Upcoming Biscom Webinar with Analyst Mark Malone: "Understanding Secure Fax & Document Delivery Solutions for the Enterprise"

I will be taking part in this informative webinar brought to you by Biscom, makers of FAXCOM, FAXCOM Anywhere, Secure File Transfer and Verosync.  Save the date and time:  Thursday November 13, 2014 at 2:00pm EST

Here's the link to register: (click here).

The basis for the webinar is from a special report I published about Biscom's Secure Fax and Document Delivery:  Get a copy of the White Paper here.

Automated fax system misdials numbers: Places healthcare information at risk

Once again the Fax Over Cloud newsreel has dug up yet another interesting story about health care, privacy violations and automated faxing.

According to a 29 August article from the Leader-Post, it seems a healthcare organization in Saskatchewan experienced a ghastly mistake - one that occurred 14 times, affecting 13 patients, of sending patient information to the wrong fax numbers. 

See Leader-Post Article by Austin M. Davis

This unfortunate series of events occurred at The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region (RQHR) located in Saskatchewan, Canada. The phone circuits are provided by SaskTel and the fax system? Not being mentioned by RQHR's Marlene Smadu, vice-president of quality and transformation. 

An email request from Fax Over Cloud has gone unanswered. 

Worse, they claim the faxing system was the culprit - stating that it was, "misdialing some numbers by repeating one of the digits when dialing."  

Even worse: The temporary "fix" was to reboot the entire fax system every few days. 

According to Davis' Leader-Post article who quotes Dr. Smadu, "We're quite confident now since the end of May that the process that we've put into place, which is rebooting the whole system every two days to make sure that it's only the right fax numbers that are in there, has solved the problem..."

It should be noted that Davis' article points out that the fax provider and SaskTel are working on a permanent fix for the problem. Rebooting every few days is obviously not a fix. 

Mistakes like this can happen, but usually it's human error - someone entering the wrong number in to the fax system or mistyping a digit, that sort of thing. But to claim that the system itself was adding extra digits is unheard of - or is it?

Luckily for RQHR, they had no obligation to report this breach of privacy to the authorities - in this case, the Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. There was no mention of this being a violation of Canada's PIPEDA laws (the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act). 

How would this be handled in the U.S.? Or other countries where healthcare privacy has become such a hot issue?  

Check out the full article and you decide. 

Latest Developments from etherFAX

Albany, New York USA September 05, 2014 -- Fax Over Cloud produces an article on some of the latest developments at etherFAX.  

SEE THIS ARTICLE AS A PDF  -- ON OUR FEATURE ARTICLES PAGE (Click)

Latest Developments from etherFAX
By Mark D. Malone
Fax Industry Analyst

Last month I posted a short snippet about our good friends at etherFAX (see, “etherFAX Signs Deal with ExtraComm”) just to get the word out about their new partner, but I also wanted to talk about some new innovations they’ve introduced into the marketplace.  Not only has etherFAX upped the ante by achieving a very high level certification from the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), they’ve also been seeing growth in the need for secure fax delivery capabilities that they alone can deliver. There is more about these developments later.

First, let’s recall the etherFAX solution. They’re not a fax server ISV nor are they a fax cloud services provider. Instead they offer a cloud-based fax telephony network that can tie in to virtually any Fax Server vendor’s on premise system. This eliminates the need for end customers to invest in on-premise telephony boards, circuits and related hardware – a huge savings and fewer headaches for those organizations that do not want to purchase, install and manage telephony equipment for their fax server.   I like this hybrid scenario since it leaves full control of the fax server software and the vital fax data on-premise – where it belongs according to some interpretations of the compliance standards like HIPAA and PCI DSS.

There’s a lot more depth to what etherFAX offers so I recently was able to get some time from them and updates on what they’re up to these days. They’ve undergone a bit of rebranding in the last couple of years so an update is in order. Special thanks to etherFAX CEO Paul Banco (PBanco@etherfax.net), and Director of Sales Quinn Corey (QCorey@etherfax.net) as well as CTO Robert Cichielo (RCichielo@etherfax.net) to get more details about their latest news.

GOOGLE CHROME Users: SEE REMAINDER AS A PDF DOCUMENT (click)

Or...

