Surf on the cloud
From Fax to Cloud Storage
Small and medium-sized enterprises drove Taiwan's rapid economic takeoff from the 1960s to 1980s. Telephone and fax were the main means of exchanging messages among these businesses.
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After the year 2000, even though email is considered the official mode of transmission for business documents, many small and medium-sized enterprises still use fax machines to exchange information. This is because most of the small and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan still rely primarily on paper-based operations, and new technologies such as email and cloud file transfer systems (file sharing systems) are like scenarios only found in science fiction movies.
Over the past 50 years, our collaborating partners communicated each batch of product production through numerous phone calls and faxes of product design drawings. Despite this frequent communication tightening the cooperation between both parties, it also cost a significant amount of time and office supplies. In 2022, we started promoting the cloud file transfer system for the precision connector coalition. When a new collaboration is initiated, the commissioned party uploads relevant information to the cloud folder, which the collaborating partner will then download. If there is any modification to the information, simply re-upload the new file version. Although it may sound simple, this measure is a significant change for collaborating partners, not only requiring new computer equipment and software to be installed in the factory, but also user training. The habits of paper operations for many years changed with technological advancement, and many collaborating partners need time to adapt, so it's not easy for this cloud file transfer system to be implemented successfully.
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Image Quality Enhanced and Communication Efficiency Improved
In the past, fax machines indeed had their conveniences and huge advantages. If neither party has an internet connection, as long as both parties have a fax machine and a telephone line, images and messages can be transmitted. There will be no malicious programs or coding errors on the fax machine, and the likelihood of being hacked is very low, making faxing a secure way to exchange business information. To ensure our cloud file transfer system also has high security, we spent years constructing and strengthening its defense layer and encryption protection, to prevent malicious software from invading and network attacks, to ensure information security.
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The cloud file transfer system also solved a problem that fax could not overcome: low image quality transmission. Fax machines send and receive physical documents through telecommunication, the fax machine sending the document scans the physical document and converts it into digital signals, then transmits it through the telecommunication network to the receiving fax machine, and the receiving fax machine converts the digital signal back into a physical document. The low image quality of fax machines is due to the limited transmission rate and resolution of traditional telephone lines, while the cloud file transfer system uses modern digital technology. As long as the uploaded file has high image quality, the recipient can see the file with the same image quality and clearly distinguishable details.
Paperless is a Beginning to Achieve Net-Zero
In the past, if a relevant document faxed to a collaborating partner was lost, a new one needed to be faxed by the commissioned party. Now, the collaborating partner can simply log into the system on their computer and re-download a digital file. Not only has file transfer become convenient, but the efficiency of cooperation has also become extremely high because as soon as there is a new version of the data, a single upload can synchronize the information between the two parties instantly and eliminate time differences in cooperation. This system also significantly reduces office costs for collaborating partners, saving expenses on purchasing paper and related office supplies such as toner and ink.
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Most importantly, promoting cloud file transfer systems means we will join hands with collaborating partners to lead Taiwan precision connector coalition towards a paperless and sustainable future. By reducing the use of 500 sheets of A4 paper by a pack, we can reduce average carbon emissions by 4kg [1], which is a small but practical step towards achieving Net-Zero carbon emission target.
Achieving Taiwan's Carbon-Neural goal by 2050 is not an easy task, but we remain actively and diligently implementing more commitments to sustainability and continuously bolding innovating and changing the status quo in the industry, guiding the upstream and downstream supply chain, and building a sustainable coalition of precision connectors in Taiwan.
Reference:
1. Carbon Footprint Information Platform
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