywhere, and without equipment. Some virtual PBX companies also offer online fax services along with phone services. Here’s an overview of a few Virtual PBX services that include online faxing:

RingCentral Professional

In addition to virtual PBX features like call forwarding, auto-receptionist, and extensions, RingCentral Professional allows you to use your number for online faxing. Online faxing features through this plan include the ability to attach files from your computer of from cloud storage, the ability to send faxes from Microsoft Office applications, and a mobile app.

All three RingCentral Professional plans include online faxing: Pro, for $9.99 per month, Pro Plus for $19.99 per month, and Pro Power, for $24.99 per month.

Phone.com

Phone.com’s virtual PBX features include toll free and local numbers, auto attendant, mobile apps, call forwarding and scheduling, call conferencing, unlimited extensions, and Internet fax. Faxes are converted to PDF files and sent to your inbox, and you can upload documents from your computer in different formats to send as faxes.

Plans include a basic plan $9.99 per month for one number, a pay per minute plan that charges 2.5 cents to 3.9 cents per minute, and an unlimited plan, for $19.99 per month per extension.

VirtualPBX.com

VirtualPBX claims that it offers the widest array of features in the industry, and it certainly does offer a thorough set. Features range from online faxing, data security and call recording, to personal greetings, automatic callback and auto attendant.

Online faxing works from the your phone number, with a certain number of outbound faxes included in each plan. Inbound faxes use plan minutes. Faxes can be viewed online or through email, and can be uploaded and sent from a VirtualPBX online fax library.

Office plans start at $33.99 per month for one line, and go up: $24.99 per line, per month for two-19 lines, $22.99 per line, per month for 20-99 lines, and $19.99 per line, per month for 100-plus line. All office plans include 1,000 outbound fax pages.

Virtual PBX offers three Anywhere Plans: Startup is $9.99 per month, with 10 outbound fax pages included, Pro is $19.99 per month with 50 outbound fax pages included, and Premium is $24.99 per month with 100 outbound fax pages included.

image via Creative Commons

HIPAA Compliance and Business Associate Agreements

December 2, 2014/in Online Fax /by KateH

image via Creative Commons

For some businesses faxing on a regular basis, security and regulations play a role in determining which provider to use. That’s especially true for medical fields, which must comply with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While several several online fax service providers provide HIPAA-compliant services, only some enter into what’s called a Business Associate Agreement. So what does your business need to know about Business Associate Agreements if you’re looking for a HIPAA-compliant service?

What a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement Does

A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a contract between a HIPAA covered entity – any organization or business that handles personal health information – and a business associate, which means any organization or person providing services to the HIPAA entity. The BAA ensures that the business associate (for instance, a fax provider) is accountable for protecting the personal health information it is handling or transmitting.

Once the HITECH Act of 2009 went into effect, and again when it and HIPAA were modified in 2013, business associates became subject to more stringent guidelines. Business associates working with HIPAA-covered entities are now subject to audits by the Office for Civil Rights, which oversees HIPAA. Business associates can be held accountable for data breaches, and penalized for noncompliance.

What That Means When It Comes To Fax Service Providers

Some fax service providers offer HIPAA compliance, but won’t sign a BAA. Many of them maintain their compliance even without the BAA by acting as a simple conduit for information, meaning they are excluded from the definition of a business associate per HIPAA’s language.

RingCentral, for instance, asks HIPAA-regulated customers to sign a HIPAA Conduit setting specifically for transmission of sensitive data. That agreement ensures that RingCentral takes certain steps, including automatically deleting all messages and calls after 30 days, disabling SMS messaging, and disabling attachment of voicemail audio files and fax images to message notification emails. By adhering to those practices, the company is not technically handling patient data, and cannot be held liable for its security.

The conduit agreement RingCentral provides does allow them to claim HIPAA compliance without a BAA in place, although it makes some feel nervous not to have the extra safeguard in place.

“If you use a cloud-based service, it should be your business associate,” David Holtzman of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Office for Civil Rights, Privacy Division, said in this Yahoo small business article. “If they refuse to sign, don’t use the service.”

With the new 2013 Omnibus modification to the HIPAA/HITECH Acts, more security and safeguards are required of anyone who transmits or handles patient health information. For some HIPAA-covered entities or businesses, it may be worth a close look at the fax provider’s policies and the updated HIPAA regulations to make sure HIPAA compliance is not in name only.

