Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio A guide to choosig a eterprise fax server solutio that supports your faxig eeds Faxig has a log history as a trusted ad secure form of commuicatio ad documet exchage. It is deeply rooted i may busiess processes ad workflows all aroud the world. Whe orgaizatios wat to make faxig operatios a efficiet part of their busiess, they tur to a eterprise fax server to boost efficiecy ad productivity by icreasig the speed of trasmittig, routig, ad processig faxed documets. Uderstadig the features ad fuctioality of eterprise fax servers is a importat step i choosig a solutio that is best for your orgaizatio.
Table of Cotets Executive Summary.... 3 Fax Server Basics... 3 Eterprise Fax Servers Key Capabilities to Evaluate.... 5 1. What is the Busiess Need?.... 6 2. Electroic faxes from Desktop, Email, ad MFPs.... 6 3. Productio (Automatic) Faxig ad Applicatio Itegratios... 8 4. Easy Routig ad Storage of Electroic Fax Documets... 9 5. Security, Privacy, ad Compliace.... 11 6. Busiess Cotiuity/Disaster Recovery... 12 7. Ease of Admiistratio ad Admiistratio Tools... 13 8. Telephoy Compatibility.... 14 OpeText will work with you to fid the right Eterprise Fax Solutio for your orgaizatio...15 About OpeText...16
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Executive Summary Fax remais a relevat ad importat part of may orgaizatios. Millios of fax documets flow i ad out of compaies aroud the world every sigle day. Whe your busiess operates o processes ad fuctios that rely o fax, a eterprise fax server solutio should be cosidered. Eterprise fax servers tur faxed documets ito electroic documets that ca be itegrated as part of a workflow or busiess process. As a result, compaies ca icrease efficiecy ad productivity by icreasig the speed of trasmittig, routig, ad processig faxed documets. Whe orgaizatios require that their fax systems be istalled ad maaged iterally, the prevalet solutio is a o-premises fax server. The primary reasos for a o-premises implemetatio iclude security ad privacy issues, the eed for better admiistrative cotrol ad for data sovereigty of fax cotet. I additio, o-premises fax systems ca itegrate with other applicatios easily. It is primarily for these reasos that world-class orgaizatios, regardless of idustry, tur to o-premises eterprise fax server solutios to icrease efficiecy ad productivity of trasmittig, routig, ad processig faxed documets. Ivestigatig fax servers ad the fuctioality they provide ca be a overwhelmig task. Fax servers come with differet levels of capabilities, ad whe fax documet maagemet is deemed a missio-critical fuctio, choosig a fax server solutio should ot be take lightly. Not all fax servers are the same, ad compaies should actively seek fax server suppliers with a prove history of developig reliable eterprise-class fax server platforms. This paper will serve as a decisio support tool for orgaizatios plaig to choose ad implemet a o-premises, eterprise-grade fax server solutio. It is desiged to help evaluate busiess eeds ad develop a foudatio of criteria for choosig the optimal fax server applicatio. Fax Server Basics A fax server is a multi-tiered software applicatio that provides a cetralized fax resource for the sedig ad receivig of fax documets from aywhere o a LAN/WAN etwork. Fax servers work by providig a cetralized etwork-based software applicatio that hadles both iboud ad outboud faxig. Ulike a stadaloe fax machie, a fax server applicatio is capable of itegratig with all kids of busiess workflow processes that eed to sed or receive fax documets i ad out of a orgaizatio. Ed users, applicatios ad priters commuicate with the fax server, usig it as a commuicatios platform that coects to the outside world. Core Compoets of a Fax Server Deploymet As metioed previously, ot all faxig systems are the same. Compaies who rely o fax caot afford to lose, misplace or ot deliver/receive a fax i a timely maer. That is why overall system architecture is importat whe cosiderig fax server optios. Eterprise quality fax systems, properly deployed, have prove to maitai extremely high degrees of system reliability because of the umerous built-i fail-safes that ultimately protect the faxes from beig lost, delayed or accidetally deleted. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 3
