The advent of the portal document format, or PDF, changed the way most businesses shared documents. For the construction industry, it would take a while for this technology to take hold, as it traditionally been a paper-based business. Even as technology continues to emerge to streamline document communications, those in construction continue to rely on tried and true methods such as fax to conduct business.

 

The ability to fax has been a longtime standby in this industry, but traditional paper-based faxes did not always generate the best product on the receiving end, nor could it be effectively managed on the network. When technology evolved to move fax capabilities to the network, things changed.

 

Now, individuals on both sides of the fax machine can fax information over IP to deliver a PDF that maintains the integrity of the original document. It shows that fax is still a relevant business tool today.

 

Fax over IP truly takes the idea of paperless to a whole new level, even beyond the construction industry. When faxes are sent as PDFs – or even in other formats shared by the individuals – the documents sent over IP can be saved, changed or manipulated according to the needs of the individual or the business. Most importantly, they can be backed up on the server and every user can open the file.

One example of a company moving document transfer into the next generation for those in the construction industry is Bluebeam Software. This company recently announced the Bluebeam PDF Revu 8, the newest version of its PDF editing software, specifically designed for AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) market. In environments where digital workflows are the norm, Fax over IP lets documents be customized according to specifications and then shared to the network for easy access. 

When documents are shared via fax over IP, they can be easily integrated with Microsoft (News - Alert) solutions and other industry-specific software packages. This integration allows for the retrieval, editing and checking of PDF files without complications. All parties involved can gain access to the latest version of a design blueprint to ensure a project stays on track.

As one of the most commonly used formats for electronic documents, PDFs are now accessible as an ISO International Standard – ISO 32000-1. ISO now publishes the specifications for the current PDF version and for updating and developing future versions. This ensures those in the AEC market who need to leverage fax over IP can be sure their documents are converted according to the highest industry standard.

 

Another asset in the industry that lends to effective fax over IP is FaxCore. This company offers powerful document archiving that ensures incoming faxes are immediately stored, indexed and retrievable with any Web browser as a JPEG, GIF, PDF or TIFF file.

This system, modeled after the browser-based tracking systems used by top shipping companies, enables FaxCore (News - Alert) to track incoming and outgoing faxes before, during and after transmission. Users can gain such information as arrival confirmation, time of delivery, undeliverable notification, alternate fax numbers, transmission replay and much more for their fax over IP activities.

 

And with IP, fax is much more a part of a unified communications plan.

 

It is hard to predict that there will ever be one standard that will apply in every industry, yet technology continues to move in a positive direction toward the total management of the business within the network. To ensure this happens, collaborators on all sides must access technologies like fax over IP to drive streamlined management of all documents.