Go to PDF of full article located at our FEATURE ARTICLE page (click)

Or....read on -text only version

ExtraComm is etherFAX’s newest partner.

etherFAX continues to add on more and more Fax Server ISVs to their growing list of partners. ExtraComm is the maker of ExtraFax®, a faxing solution with tight integrations to both Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange. ExtraComm joins other notable Fax ISVs like Imecom, GoldFax, FaxCore, GFI Faxmaker, FacSys (Solgenia), One Touch Global and others.

etherFAX achieves PCI DSS Level 1 Certification

I must admit I didn’t know what “Level 1” merchant certification was until spoke with them. I learned quickly that not all vendors have achieved this level, but rather may have levels 2-4 in which they obtain certification through “self assessment”. Not in the case of Level 1 however. Service providers like etherFAX undergo a rigorous certification audit performed by an external 3^rd-party vendor. In their case, etherFAX uses Trustwave® (www.trustwave.com) to continuously evaluate and scrutinize etherFAX’s internal systems, processes, policies and governance procedures.

But what does “Level 1” mean? First, a little history for context: Back in 2001, Visa instituted the Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP), which eventually rolled up into the current PCI DSS standards of today. According to Visa, “CISP is intended to protect Visa cardholder data–wherever it resides–ensuring that members, merchants, and service providers maintain the highest information security standard.”  And, specifically to what Level 1 means, “Merchants processing over 6 million Visa transactions annually (all channels) or Global merchants identified as Level 1 by any Visa region 2”

So, with a Level 1 go ahead from Visa, service provider etherFAX can serve merchants who do massive volumes of credit card transactions and keep the vital information well protected.  Very cool indeed especially since there are very few fax cloud vendors who have achieved this level.  

etherFAX SEN®

“SEN” stands for Secure Exchange Network and it’s actually not a brand new capability of the etherFAX cloud network. It’s sort of an “already built in capability” that’s growing in demand as HIPAA and PCI DSS tighten their grips about compliance mandates. In a nutshell, etherFAX SEN allows peer-to-peer faxing within the etherFAX network – without having to make a fax call outside the network.

Let’s say a customer using a hybrid GoldFax® server with an etherFAX telephony cloud sends a fax to a trading partner who happens to be using Imecom’s Use IT® Messaging server with etherFAX. In this scenario, the etherFAX network can recognize another etherFAX destination number and instead of making an outside fax call, the fax is delivered via “in-network” routing within the etherFAX network itself. No outside fax call means the delivery is instantaneous, there’s no telephone transmission and security is guaranteed from end-to-end. For record keeping, etherFAX also marks SEN transactions as “SENt” for reporting and compliance purposes.

One of the stand-out features of the SEN capability is that dissimilar products can enjoy the benefits of secure transmission without making any changes to their products.

The only requirement for SEN is that both sender and receiver of the fax must be part of the etherFAX network If customers want to leverage SEN but they don’t want to replace their entire telephony they can use etherFAX for SEN destined numbers.  The upshot is the fast delivery speeds, guaranteed delivery and improved security. They have customers using SEN already so read more about SEN at http://etherfax.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/etherFAX-SEN.pdf

etherFAX API

What if an organization doesn’t have a fax server that interoperates with etherFAX?  Or, what if they have no fax server at all but have a fax-based business application that needs automation?  etherFAX offers an Application Programming Interface (API) via their etherFAX Toolkit offering. Software integrators can utilize a Web Services interface to fax-enable any fax server or tie directly into an automated fax process (e.g. a production fax scenario).  etherFAX also provides jump-start kits for C/C++, C#/.NET, Java, PHP, and other programming languages. Fax integration has never been easier.

In closing

I like how etherFAX is positioned in the marketplace. They’re agnostic to any one particular fax server and can integrate with applications directly via their API.  They’ve taken the telephony complexities of a fax server installation away from the end customer and placed it into a very secure cloud environment. Customers can enjoy not only security but scalability and number porting as well. Combine that with their latest news and updates – this is a company worth watching closely. Their ability to address PCI DSS and HIPAA compliance mandates is a key strength that they can leverage to grow business.

More fax server ISVs should pay heed and look to supporting etherFAX for cloud telephony alternatives. And, for those companies and software integrators that are looking to automate fax processes directly, etherFAX presents a solid solution.  Make sure to check out and contact etherFAX at www.etherfax.net.

COMPANY PROFILE

Corporate Headquarters:

15 North Main Street

Marlboro, NJ 07746

(877) 384 - 9866

CEO: Paul Banco

Footprint:

·   United States

·   POPs overseas

Founded:

2009 as a Domestic Corporation – State of Delaware

(Privately Held)

Service Offerings:

·   etherFAX

·   etherFAX SEN

·   etherFAX DR

·   etherFAX Toolkit

·   etherFAX Co-location Services

Network:

·   4 9’s Reliability

·   Defense in-Depth Security and Redundancy

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etherFAX Signs Deal with ExtraComm

Our friends at etherFAX are on the move again with another partnership - Extracomm, makers of the ExtraFax™ fax server solution for IBM Domino™ and MS Exchange.