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Below is a typical list of basic core compoets of a fax server system. Uderstadig these terms allows a solid foudatio for evaluatig fax server systems ad the fuctioalities they provide. Fax Server Software - The core set of applicatio services that maage the etire etwork fax eviromet, icludig the fax database services, job hadlig ad queuig, documet coversios, ad the services that iterface with the telephoy equipmet. Fax Database - A ope, relatioal database (e.g. MS SQL Server) that maages system objects, fax metadata or ca maage ad track fax deliveries. Cliet Programs - The cliet-side compoet of the fax server icludig dedicated eterprise admiistratio software, fax cliet software, web-based user tools, or utilities desiged to appear as a local priter o the etwork. The most popular cliet itegratio is the email cliet, which is used i most eterprise fax server implemetatios. Additioal Modules - Ofte provided as optioal modules above ad beyod the fax server s core offerig, additioal modules ca be added for extra fuctioality ad workflow eablemet. Some possible module examples iclude email itegratio, searchable PDF coversio, PDF ecryptio, optical character recogitio, etc. Itegratio Modules, Tools ad Developer APIs - These modules are developed to allow for itegratios betwee the fax server ad specific busiess applicatios. Vertical applicatio systems (software specifically developed for healthcare, legal, fiacial, etc.), SAP, Oracle, etc. are all examples. APIs ca iclude Web Services, JAVA, COM, C++, etc. Server Hardware - A dedicated server uit ruig the istalled fax server software ad applicatio. Separate, dedicated server uits may also be deployed to operate the telephoy boards i some scearios. Or fax server software may be deployed i a virtual eviromet, elimiatig the eed of physical server hardware. Telephoy Iterface Equipmet - A fax server ca iterface with telephoy systems via hardware-based itelliget fax boards (IFBs) or software-based fax over IP (FoIP) middleware. Ofte, the mai fax server ca have dedicated trasport services that ru i the backgroud as a iterface betwee the fax software ad the telephoy equipmet. DIAGRAM 1 ENTERPRISE FAX SERVER CONNTECTS TO CLOUD CONNECTIVITY DELIVERED TO ANY FAX DEVICE Eterprise fax servers sed ad receive documets from a umber of differet sources, use your telephoe coectios or the cloud to coect to the outside world, ad deliver the documets electroically ad securely. ON-PREMISES TELEPHONY/PSTN SOURCE AND DESTINATION OF FAX DOCUMENTS ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 4
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Eterprise Fax Servers Key Capabilities to Evaluate Now that we uderstad the basic core compoets, let s review the fuctios, features, ad capabilities that fax server applicatios ca offer. The categories below outlie eight basic fudametals of what eterprise fax servers must do to meet the rigorous demads of today s documet-cetric busiesses. 1. What is the Busiess Need? The first step i evaluatig eterprise fax servers is to determie the busiess eed for a fax server withi your orgaizatio. This will help shape how you evaluate the subsequet key capabilities of a fax server. 2. Desktop, Email ad MFP Itegratios - Eterprise faxig solutios must provide compay-wide users the ability to sed, receive, ad maage faxes from virtually all user-based desktop systems, icludig applicatios such as Microsoft Office, ay email applicatio, ad MFP devices to sca ad sed paper documets. 3. Productio (Automatic) Faxig ad Applicatio Itegratios Choose a fax server which has the ability to fax-eable ay applicatio that geerates documets that are part of a workflow or automated busiess process. Back-ed applicatios such as CRM, ERP, EMR, EHR systems, documet maagemet ad more ca itegrate to sed/receive documets. 4. Easy Routig ad Storage of Electroic Fax Documets The ideal fax solutio would provide several optios for routig iboud faxes (to users, to groups of users, by documet cotet, to etwork folders, to MFP devices, etc.) with otificatios ad audit trail available for every documet touch poit. Also, for log-term storage, a fax archivig optio should be available to offload ad store documets for as log as you eed them. 5. Security, Privacy ad Compliace A o-premises fax server solutio should help with compliace iitiatives by providig a secure solutio for maagig all fax documets. The solutio must offer various features ad capabilities that help orgaizatios achieve privacy ad security stadards. 