A little bit about how it works
Users receive faxes in their Notes mailbox. Fax pages are embedded as attachments that can be viewed using any associated image viewer, as seen in Figure A.

FIGURE A


Users receive faxes in their Notes mailbox. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The RightFAX Fax Information dialog lets users quickly specify a variety of outbound fax options, including selection from drop-down lists of synchronized fax objects. This is pictured in Figure B.

FIGURE B


Users can quickly specify a variety of outbound fax options. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Synchronization can be unidirectional (RightFAX-to-Notes or Notes-to-RightFAX) or bi-directional (RightFAX and Notes servers periodically updating each other with new records). The configuration screen is pictured in Figure C.

FIGURE C


Synchronization can be unidirectional or bi-directional. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Ending the paper chase
After implementing our Lotus Notes and Domino integration with a network faxing solution, we noticed that our paper consumption had decreased. We estimate that we've saved about 70 percent of the paper we had used previously because now we don't have to print documents to fax them to customers and suppliers. This has also reduced our printing and postage budgets. In addition, it has increased employee productivity tremendously.

Our users have also been impressed with how easy it is to send a fax through the server. They don't have to be an expert in the fax software. As part of the integration of RightFAX with Notes, a new fax button appears in the Notes action bar. All the user has to do to send a fax is click on this button. Before the integration, a user would have to get into one of the databases within Notes to send a fax.

In the end, I'd say the integration of a network faxing solution with Lotus Notes and Domino has made our company much more productive and has reduced the administrative burden that we place on our support staff. It's helped us reduce the total cost of ownership of our network and computer systems.

For the future, we're looking at Voice over IP (VoIP) to reduce communications costs further. We're already using VoIP to communicate with our satellite offices. Our next challenge will be to add IP-based fax support. I'm pleased with how our testing of IP-based faxing with RightFAX is going. Once again, a network faxing solution integrated with Lotus Notes and Domino has allowed us to meet many of our fax communications needs.

Gennady Kleyner is Chief Technology Officer at SAGG Computers and Electronics, Inc. (at http://www.sagg.com), a VAR (Value Added Reseller), and systems integrator of hardware and software including RightFax, AltiGen, and Maximizer Enterprise for Notes, with headquarters in Forest Hills, NY, and several satellite offices around the state of New York.