Faxes enjoy a legal status that other electronic documents do not. The content cannot be altered easily. Fax is preferable over e-mail when signatures are required. Fax is particularly important for global communications. Time zone differences make real-time communications more difficult, and language barriers make written communication essential for conducting business effectively.
Fax offers several advantages over e-mail.
First, people tend to give faxes priority handling. Second, fax always maintains the desired format, whereas some e-mail systems throw tabular material out of alignment. Third, users don't experience file format problems that prevent the recipient of an e-mail message from opening an attached file. Fourth, users don't have to worry about picking up a computer virus from a fax. The Internet is driving demand for fax systems that provide universal access to documents and easy tools to manage, view and maintain documents.