I can't say it enough how much I like the whole concept of hosted telephony solutions. Customers get the flexibility of having their faxing systems on-premise where they can control and administer their system to their liking - yet have the telephony piece outsourced to providers such as etherFax.  The business model simply makes sense and is an easy sell in my opinion.

Check out the press release

TE-SYSTEMS Announces Availability of a Special Report Showcasing FoIP Middleware Solutions

Here is the press release announcing the availability of the special report from TE-SYSTEMS, makers of XCAPI FoIP Software.

TE-SYSTEMS Announces Availability of a Special Report Showcasing FoIP Middleware Solutions (via PRWeb)

Report puts a spotlight on XCAPI software as it compares to two competitor products Boston, Mass. (PRWEB) June 11, 2014 TE-SYSTEMS, INC. a U.S. subsidiary of German-based TE-SYSTEMS, GmbH announces the availability of a special report showcasing three…

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Special Report Findings: TE-SYSTEMS' XCAPI FoIP Middleware Solution Under the Spotlight

Albany, New York USA May 21, 2014 -- A special report authored by industry analyst Mark D. Malone was commissioned by FoIP/VoIP  middleware provider TE-SYSTEMS, makers of XCAPI software. 

TE-SYSTEMS is a German-based FoIP/VoIP middleware provider that is opening a support center in the U.S. to meet the demands of its growing North American customer base.  They are the developers of XCAPI, a FoIP/VoIP middleware solution.  The report takes a look at XCAPI and its rivals SR140 from Dialogic and Bladeware from Commetrex. 

Report synopsis (excerpt):

This report will examine three (3) FoIP software providers and offer comparative reviews of each vendor’s FoIP solution. A product feature and capability comparison is provided along with feedback that was gathered during interviews with a handful of ISVs who have recently integrated their fax or UM servers with an upcoming contender in the industry, TE-SYSTEMS. The ISVs provide general feedback about their experiences with TE-SYSTEMS’ XCAPI product and how it compares against similar products from FoIP middleware vendors Dialogic and Commetrex. In addition, feedback and validation were gathered directly from FoIP/VoIP middleware providers TE-SYSTEMS, Dialogic and Commetrex. The report concludes with commentary and observations about TE-SYSTEMS and Dialogic specifically. 

This free report is available from TE-SYSTEMS directly. Click here to download

This free report is available from TE-SYSTEMS directly. Click here to download

News from AIO Robotics: The world's first ALL-in-One 3D Printer is ready!

Announces Avaiability: May 17, 2014 Press Release

And, a Fax Over Cloud Exclusive: 

AIO Robotics to Develop a 3D Fax Protocol...

May 16, 2014 -- Albany, New York  As you may recall we here at Fax Over Cloud had a quick interview with the co-founders of AIO Robotics back in September of 2013. At that time, they were in startup mode and working hard to bring the world's first desktop 3-dimensional, desktop MFP to market -- called Zeus.

Our interview led to a small write up we did located here (Click to see Zeus 3D MFP Article from Fax Over Cloud - September 2013)  

Recall that their definition of "fax" is not the one we all follow.

As our article pointed out:

The “Fax” functionality is not really a fax per se, but a job file that’s printed remotely on another Zeus device. There is no fax session call, no fax modem in use, and no T.30 or T.38 fax protocols established by the device. It’s basically a file transfer between two Zeus devices connected via the cloud or VPN.  File encryption is an option and the MFP does not have a dedicated phone line so it is secure from unwanted calls.

Exclusive - 3D Fax Protocol is planned: Today, we learned from CEO and co-Founder Jens Windau that a planned 3D Fax Protocol for Zeus to be able to communicate with other 3d devices. According to Windau, "Our faxing is still based on a messenger protocol via internet. Our goal this year is to standardize a 3D faxing protocol, so that also 3rd party devices could 3D fax to ZEUS or receive 3D faxes from ZEUS."

Here's a link to AIO Robotics

Here's a link to their Press Release

The Fax Guys Awarded Best Company to Work For

Congratulations to Greg Osterdyk and his team at The Fax Guys...

Minnesota Business Honors The Fax Guys as a “Best Company to Work For” for Three Years in a Rowhttp://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11777214.htm (via PRWeb)

Fun employee environment, loyal customers and industry-leading position continue to fuel company’s growth and status as a great place to work. BURNSVILLE, Minn. (PRWEB) April 22, 2014

Since sending and receiving faxes isn’t a process necessarily known to foster creativity, The Fax Guys injected some artistry into a recent employee retreat. As a team-building activity, employees painted their own version of The Fax Guys logo. The paintings now hang prominently in the company’s office. Fun employee activities such as this one, combined with loyal customers and strong growth, have resulted in The Fax Guys (http://www.thefaxguys.com) being named to Minnesota Business’ “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the third year in a row.