6. Busiess Cotiuity/Disaster Recovery - Idetify a eterprise fax solutio that ca deploy i high-availability scearios. Look for a solutio that ca provide disaster recovery optios over multiple site locatios. 7. Ease of Admiistratio ad Admiistrative Tools Key to the success of ay fax server implemetatio is the admiistratio ad maagemet of the system. Choose a fax server which provides comprehesive guides ad tools to make the admiistratio of the fax server as efficiet as possible. 8. Telephoy Compatibility Choose a solutio that ca operate 100% i-house ad/or as a hybrid solutio or a combiatio of both. Make sure that the fax server software is compatible with your telephoy equipmet, if applicable. The followig sectios of this paper will breakdow these categories ad provide isight i to the types of features ad capabilities compaies should expect from a eterprise grade fax server applicatio. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 5
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio 1. What is the Busiess Need? May orgaizatios begi their quest to implemet a fax server based o a busiess eed that is drivig the project. Uderstadig this busiess eed is importat to evaluatig the capabilities that you will eed i a fax server. Uderstadig how fax is used is key to choosig the best fax server for your orgaizatio. Here are some questios to cosider: Is there a busiess process or workflow ivolvig fax that ca be more efficiet with a fax server? Tip: Idetify the workflow/busiess process ad the lie of busiess ower/stakeholder. Has the lie of busiess ower/stakeholder mapped how fax documets flow i ad out of this busiess process or workflow? Tip: Iterview the lie of busiess ower/ stakeholder to see how the process works today ad how it would ideally look with a fax server implemetatio. Map out the flow of fax documets (iboud ad outboud) to see where efficiecy, productivity ad cost savigs ca be gaied. What types of applicatios eed to be itegrated with fax? Tip: Make a list of all of the back-ed applicatios that are part of a workflow or busiess process for fax (ERP, CRM, documet maagemet, etc.) ad ay vertical applicatio systems (software specifically developed for healthcare, legal, fiacial, etc.). Do users eed to fax from applicatios such as Microsoft Office? Do you eed to itegrate fax with your existig email applicatio? The more comprehesive the list, the better prepared you will be to evaluate fax server capabilities. 2. Electroic faxes from Desktop, Email, ad MFPs Compaies that rely o paper-based faxig with fax machies kow how time-cosumig, costly ad frustratig it ca be. A fax server turs formerly paper-based faxig (with a fax machie) ito electroic-based faxig (with a fax server). It essetially takes the paper out of faxig, wheever possible. A fax server ca itegrate with a variety of desktop eviromets ad email systems so that a employee ca sed ad receive fax documets directly from their computer, without ever touchig a fax machie. Worker efficiecy is greatly improved as they are able to maage faxes directly from familiar system iterfaces which will reduce learig times. Desktop: Fax directly from Widows eviromets Prit-to-fax: Sed a fax from ay Widows-based applicatio such as Microsoft Office, select File the Prit. This allows a user to select the fax server, just like selectig a etwork priter. Sed to fax: While explorig i Widows (folders, etc.), simply right-click a file ad select Sed To Fax. Widows tray ico: Ope a Widows Tray Ico to sed quick faxes, broadcast faxes or lik to exteral phoe books to streamlie sedig. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 6
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Desktop: Fax usig dedicated fax software iterface Widows cliet: A fax server should come with the optio to istall a desktop applicatio just for maagig fax documets. This desktop cliet is used to create, sed, receive, route, ad forward faxes. For users who require more cotrol over their faxig or for missio critical processes, choose a fax server that offers a fully-featured fax applicatio that has the look ad feel of a email system, icludig a ibox for its users or groups. Web cliet applicatio: Alteratively, seek a fax server that offers a fully-featured workflow tool that allows ed users ad admiistrators to access the server remotely from a web browser via the iteret. Make sure that the web cliet applicatio is compatible with the web browsers (Iteret Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) ad operatig systems (Widows, Mac, etc.) that