Digitization: Many people tired of faxing, but often can't do without it
Although many have "had enough" of faxing, three out of four companies still rely on it - mostly due to communication with the authorities.
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It may seem surprising in the digital age, but fax machines are still widely used in German companies. According to a representative survey by the digital association Bitkom, three quarters (77 percent) of German companies still rely on fax machines. The survey covered 604 companies in Germany with more than 20 employees.
A quarter still use them frequently or very frequently. In 2018, the proportion of those who sent faxes frequently or very frequently was around twice as high as this year at 49%. In 2021, the number of intensive fax users was still 43%, in 2022 40% would still have indicated intensive use, in 2023 a third of respondents.
Change bit by bit
Despite a gradual decline in fax use - 82% of companies faxed in 2023, 88% in 2022, 92% in 2020 and even 95% in 2018 - the change is very slow. The reasons for fax use despite modern alternatives are varied: 56% of companies that still fax do so because of the need to communicate with authorities , according to Bitkom. 43 percent consider fax to be more secure than the postal service and 35 percent want to stick to "established fax processes". 27 percent stated that they fax out of habit or because they need proof of delivery. 25 percent of companies want to use fax to satisfy their customers and 10 percent said they wanted to meet legal requirements.
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"Alternatives to fax include digital signatures, the EDI standard or special e-mail formats that also offer legally compliant proof of delivery. For these more efficient and secure alternatives to replace long-established fax processes, there needs to be a willingness on all sides to question existing solutions and acquire new digital know-how," explains Daniil Heinze, consultant for "Digital Business Processes" at Bitkom.
Digital fax machines are used by 72 percent of companies, with around a quarter relying exclusively on them. However, according to Bitkom, 18 percent of companies still fax using a traditional telephone line and printout. Almost half of faxing companies (48 percent) use both methods.
(mack)
