Office: Four out of five companies have abolished fax

For a long time, the fax machine, still used in many government offices and government departments, was considered a symbol of Germany's slow pace of digitalization. But the fax, this communication tool from the last century, is apparently in serious decline, as a survey by, of course, the digital association Bitkom shows. 600 companies, all with at least 20 employees, were included in the study.

The result: Only 18 percent of companies regularly use a fax machine for internal or external communication. A year ago, 30 percent of the companies surveyed reported regularly sending and receiving faxes; in 2023, this figure had fallen to 33 percent. "The fax machine is increasingly disappearing. It's become somewhat of a symbol of backwardness," said Bernhard Rohleder, CEO of Bitkom.

The classic form of digital communication, email, has now become a staple in every office. As in the previous year, 100 percent of the companies surveyed used email very frequently or frequently. Almost all companies also communicate regularly via smartphone (94 percent). The traditional landline telephone (93 percent) is almost on par with video conferencing, which is regularly used by 67 percent of companies. Messenger services have also gained significant popularity: two-thirds of companies also use them very frequently or frequently for internal or external communication.

When it comes to the use of artificial intelligence, however, the industry association observes hesitant acceptance among German companies. The technology is apparently still encountering resistance among employees: In just over half of the companies, managers believe that employees are skeptical about using AI (53 percent), Bitkom reported. Three-quarters of companies are also waiting to see what experiences others have with it (75 percent). The expected benefits are also often viewed critically: Half of the companies surveyed believe that the use of AI in business and administrative processes is not worthwhile (50 percent). Rohleder warned against being too cautious when it comes to AI applications: "Waiting is the wrong strategy with a technology like artificial intelligence – those who jump in too late run the risk of being left behind. Companies must start implementing AI solutions now and train their employees accordingly."