the users of your orgaizatio utilize. Email itegratios Oe of the greatest efficiecy gais for fax server users is their ability to sed, receive, ad maage faxes withi their existig email cliet. That s why it s importat to make sure that, at the very least, the fax server is compatible with ay SMTP email server, such as Google Apps, Office 365, Microsoft Exchage ad IBM Lotus Notes. For a richer experiece withi the email cliets, some fax server providers offer specific coectors for the most popular busiess email applicatios, such as Microsoft Exchage ad IBM Lotus Notes. This coector ehaces the faxig experiece withi these email cliets, addig a sed a fax butto o toolbars or pre-populatig fax forms for easy faxig from the email cliet. Multi-Fuctio Priter (MFP) Itegratio MFP itegratios are especially importat if there is a paper documet that eeds to be faxed. By scaig the documet o a coected MFP, the scaed copy becomes a electroic documet that ca the be set via the fax server. The use of multi-fuctio priters is growig, ad orgaizatios ca sigificatly beefit from faxig with MFPs via a ative or uiversal coectio to the fax server. Ideal applicatios iclude sca-to-fax, auto-prit upo receipt of a fax whe paper-based processes are still required. Most fax servers coect to MFP devices via a uiversal SMTP coector. However, if MFP device pritig is a importat part of a workflow or busiess process, cosider fax servers which provide a two-way, persoalized experiece at the MFP. This is achieved whe the user logs ito the device or swipes a badge for idetificatio. The user the has access to their persoal fax coversheets, phoebooks, fax history, etc. It is a much richer experiece for the user ad keeps their fax history i their persoal faxig audit log. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 7
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio 3. Productio (Automatic) Faxig ad Applicatio Itegratios Productio (Automatic) Faxig: If you have idetified a busiess process or workflow ivolvig faxes that are geerated automatically (typically without huma ivolvemet), this sectio is particularly importat. Automated faxig, or productio faxig, is a term used to describe a meas by which the applicatio seds documets to the fax server, ad the fax server the delivers the documets reliably as faxes, secure email or both. A fax server that has productio fax capabilities should itegrate seamlessly with back-office applicatios (ECM, CRM, ERP, EMR/EHR, etc.) that produce batch-orieted documets. As a result, the fax server igests the documet from the back-office system, creates ad formats the documets, ad the delivers them as idividual faxes, complete with otificatios of delivery status ad a traceable audit trail. Seek a solutio that offers tools to receive data from etwork folders or prit streams of large batch jobs (ivoices, purchase orders, for example) ad ca reliably sed them to uique recipiets fully uatteded ad automated. A productio fax solutio should have the ability to create automated otificatios of the progress of each productio fax batch job, ad more importatly, each documet withi the group. Most fax servers will itegrate with virtually ay back-office applicatios with itegratio tools, modules ad APIs, icludig those that support embedded scriptig commad laguages, XML, JAVA, ad COM. However, some fax servers offer pre-built, certified itegratios to applicatios such as SAP ad Oracle. Certified Coector for SAP Create, sed ad receive faxes from SAP. Fax Cover Sheets: Either SAP or the fax server ca automatically geerate fax cover sheets. Batch Faxig: orgaizatios ca submit faxes to be grouped ito a batch ad set later at a prescheduled time. Dialig Rules: Allows cofiguratio of special dialig rules that ca modify outgoig fax umbers above ad beyod the SAP exceptio rules. SAPscript: The ability to recogize several special SAPscript codes that allow users to add fax cotrol commads to their output forms (cover sheet iformatio, attach library documets, ad specify delivery ad otificatio istructios ad more). Vedor should be certified with SAP ECC 6.0 via the SAP itegratio sceario BC-CON 3.1. The solutio should meet the requiremets for coectig the fax server to SAP NetWeaver. Coectors for Oracle - Create, sed ad receive faxes from Oracle E-Busiess Suite foudatio ad i Oracle 9i applicatios. Support the followig Oracle documet types: Postcript, PCL, PDF, ASCII, XML ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 8
