The ongoing investigation of fax server products concludes this month
Over the past few months, I have looked at a variety of server-side fax products. In January, I reviewed Faxination from Fenestrae, FAXport from LANSource, RightFAX from RightFAX, and Zetafax from Zetafax--and as an added bonus, I reviewed the Brooktrout TR114 fax board. In February, I continued my investigation with reviews of FaxWorks Pro LAN from Global Village Communication, Fax Sr. from Omtool, FaxFacts from Copia, and FACSys from Optus Software.
This month, I wrap up my investigation of fax servers with a look at some additional software products and a review of a combined hardware and software fax server. The software products I review this month are FAXmaker for Exchange 5.0 from GFI FAX & VOICE, Gold-Fax for Windows NT from Data Processing Design, and LanFax NT 5.0 from Alcom. I also test FAXserve for Windows NT, the new fax product from Computer Associates (CA), which arrived just in time for me to include in this investigation. Finally, I review Biscom's FAXCOM 3000/NT, a combination hardware and software fax server.
How can the market sustain so many fax products? This question looms over all the fax server software providers. Some products clearly address niche markets; they integrate with Exchange or with other adjunct products. Other products address different segments of the market. For example, some are clearly department-oriented, while others are enterprise-based. This situation reminds me of the Web server market a few years ago. Back in mid-1996, more than 30 different Web server products were available for NT. Today a lot fewer Web server products for NT are available. Will the same weaning process thin the ranks of fax servers? Only time and your purchasing dollars will tell.
Finding a fax server program to integrate into your large department- or company-level fax environment is difficult. Many high-end fax products are more suited for enterprise markets, and you end up paying for features you don't need or want. If your company is looking for a fax product for this market, FAXmaker for Exchange 5.0 from GFI FAX & VOICE fills the bill.
FAXmaker integrates smoothly with Exchange. With the Exchange Address Book, you create a series of entries with common fax addresses for your users to access. (Users can also use their personal address books to store private fax numbers.) The software will, when instructed, itemize all your phone calls to let you apportion them to specific users and departments within your organization. The software integrates with virtually every Windows application through a print driver, so you can fax from other applications.
The FAXmaker software contains several features companies will find particularly useful. For example, the software can do a fax broadcast, in which you send one fax to thousands of recipients. The software can automatically route inbound faxes to Exchange mailboxes based on Customer Subscriber Identification (CSID), dual-tone multifrequency (DTMF) tones, or optical character recognition (OCR) routing. You can expand the software to support up to 16 fax lines.
Installing and setting up FAXmaker is virtually automatic. You follow a four-step install process. In the first step, you install the server software from the CD-ROM. This step prompts you with a series of questions regarding your site, including Exchange setup. (The software does a good job. I was able to select the default answer to 99 percent of the questions.)
In the second step, when the file copy process is complete, you must install the FAXmaker print driver on the server. This process is similar to adding a new printer. In the third step, you must go into Exchange Administrator on the server and enable access for your users, as Screen 1 shows. In the fourth step, you set up your client workstations, which entails installing the FAXmaker print driver and the FAXmaker fax viewing software.
On my test Prioris NT server and Acer NT workstation, setup took about 10 minutes. The process went smoothly, and I didn't encounter any problems. On completion, I was able to send and receive faxes without difficulty. To receive faxes, I used a MultiTech Class 2 fax modem and routed the faxes to a generic mailbox for distribution.
With FAXmaker, you can send a fax from your workstation using one of two methods. You can opt to print the item you want to fax to the FAXmaker printer you installed on your machine. Or, if you are running Exchange, you can begin the fax process from there and attach any saved documents you want to send. In either instance, the person you are sending the fax to must have an entry in the Exchange address book. If no entry exists, when you open the Address Book, you must select Add, FAXmaker Address and specify the requisite information for faxing. Without this information, the software will not know how to send your fax.
FAXmaker lets you send multiple copies of a fax and set different software options when you place modifiers in the body of a fax. To change settings, however, you must enable the Remote Administration feature. To change options, you place a modifier line (which begins with a double colon--::) within the body of your message. Different modifiers let you change your outgoing fax resolution, specify a billing code, attach an additional file to the fax, specify a cover page, and even skip the queue to send the fax immediately.
When your FAXmaker installation receives a fax, you can have the fax automatically appear in your Exchange inbox, assuming you've enabled CSID, Direct Inward Dialing (DID), or DTMF routing capabilities. If you do not have these capabilities, you must route all faxes to a default mailbox for redistribution.
When a fax appears in your mailbox, the From line will contain the CSID of the sending station. When you double-click the message, the FAXmaker fax viewer launches so that you can read the fax.
FAXmaker is an excellent product that is ideally suited to the department- or company-level fax server market. The software works well, is easy to install and maintain, and works with a variety of Class 2 fax modems. The software also supports dedicated fax boards, such as Gammalink, which more sophisticated sites might use. FAXmaker is a premium solution I would consider for my business.