OpenText Fax & Document Distribution Group

When I was a Technology Specialist (aka Sales Engineer) at Microsoft, one of the topics we often talked about was getting 5 9′s with your server infrastructure. What that means is 99.999% uptime. That was 6-8 years ago, and even then it was a very achievable goal using Windows Server 2000 and 2003. A single machine might not get that, but the end-user didn’t have to know that the resource they were using was actually made up of a cluster of several individual servers. What was most important was the incredible uptime of overall services.

Achieving 5 9′s is realistically achievable with Open Text Fax Server as well. Just like Microsoft’s solution, this isn’t saying that a single-server solution is going to get that, but rather a collection of servers providing the faxing resource. If you look at the numbers, a single 5 minute outage over the course of a year kills your 99.999% uptime goal. So how do you achieve such a lofty target? Thankfully we have plenty of redundancy options when it comes to building a Fax Server environment.

Unfortunately, getting a full understanding of exactly what we offer has been a bit difficult. For that reason, I wrote a brand new white paper that is available today on the OpenText web site. From the Fax Solutions page, click on the Resources dropdown on the upper right. Then click White Papers and choose Business Continuity and Open Text Fax Server (or just click this link instead). After a short registration form, you will be able to download and read this document.

The paper covers the different ways we provide redundancy, such as with remote workservers, doctransport servers, and more. It also covers what you get (and don’t get) when using clustering or shared services. It even covers what happens when the worst case scenario happens and you lose a server. Do you know what will happen to a fax if the doctransport server goes down due to a hard drive failure immediately after it’s been scheduled to be sent? That’s the type of information that is in this document.

I hope you enjoy reading it. If you have any comments regarding the white paper, or if you have suggestions for future documents and blog posts, please tell us in the comments below.

According to Xerox in Ireland, faxing continues to be a critical method of document delivery for their day to day business operations. By partnering with Ireland-based Open Text partner Softech, Xerox states that the Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition integration with SAP has “greatly improved office efficiency while also reducing our ongoing running costs. Integration with Citrix and SAP systems allows for both local and remote faxing solutions across a centralized and redundant platform.”

Mark Gallivan of Softech still sees critical requirements with multi-national customers like Xerox for secure and integrated fax solutions. Technology like Open Text Fax Server provides measurable benefits from the reduction in day to day document delivery costs to streamlining customer service and sales fulfillment operations. Combined with Softech’s services, the Open Text Fax Server solution also provides customers a proven integration with SAP while ensuring secure fax delivery.

Xerox in Ireland had specific faxing needs that required Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition to integrate with Xerox’s SAP infrastructure to allow for automated faxing from their backend systems in the UK. Due to the business critical nature of these processes, a high level of redundancy was also a core requirement.

The system Softech deployed for Xerox was a fully redundant and mirrored RightFax Edition Enterprise Suite utilizing the SAP Connector and the Integration Module. Connection to the PBX was provided via Primary Rate ISDN lines connected to a 30 channel fax card. Faxing to the desktop is provided via the RightFax FaxUtil while integration with SAP was achieved using the Integration Module and a secure FTP connection. In the event of a system failure, a configuration has been mirrored to a second server with faxes and associated data being replicated in real time to this server.

Working with Softech to implement the Open Text Fax Server solution, Xerox in Ireland has dramatically reduced operating and materials costs associated with standalone fax machines while integrating with their core IT infrastructure and business critical applications. This solution also helps Xerox better service their customers with greater efficiencies.

For more information on Softech, please visit http://www.softech.ie/ or contact Mark Gallivan at m.gallivan@softech.ie

For more information on integrating Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition with SAP, please visit: http://faxsolutions.opentext.com/sap-connector.aspx

A white paper is also available on secure document delivery with Open Text Fax Server and SAP

Regardless of industry or size, gaining control of documents is critical to every organization. Ever-expanding government regulations require effective and auditable control systems for all documents and communications – both paper and electronic. Competitive pressures require that organizations become more efficient and responsive in order to survive and thrive. And in today’s economy, many organizations are forced to produce greater results with fewer resources.

Organizations around the globe are facing similar challenges – increase the bottom line, support compliance efforts and accelerate business processes, while at the same time contributing to a greener workplace.

When looking at ways to accomplish this, a solution that addresses the whole information lifecycle may best meet compliance, efficiency, and cost-savings goals, thereby providing the greatest value.

Cost Savings Benefits from Fax Servers and Document Management Servers

A strong focus on cost savings means businesses are looking for ways to cutback. Organizations looking to qualify each and every technology investment will discover that the implementation of a complete end-to-end document solution delivers a transparent and quantifiable return on investment. Did you know the fax machine sitting next to your desk could be costing your company $10,000 over its lifetime? It’s a fact. Consider the cost of paper and other related expenses for that machine. Now multiply that by the number of fax machines scattered throughout your organization. When you add it all up the amount of money could be staggering. Unfortunately, many companies do not realize that each time someone feeds paper into a manual fax machine; they’re also feeding into higher overhead costs. Replacing fax machines with a network fax server enables users to electronically send, receive, track, and manage fax documents directly from desktop, email, and back-office applications. It’s fast; it’s efficient; and depending on your usage, it could add hundreds of thousands – even millions of dollars – to your bottom line.

A document management solution represents significant cost savings for the organization. Eliminating the need for paper-based processing, file storage, printing and distribution dramatically reduces costs in these areas. In addition, a document management solution further lowers costs by reducing the time and resources needed for discovery, audits, litigation and compliance.

By providing immediate access to documents, organizations significantly reduce the time and resources to complete business processes. And in today’s economic climate, that’s a must.

For more information on document strategies, we have published a new white paper available here.

Additional information on the solutions from Open Text Fax & Document Distribution Group is available here: http://FaxSolutions.OpenText.com