By Nick Stanley
Some of New Zealand's largest corporations are using a product that makes sending and receiving faxes as straightforward as using e-mail.
Faxination, by Dutch software company Fenestrae, removes the need to have a fax machine in the office; users can instead send or receive fax messages directly from their
desktops as though using e-mail.
Roly Smolden, product manager for Faxination's New Zealand distributor, MPA, said Faxination was being widely used in New Zealand without many users realising it.
"Faxination is a real enterprise solution that is so tightly integrated with Microsoft Exchange that to the user it's just another feature in their mailbox."
Over the past three years, companies such as Clear Communications, DB Breweries, Air New Zealand, Enza and ANZ Bank have used Faxination to handle their fax requirements.
Mr Smolden said the product saved companies time and money as it was easily installed - a software package and a fax card are installed centrally in the company's server and there are no administration costs involved in receiving and distributing faxes or teaching people how to use Faxination.
Users simply write and send an e-mail message, designating as they send it where the message is going. The fax card on the server initiates the call and sends the information. Faxes are received in the same way and can be routed to a central computer for sorting or go directly to the user.
Systems engineer for Clear Communications Mark van Deventer said all of the company's 800 staff had been using Faxination for the past year after their previous fax solution proved too slow, difficult to use and expensive to maintain. It had been saving Clear up to 30 per cent in administration and paper costs.
Faxination is sold in two packages, a standard edition for small businesses that use two lines coming in and out to Microsoft Exchange, and a corporate edition for large companies which have many data lines and may use other messaging software, such as Lotus Notes, or need to connect to other devices such as cellphones and telexes.
Mr Smolden said it was sold on a licensed per-user basis, with additional charges for the fax card and other connectors. Prices start at $2968 (ex GST) for the standard edition for five users and range up to $43,787 for the corporate edition with SAP connector and 25 users.
