Faximum Announces Support for ISDN Inbound Fax Routing

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - March 3, 1998 - At CT Expo, Faximum® Software Inc. today announced that their flagship network fax server software product Faximum Client/Server 3.0 (see related press release) now supports the automatic routing of inbound faxes using ISDN technology and ZyXEL ISDN fax modems.

Automatic routing enables received faxes to be delivered immediately to the intended recipient's network desktop without manual routing's delays, costs, or loss of privacy. Furthermore, Faximum's support for ISDN provides an alternative to the older and more costly Direct Inward Dial (DID) approach used by other fax server vendors. Generally, automatic routing is better and cheaper than manual routing and ISDN routing is even better and cheaper than DID routing.

George Pajari, Director of Engineering for Faximum Software, said "Now with Faximum's support of ZyXEL's ISDN fax modem it is possible on many systems for the first time to have faxes routed directly to users' desktops using ISDN technology."

Munira Brooks, Sales and Marketing Manager for ZyXEL Communications, Inc., added, "We are pleased that Faximum Software has chosen to support the special ISDN capabilities of our Elite2864I modems. ZyXEL is committed to delivering feature-rich modems that make exciting new features such as Faximum Software's ISDN inbound fax routing possible."

Ms. Brooks went on to say "As far as we are aware, this is the first use of this capability for inbound fax routing using our modems. Faximum Software has supported ZyXEL modems since our first Class 2 offering and we look forward to working together to deliver the latest in fax technology to our mutual customers."

For those few situations in which ISDN is not available, Faximum continues to support DID routing with its fax server software products.

For more information on Faximum's network fax software, please see http://www.faximum.com. For more information on ZyXEL ISDN modems and other products, please see http://www.zyxel.com.

Fax Routing Backgrounder

One of the pressing problems with automating fax messaging is determining to whom a received fax is intended.

One method is to have a secretary view every fax on a computer screen and select the intended recipient. While this is faster than manually handling paper faxes, it is markedly inferior to automatic routing.

On the other hand, automatic routing means that only the intended person sees the fax and that the recipient does not have to wait for someone to get around to manually routing the fax. The difficulty is that it is not possible to have a computer reliably read the cover sheet to determine the recipient. The only approach that works with all types of sending fax machines is to assign a unique fax telephone number to each user on the network.

Usually this involves the use of special telephone lines and equipment (Direct Inward Dial or DID trunks) which permit a single phone line to have multiple phone numbers (one for each possible recipient). When a fax is received the fax server matches the DID number with the user on the LAN and automatically forwards the fax.

While this traditional solution works well, it uses old expensive analog technology (DID trunks and equipment). The special equipment alone to connect a DID trunk to a fax modem can run $1,000 or more per line. And the costs for DID trunks from the phone company can be prohibitive, especially for smaller companies that do not have hundreds of users. And for many international users, DID trunks may simply not be available.

The better solution in many cases is to use an ISDN phone line along with a special fax modem that supports the features necessary to route faxes received on an ISDN line.

Note that even though the receiving fax modem is connected to an ISDN line, the sending fax machine can be any Group 3 machine connected to a standard residential or business (i.e. non-ISDN) phone line.

Although this approach is superior to DID, until recently it also required expensive external equipment or specialised fax boards available only for certain computer systems. Now with ZyXEL's Elite2864I ISDN Modem and Faximum Client/Server 3.0, automatic ISDN inbound routing is available for a range of UNIX platforms without the need for expensive external equipment.

Faximum Software, Inc. is located at 1497 Marine Drive, Suite 300, West Vancouver, BC Canada, V7T 1A6. Phone (604) 925-3600, Fax: (604) 926-8182. Email: info@Faximum.com, Web: http://www.faximum.com/

Faximum Software's products are available direct from Faximum or through distributors/resellers in over twenty countries.