“Our tight-knit team is the key to our success,” said Greg Osterdyk, Co-Owner and Chief Fax Guy at The Fax Guys. “We all pitch in to help each other be successful, which is critical for exceeding client expectations.”

In its third year, Minnesota Business’ “100 Best Companies to Work For” competition salutes Minnesota organizations that are setting the standard for leadership, benefits, best work environment, innovative training programs, and employee happiness. After being nominated, each of the company’s employees were anonymously surveyed by an independent research group commissioned by Minnesota Business and asked to share their thoughts on the work environment, benefits, leadership, and overall workplace culture.

“During the past 12 months we were named Partner of the Year by OpenText for the second year in a row, our staff expanded, and we continued our strong growth trajectory,” said Brent Lothrop, Co-Owner and President of The Fax Guys.

The Fax Guys and other recipients of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” honor will be recognized at an event on June 5, 2014, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. For more information on the award, visithttp://www.minnesotabusiness.com.

About The Fax Guys
Founded as Dynamic Solutions Group, the company has been focused on fax automation since 1998. Rebranded as The Fax Guys in 2011, the company has completed more than 700 fax server installations nationwide in such industries as healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and transportation. The Fax Guys provide state-of-the-art products like RightFax and FaxPing. RightFax enables users to send, receive, and manage documents directly from their desktop, email, and other applications. In late 2011, The Fax Guys introduced FaxPing, a service that automatically monitors and tests fax systems. The Fax Guys recently launched RightFax University, a one-stop shop for RightFax online learning.

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Media contact: Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC, KC Associates, LLC, brant(at)kc-associates(dot)com, 612.314.3803

RePost: Fax Industry Expert, Mark D Malone, finds Concord’s integration tool system very impressive.

Fax Over Cloud Experts Test Drive Concord's Online Fax Services (via PRWeb)

Fax Industry Expert, Mark D Malone, finds Concord’s integration tool system very impressive. Seattle, WA (PRWEB) April 28, 2014 Fax Over Cloud was given access to Concord Fax’s online system to conduct a test drive of their services. This included…

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Product Sneak Peek: ConcordFax Online

I had the pleasure of taking ConcordFax's Online Fax Services for a test drive.

Go directly to online document (pdf): CLICK HERE TO ACCESS PDF

Albany, NY April 2014 -- Concord Technologies, makers of ConcordFax, began in 1996 as an online fax solution for Delrina’s WinFax Pro. They offered cloud fax services long before monikers that included “cloud anything” became popular. Over the years they started offering online fax integration to voice and unified messaging systems and by the mid 2000’s found themselves focusing primarily on serving the enterprise market.

Today they operate dual, completely redundant data centers in the United States and offer a wide range of cloud fax products including inbound fax services in over 50 countries worldwide. They boast such notable customers like Western Union, Energizer, Johns Hopkins Medical, Coca-Cola, Daimler and John Deere to name just a few. On top of all that, Concord is used internally as Microsoft’s default desktop fax solution and delivered as fax solution for all dedicated hosted Exchange customers.

Concord is truly an enterprise player.

READ FULL ARTICLE (PDF)
This link connects to the Fax Over Cloud online document library via Google Docs. Best viewed using Chrome. 

Concord Technologies Announces New Enterprise Capabilities.

Concord Technologies, provider of ConcordFax online fax services has announced new developments to their service offerings which are aimed at the larger enterprise market. 

According to Concord, they've completed a "major upgrade" to their Enterprise Fax Online Services.  A new web portal, updated Active Directory integration capabilities, and a plethora of features that simplify administration for complex account management are just a few of the enhancements. 

STAY TUNED...Fax Over Cloud is currently taking the ConcordFax Online Services for a test drive -- look for a write up coming soon. 

In the meantime, check out the press release here

RightFax Express opens up SMB play for OpenText

OpenText announced last month a new RightFax® Express product. It’s a low density fax solution that can be either an all-in-one fax appliance or a software-only option, or a software option with connectivity to the cloud (hybrid).  The hybrid option allows an on-premise RightFax Express software solution tie in to a cloud-based telephony network. The appliance option comes in 2, 4 or 8 channels while the software option is 4 or 8 channels. 

It‘s good to see a downstream play coming from fax industry giant OpenText, purveyor of the world-leading RightFax fax server and EasyLink hosted fax product lines. Why? Because it makes sense from a strategic perspective and adding a product like RightFax Express adds a lower end option to their offering. Meanwhile, a product such as RightFax Express may harvest new business within existing customer bases, especially those with remote or branch offices that require fax but have minimal IT resources. 

Check out RightFax Express from OpenText