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Applicatio Itegratios: There is a secod subset of itegratios kow as applicatio itegratios a good example of this is fax servers iteroperatig with Eterprise Cotet Maagemet (ECM) systems. It ca be thought of as productio fax i reverse. They are similar however iasmuch as they both are cosidered automated applicatio itegratios meaig the workflows (whether iboud or outboud related) are both uatteded by persoel ad thus fully automated. Fax servers should offer specific itegratios to the most popular systems. Alteratively, fax servers should provide a comprehesive set of custom itegratio tools to build itegratios ad hoc. Iboud fax documets ad their metadata ca be delivered outside of the fax server where a multitude of applicatios ca access these documets ad their metadata. Preferably, a fax server would have pre-built itegratios for leadig documet maagemet applicatios to sed existig documets, create a ew documet as a fax, ad drag ad drop a documet ito the explorer view of the fax library. Search for fax servers with pre-built ECM itegratios with: Microsoft SharePoit IBM FileNet OpeText edocs OpeText Cotet Server Ad fially, may orgaizatios have built custom itegratios for their i-house applicatios to iterface with their fax servers. Most fax server providers offer a complete suite of itegratio tools like APIs, SDKs, ad commad laguages to get the jobs doe efficietly. Custom itegratios require that a fax server offer a suite of tools icludig XML, JAVA, COM ad advaced Web Services. 4. Easy Routig ad Storage of Electroic Fax Documets A etwork fax server ca be set up to receive iboud faxes ad apply routig rules based o the fax s cotet. Shortly stated, a fax server ca serve as a o ramp to a workflow process, a idex ad storage applicatio, or as a routig mechaism to direct documets to the fial destiatios withi a orgaizatio. Orgaizatios should evaluate their workflow/ busiess process requiremets agaist the capture routig ad storage features of a give fax server. Easy Routig of Electroic Fax Documets There are three basic types of iboud routig: Routig based o telephoe umber dialed, such as DID/DNIS Iboud routig optios Routig based o fax cotet ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 9
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Routig based o phoe umber dialed, such as DID/DNIS: Admiistrators ca set up rules to automatically use the telephoy iformatio associated with the iboud fax for routig purposes ad more. The types of telephoy data iclude: Direct Iward Dialig (DID) ad Dialed Number Idetificatio Service (DNIS) The fax umber dialed will be uique ad represet the recipiet s fax ibox. A fax server ca support as may fax umbers as uique iboxes are eeded. Dual-Toe Multiple-Frequecy (DTMF): A method of usig touch toes to route faxes or to prompt seders who call you. Automated Number Idetificatio (ANI): A method i which to capture the iboud callig phoe umber. It ca be used to compare to a list to determie which rules to apply. Call Subscriber Idetificatio (CSID): A strig that idetifies a fax as a recipiet ad helps to cofirm that the fax is beig set to the correct recipiet. Chael routig: Routig a icomig fax to a user or group mailbox depedig o which fax chael the call was received o. Iboud Routig Optios: Iboud faxes ca be routed based o a umber of customizable rules. These routig optios are desiged to get the faxed documets where they eed to go quickly ad efficietly. Routig optios iclude sedig faxes to: A idividual user s fax ibox or itegrated email ibox. All members of a group s iboxes-may fax server solutios ca provide systematic distributio of faxes to groups of users either liearly (to user 1, 2, 3, etc.) or i a roud robi workflow (to the ext available ibox). A etwork folder Back-ed workflow systems ad other busiess applicatios Vertical applicatios Cotet maagemet systems Storage systems MFP devices-a fax solutio should have a settig for received faxes that allow for iboud faxes to be automatically prited upo receipt. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 10