If you’re a business that handles patient documents, you can use a provider that won’t sign a BAA. However, if you do so, make sure you understand what safeguards are in place to ensure that the fax provider is indeed adhering to HIPAA regulations. For instance, simply saying a service offers “encryption” isn’t enough, since data must be encrypted both in transit and at rest to be HIPAA-compliant. The fax provider must also be able to show that it is not storing personal health information.

If that sounds like too many potential loopholes, then it may be best to seek out a fax provider that does offer to sign a BAA. Below is a list of services that do and do not sign BAAs:

These online fax services will sign a Business Associate Agreement:

SRFax
FaxAge

These services offer HIPAA compliant technology, but will NOT sign a Business Associate Agreement:

How Do MetroFax and RingCentral Compare?

November 24, 2014/in Online Fax /by KateH

RingCentral and MetroFax consistently rank as two of the most popular Internet fax services. Both are affordable, offer solid support, and include good features. Here’s a closer look at how the two compare on value, features and ease of use as well as our bottom line on the comparison.

Value

MetroFax and RingCentral both offer tiered plans. RingCentral’s most cost effective plan includes 500 send or receive pages for $9.99 per month (or $95.88/ year if paid annually). MetroFax’s “Essential” plan includes 500 pages for $7.95/ month (or $79.50/ year if paid annually). Both also offer a 1,000-page plan, but MetroFax is only $12.95/ month (or $129.50 annually) while RingCentral’s plan is $17.99/ month ( or $155.88 annually). They both also offer 2,500 page plans, but MetroFax offers a much better price of $34.95/ month ($349.50 annually) versus and RingCentral’s $59.99 ($599.88 annually).

RingCentral also offers a corporate plan for $49.99 per month (or $479.88 annually) with two fax numbers and an option to add more fax numbers at $4.99 each, with “unlimited” pages included (fair use policies actually limit this to 10,000 pages per month). This plan is designed for businesses that do a lot of faxing and need multiple employees to have their own, dedicated fax numbers and administrative controls.

Both MetroFax and RingCentral give you the option of signing up for an 888, 877, 866 or 855 toll free number for not extra cost. However, only RingCentral offers a true “800” number option, for which they charge a $30 setup fee. MetroFax no longer offers 800 numbers.

MetroFax’s website offers a “Corporate” plan for companies needing multiple numbers, large fax volume and centralized admin, but people looking for this option will simply be referred to eFax Corporate (eFax’s parent company, j2 Global, bought MetroFax in 2013).

Features

Both MetroFax and RingCentral offer iPhone & Android apps, but only RingCentral offers an app for Blackberry. Both companies’ apps, allow you to send files from your phone’s camera roll and from services like Dropbox, but they do so in different ways. MetroFax is smoother for attaching photos from your camera, while RingCentral has better Cloud service integration. Both services also allow faxing to international numbers.

Neither service currently offers an e-signing feature, but RingCentral offers a setting that makes the service HIPAA compliant (necessary for people in the medical industry). However, RingCentral will not sign a “business associate agreement” for fax only customers. Business associate agreements are a further way to insure HIPAA compliance, but only a few HIPAA compliant fax companies offer this feature.

RingCentral recently eliminated phone support for their fax only customers, instead providing a “case management” system where customers can submit their issues online. Cases are responded to within 24 hours. MetroFax offers North American based phone support Monday through Friday from 8am to 9pm Eastern Time.

RingCentral also features two additional products that include fax services: RingCentral Office and RingCentral Professional. These services provide users with a complete business phone system as well as fax capabilities, and the prices for these services start at $9.99/ month depending on your needs.

Ease of Use

Both services make sending faxes very easy, and allow you to send through email, a web interface, and smartphone apps. Because RingCentral offers services beyond fax, their interface is more complicated than MetroFax, but it offers additional features like custom caller ID settings, call blocking, etc. Both services also allow users to receive faxes at multiple email addresses (30 for RingCentral and 10 for MetroFax).

Bottom Line

MetroFax is the better choice for non-medical professionals looking for fax capabilities. It is less expensive, simpler, offers better customer service and quality apps. For people needing HIPAA compliance that don’t need a business associate agreement, RingCentral is an excellent choice. Also, if you are interested in an easy to use, feature rich business phone system that includes faxing, RingCentral’s Office and Professional services are worth a look.