etherFAX, Inc. has launched its namesake fax solution after nearly a year in development. This new solution relies on the Internet to transport fax communications. The company and this new solution will provide a new approach to managing network-based fax communication while significantly reducing costs.

By providing complete support to third-party fax server solutions, the etherFAX extends existing systems to the cloud, thereby allowing organizations to keep their existing fax numbers. etherFAX serves as a fax communications provider, managing all connections to and from telecommunications carriers.

Organizations implementing this solution simply connect their on-premise fax server infrastructure to etherFAX, ensuring all fax communications are securely delivered through HTTP/S. As it is not a hosted solution, etherFAX should not be considered a fax over IP system.

One of the benefits of etherFAX is the elimination of the need for fax boards and recurring telephony fees, which typically include the complexities and costs of provisioning PRI, T1 and/or analog connections.

Through the utilization of an infrastructure-as-a-service model, the etherFAX leverages a vast array of virtual ports, making them available to securely send and receive high volumes of fax transmissions.

'With etherFAX, your faxes are secure and never stored off-site,' said Paul Banco, vice president of strategic alliances at etherFAX, in a statement. 'We provide the fax communication transport to and from existing fax server solutions as well as other fax-enabled applications such as email, ERP systems, DMS and multi-function printers.'

etherFAX runs on a communication protocol that is a proprietary, real-time encrypted communication transport that operates between a fax server and the etherFAX data center. Such a platform allows for 100 percent reliable communications and ensures it does not experience the issues normally associated with other protocols, such as SIP, T.38, G711 and FoIP.

One differentiation of the etherFAX solution is that it is designed to operate in the most unreliable of environments using minimal network bandwidth. Fax transmissions are reliably managed from start to finish as an organization's fax server provides the 'what' and 'where,' allowing etherFAX to handle the rest.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Harrison