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Routig based o fax cotet Some fax servers ca search the cotet of a icomig fax ad route the fax based o its recogized characters. This is particularly importat to those idustries that use accout umbers, barcodes or other idetifyig fields i their fax cotet. Optical/Itelliget Character Recogitio (OCR/ICR): Seek a eterprise fax solutio that has OCR processors available. Covert images of text i received faxes ito stadard, editable text files. Barcode Recogitio ad Routig (routes faxes based o barcode data). Barcode iformatio is icluded i the fax history record ad routes based o routig rules. Supports 1D ad 2D bar codes. XML Export: A process by which the fax server applicatio outputs fax image files ad metadata i XML format. These ca be imported ito a XML-compatible documet maagemet system, Microsoft SharePoit, etc. Easy Storage of Electroic Fax Documets A faxig system should eable fax archivig to allow for easy storage ad retrieval of fax documets. These features should iclude: Record all iboud ad outboud fax trasactios ad provide searchable access The ability to archive automatically without the suspesio of operatios The ability to export faxes ad metadata to third-party archivig or cotet maagemet systems. Searchable PDF capabilities should be cosidered if there is a eed to create text searchable versios of iboud faxes. This feature is import to compaies that eed to store or archive faxes with searchable cotet from keywords ad text strigs. Search fax history as easily as typig a keyword search strig to fid related faxes. Also, select a fax server that icludes optioal automatic archive capabilities such as security ad ecryptio, compliace ad audit readiess, ad a comprehesive search ad retrieval egie. 5. Security, Privacy, ad Compliace Orgaizatios today face a multitude of compliace directives ad thus their ivestmets i a fax solutio must be able to demostrate tagible capabilities that cotribute to the security ad privacy of their faxes ad associated data. May busiesses that rely o fax tur to fax servers to provide top-otch security ad privacy of fax documets. Faxig, by its ature, is reasoably secure the poit-to-poit trasmissio of a fax over a secure PSTN ad is highly resistat is highly resistat to tamperig, iterceptio, viruses, or malware. But there are other security advatages of a fax server, such as automatig paper-itesive delivery processes to elimiate paper hadlig ad reduce opportuities for uauthorized viewig of fax cotet. Orgaizatios ca also elimiate iefficiet maual routig that could breach security ad privacy guidelies. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 11
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio May fax servers offer other forms of delivery, which icrease the security of trasmissio, such as secure email, certified delivery, ad ecrypted PDF delivery. Specific security features to look for i a fax server are plety. Look for a faxig solutio that allows multiple servers o the same etwork to commuicate directly with each other through least-cost routig to elimiate telephoy charges. This will allow for high speed ecrypted faxig betwee etwork fax servers ad will bypass phoe lies or dedicated FoIP coectios. A fax solutio should be able to ecrypt fax images that reside i the images folder/fax database if required. Customizable outboud dialig rules ca gai precise cotrol of outboud faxig by specifyig rules ad restrictios over how faxes are set. Make sure that a fax server has secure SMTP optios for support for off-premise email solutios ad provides autheticated, secure, ecrypted coectios (TLS ad SSL). Other security optios are available for makig sure the cotet that is beig set is approved for trasmissio. May orgaizatios have strict regulatios regardig the type of cotet that ca be trasmitted. A fax server should provide the ability to require approvals prior to sedig someoe who reviews the electroic documet ad provides approval prior to trasmissio. This approval system ca be i place for ay type of cotet: cotracts, RFP/RFQs, ivoices, legal otificatios, etc. ad is desiged to be a iteral fail-safe for orgaizatios tradig cofidetial or sesitive cotet. 