By now you may have tuned out that annoying screech of your fax machines constant calls or those expensive trips to get fresh ink. Or how about that bill for your fax's dedicated phone line. What of the frequent need to restock your fax machines paper tray or fix those daily paper jams? It might be time to ask why you're keeping that paperweight, aka 'fax machine' around when there are fax services available over the Internet that save you time, money, and precious desk space. Every day there are new business services that operate virtually via the Internet or rather 'in the cloud'.

Cloud Computing has become quite the buzz word of late. The basic idea behind Cloud Computing is get those machines off your desks and extra software packages from your computer, onto the internet so that you can access them anytime, from anywhere. Cloud computing is more than just a hosted service on a single machine. The service can be moved from machine to machine in data centers around the world for improved uptime and reliability. Yet all you need to worry about is the website and the login. Your data exists in a 'cloud' of computers. Service providers that offer cloud services are able to add new hardware seamlessly into the cloud without service interruption. The same is generally true for old hardware being removed from the cloud.

In the same general theme 'Cloud' type services are springing up everywhere. New applications frequently spring up in cyberspace reducing the burden of computing power and additional hardware required by offices. In the Cloud there are currently virtual word processors, phone services, 1-800 services, fax services, spreadsheets, accounting software and more. These services run 'in the cloud' so you don't have to own and maintain all the extra hardware that goes with them. And since you can access these from any computer with an internet connection it increases your businesses flexibility and portability.

With an online virtual fax machine you can send and receive faxes over the Internet, directly into your email. All without that big noisy fax machine on your desk. Without the physical fax machine on your desk that means you never run out of ink, you don't waste paper anymore, and you can get rid of that second phone line you were paying too much for or use it as an extra line. You won't have to hear that repeated hissing and beeping from your old fax anymore. If you were using just a single line for fax and business calls now you will have a much quieter and peaceful day with fewer interruptions since you don't have to manually answer all the faxes that come in. With a virtual fax service you'll be able to keep all the noise and clutter up in the clouds. Not only that, in the old days if you went out of town you might have needed someone to stop by the office and let you know if any faxes had come in. In todays information based world since you can access this fax service from anywhere in the world that you can access your email you can be working from your summer home in the Bahamas. Could things be more convenient than being able to check your faxes from your mobile phone while on safari in the Sahara?

Usually online fax providers will provide you a dedicated fax number. However some well established businesses may not want to change their fax number since it would mean notifying hundreds, maybe thousands of clients, suppliers, and business partners. In the event that you need to keep your existing fax number it's simple enough to set up call forwarding from your old fax number to your new fax number either temporarily or permanently depending on your business needs.

There may be the odd form or government document you find arriving on paper. These days the chances are high there is already a scanner in your office which is all you need to get documents from paper copies onto your computer to send through your online fax service. If not most office supply stores offer scanning services. If that's a nuisance or too far out of your way it's a fairly small business expense to purchase a scanner from your nearest computer dealer. To avoid cluttering that space that your fax machine used to occupy pick up a printer with a built in scanner.

For those out there still using an old clunky fax machine the rest of us are left wondering why your head isn't up in the cloud yet. Computers and the Internet continue to revolutionize the way we communicate and do business together. The transition has shaken many a corporate giant and opened many new doors along the way. In this stage of the information age the new revolution is the move to online hosted Cloud services. It's time to recycle that old fax machine of yours and reduce some bills by switching to an online fax service provider.Metro Hi Speed is a leader in online fax solutions for any sized business. Less expensive and more reliable than traditional fax services - you'll enjoy the convenience and well as the cost. Visit today for more information on our small business and corporate fax solutions.