More than 80% of German companies still use fax machines – survey

It’s a stereotype of the German business world that has two solid feet in reality – the reluctance to abandon outdated technology.

At least that’s what research published by German digital defense group Bitkom says. On thursday.

In a world dominated by high-speed internet and rapid advances in digital capabilities, 82% of German companies still use fax machines – a technology that had its heyday in the previous millennium – according to Bitkom survey results.

“Faced with the shift to digital, the fax machine has long been considered doomed,” said Bitkom’s head of digital business processes, Nils Britze.

“But once a communication channel has been established, it usually takes a while before it is completely replaced – even when much more comfortable and secure means of communication have come about in the meantime.”

Frequent use of declining fax machines

One of the most surprising results of the survey is that a third of the companies that responded said they still use fax machines “often” or “very often”.

However, the report pointed out that this participation has continued steadily in recent years. Last year’s result was 40%, compared to 62% in 2018.

Half of the 505 companies – all with at least 20 employees – said they send faxes occasionally or rarely, while 16% do without them at all.

“What is most valued about the classic fax machine is, above all, its ability to clearly track whether something has been sent,” said Britze.

“As for data encryption and therefore security, digital channels have some advantages over fax,” he added.

This article was written in part with material from the dpa news agency.

Edited by: Rebecca Staudenmaier