6. Busiess Cotiuity/ Disaster Recovery Iterruptios ca happe at various layers of the fax server system. These busiess disruptios ca be plaed or uplaed such as telephoe equipmet failures, etwork server failures or reboots, commuicatio outages, electric power iterruptios, or eve a software applicatio failure. To mitigate this, it is importat to devise a fax server implemetatio that ca be redudat at every ecessary layer. It is importat to determie the busiess cotiuity strategy of your faxig operatios i the evet of a uplaed disaster or plaed outage. The more critical fax is to your busiess, the more importat busiess cotiuity of faxig is to the implemetatio. It is recommeded that you review your architecture ad busiess cotiuity plas with the experts of your chose fax server compay they ca ofte recommed architecture ad failover optios that could beefit your eeds. Here is a short list of deploymet scearios that ca provide busiess cotiuity i the evet of a plaed or uplaed outage: Shared Database for High Availability - A fax server that ca load balace ad share its iteral services ad images for high-availability. This is a sceario i which a fax server shares its database of users, groups, priters, etc. It also shares various server services ad fax images across a etwork. The fax server database resources are shared such that the applicatio is providig a cetralized locatio for all compay users, groups, ad other data objects. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 12
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Cold Spare - A cold spare cofiguratio is iteded for use i the evet of a log-term system shut dow, a failure, or ay other system iterruptio that may take more time to repair. Active-Passive Cluster - I the case where a primary fax server had a failure, the busiess would revert to the secodary server to cotiue fax processig. Cluster eviromets protect agaist a applicatio/service failure, system/hardware failure, site failure ad dowtime due to plaed maiteace. Virtualizatio Amog the may beefits of virtualizatio is the ability to cosolidate multiple physical machies oto a sigle traditioal server ad do so i a remarkably expeditious fashio. The et result equals a sigificat reductio i expeditures (less hardware ad eergy costs) ad a ew cetralized poit of admiistratio that streamlies server maagemet ad icreases the agility ad efficiecy of your IT orgaizatio. Virtualizatio support should iclude the followig: Microsoft Hyper-V, Live Migratio VMware ESX 3.01. or later VMware vsphere 4.0 ad later (icludes support for VMotio ) 7. Ease of Admiistratio ad Admiistratio Tools Key to the success of ay fax server implemetatio is the admiistratio ad maagemet of the system. Choose a fax server which provides comprehesive guides ad tools to make the admiistratio of the fax server as successful as possible. Here are some of the thigs to look for i a fax server provider: Eterprise Admiistratio Tools these tools are desiged to ease the burde of maagig the fax server ad provide platforms to easily maage updates ad activities. Eterprise Maagemet: Seek a solutio that allows admiistrators the ability to maage all fax servers o the etwork from a sigle cliet applicatio. The ability to maage users, groups, forms, coversheets, billig codes, priters, sigatures, ad frequetly used documets (amog other key fuctios) is a must. Reportig tools: A fax server must iclude a variety of system reports that ca be geerated by schedule or ad hoc by users or admiistrators. Useful reports iclude server aalysis reports, iboud or outboud fax reports, fax pritig reports, volume reports, viewed/uviewed reports, chael utilizatio reports, ad may others. Admiistrative Tools: A fax server should iclude a comprehesive set of utilities for maagig all aspects of the fax the database. These iclude server diagostics, database backups, fax agig, fax purgig, ad may more. A web editio of the admiistratio utility should be available or the tool should be web-based to allow for remote access. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 13
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio Robust sychroizatio capabilities - Fax servers typically maitai a database of users ad user-specific iformatio like permissios, prefereces, logo iformatio, etc. Look for various ways to iterface ad sychroize the fax server data with compay phoe books ad directories. Active Directory, ODBC ad LDAP-compliat data sources support are a must. Support for latest OSs ad productivity software - Esure that the fax solutio meets requiremets to support the latest editios. 8. Telephoy Compatibility The fial cosideratio i your fax server choice is telephoy compatibility. Depedig o your existig telephoy ifrastructure, you may choose to coect via TDM, Fax over IP (i VoIP eviromets), SIP Truk, or by covertig fax traffic with a media gateway. Cosider these optios, depedig o your existig ifrastructure: Support for itelliget fax boards Support for TDM (aalog, DID, BRI, T1/PRI, E1/PRI) The fax server should atively support the latest Dialogic Brooktrout TruFax ad TR1034 products i scalable desities Support for software-based Fax over IP (FoIP) Supports Dialogic SR140 FoIP middleware Supports T.38, T.37, H.323 ad SIP Sip Trukig SIP Trukig vedors like AT&T, babytel, CeturyLik, Level 3, Verizo, ad XO Commuicatios should supported UC/UM Equipmet compatibility - Itegrates seamlessly with UM/UC systems, icludig Voice over IP (VoIP) etworks. Review iteroperability guides to esure iteroperability with your UM/UC or VoIP etworks. Media Gateway Support Choose a media gateway vedor that supports itegratio to the fax server. Cloud/Outsourced telephoy choose a fax server that ca seamlessly itercoect to a cloud-based telephoy solutio (this is a hybrid deploymet of o-premises fax server ad cloud-based telephoy). Make sure whe choosig a cloud provider that it is oe offered by the fax server compay ad ot a third-party cloud provider for the best service ad cotiuity with software. This last optio, the hybrid deploymet, is becomig more ad more popular. It is trasmittig faxes via the cloud. This optio is cosidered a hybrid optio because it is a sigle deploymet that uses o-premises fax server with cloud fax services to sed ad receive faxes. It completely removes the burde of coectig, troubleshootig, maitaiig ad maagig the coectio of the fax server to o-premises telephoy by outsourcig the telephoy coectio to the cloud. This implemetatio typically provides ulimited capacity ad built-i failover/ redudacy of coectivity. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 14
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio DIAGRAM 2 CLOUD-BASED TRANSMISSION This hybrid deploymet uses a a opremises fax server coected to the cloud to sed ad receive faxes. This cloud-based coectivity removes the complexity of maagig a telephoy coectio to the fax server. FAX SERVER However, a secod type of hybrid deploymet uses both cloud-based trasmissio ad a fax server coected to i-house telephoy. Some compaies elect to coect their fax server by combiig o-premises telephoy ad cloud-based telephoy. This implemetatio allows complete failover ad redudacy of fax trasmissio capabilities for your fax server. This implemetatio ca easily hadle spikes i fax traffic by usig the cloud s ulimited capacity to hadle large volumes ad elimiate cogestio over i-house telephoy. OpeText will work with you to fid the right Eterprise Fax Solutio for your orgaizatio OpeText offers a wide rage of fax solutios to meet the eeds of your orgaizatio. Because RightFax offers 100 s of feature settigs for users, groups, process automatio, ad so o, the total sum of choices ca be staggerig. To help with selectio, this white paper was desiged to help you match fax server features to your eeds ad requiremets. OpeText ca provide you with expert advice ad guidace regardig your solutios. We will take the time to uderstad your curret eviromet, requiremets, ad eeds. You ca also reach out to ay oe of the extesive etwork of parters that sell OpeText products to help you choose the right solutio. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 15
Choosig a Eterprise Fax Server Solutio About OpeText OpeText provides Eterprise Iformatio Maagemet software that eables compaies of all sizes ad idustries to maage, secure ad leverage their ustructured busiess iformatio, either i their data ceter or i the cloud. Over 50,000 compaies already use OpeText solutios to uleash the power of their iformatio. To lear more about OpeText (NASDAQ: OTEX; TSX: OTC), please visit www.opetext.com. The OpeText Iformatio Exchage suite of products ad services provides market-leadig fax, documet exchage, messagig, otificatios, ad EDI solutios for busiesses ragig from the smallest office to the largest eterprise. OpeText o-premise ad cloud-based solutios ca deliver eve the largest files quickly, securely, ad reliably i the format of your choice. faxsolutios.opetext.com NORTH AMERICA +1 800 304 2727 EUROPE +31 (0)23 565 2333 AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST +971 4 390 0281 JAPAN +81-3-5472-5273 CHINA +86 21 28909063 HONG KONG +852 2824 8223 AUSTRALIA +61 2 9026 3480 Copyright 2013-2014 Ope Text Corporatio OpeText is a trademark or registered trademark of Ope Text SA ad/or Ope Text ULC. The list of trademarks is ot exhaustive of other trademarks, registered trademarks, product ames, compay ames, brads ad service ames metioed herei are property of Ope Text SA or other respective owers. All rights reserved. For more iformatio, visit:http://www.opetext.com/2/global/site-copyright.html (03/2014)01809ENrev1