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Nice. A “pregnant ex-girlfriend shows up at your wedding” article if I’ve ever read one. eVoice still faxes orders to RBOCs for Call-Forwarding provisioning, in most cases.

-Ian.

>The Kauffman Letter
>Insights and Commentary on Fax, FoIP and UM
>September, 2000 Issue
>
>Browser Apps Need a Back End Too
>
>Nobody and I mean NOBODY wanted to admit this. PR flacks actually
>suggested I not print their clientís names. Marcom managers did all
>they could to spin me into writing about something, anything else.
>
>The number of dot-com applications with a fax back-end, is big.
>
>An example, where the name has been changed to protect the
>embarrassed. I surf over to
>FantasticallyInexpensiveBrandNameFoodDeliveredDirectToYourDoor.Com.
>My monitor displays a beautifully colored, easily navigable site,
>Where after the tedious registration process, I order everything
>from A1 to zucchini. My experience is over. Itís now up the
>dot-com to meet my Amazonian expectations.
>
>After pushing the buy button, my order is sent who-knows-where.
>But for certain it arrives at a distribution center. Or, since
>food is perishable, at a local grocer, who will bag the order and
>ready it for delivery. How do you think the bag-boy at my
>supermarket gets my order? Is there an Internet connected PC in
>his broom closet, just sitting there, waiting for it? (If there
>is, heís gaming or chatting or downloading porn, while ignoring
>my order.) No, the bag-boy receives my order by a much simpler,
>always-on device, that includes a built-in printer: the fax
>machine. You see, the front-end of web applications are
>browser-based, while the back-end of some (but certainly not all),
>is fax.
>
>Order a pizza or a hoagie, locate a car or a part or an apartment,
>even hire an architect or a plumber, all from your PC. Chances are
>good, the fulfillment may have included fax.
>
>At CarsDirect.com select the make and model you want and receive a
>quote instantly. If you like it, buy the car from them. They send
>you the paperwork and make arrangements for you to pick it up from
>a local dealer. How do they communicate with these dealers, who
>are on the showroom floor, not glued to a PC? They fax many of
>them. CarsDirect.com is in the process of “rolling out a dealer
>extranet.” But I wouldnít be surprised if some dealers prefer fax,
>for quite a while.
>
>Ditto plumbers. At Improvenet.com you can find designers,
>Architects and all types of contractors. Typically these are small
>companies, where the owner is at the jobsite and a LAN is nothing
>more than the first syllable of the word “language.” Itís easier
>and often preferable for the web-based services to communicate with
>these entrepreneurs via fax. Apartment managers fall into the same
>category. Locate an apartment anywhere in the country using one of
>several web sites. The lead information is faxed to the apartment
>manager onsite, who also doesnít have an Internet-on PC. Want a
>motorcycle? Cyclebytel.com uses faxes in the back-end too.
>
>On the B2B side, CarParts.com, BrokerPower.com, Norwegian Cruise
>Lines, the list could go on and on. The common thread is
>email-to-fax.
>
>Even delis and pizza/sub shops have gotten into the act. Though
>you may prefer to email them your lunch order, few of them have PCs.
>But they all have fax machines. So just because thereís a browser
>in the front, or the message was created as an email, doesnít mean
>it always stays that way.
>
>
>Maury Kauffman
>Managing Partner
>The Kauffman Group
>http://www.kauffmangroup.com
>
>
>I have a client looking to acquire a fax service bureau.
>Interested principals should contact me directly with a) types of
>services offered, b) demographics of customer base and
>c) revenue/minutes per month numbers.
>
>I am planning the one day Fax on the Net (FON) workshop, Monday
>November 13, at Pulver.comís VON Asia 2000 conference being held
>November 13-15 in Hong Kong. A few speaking slots remain available.
>If you would like to be considered to present, send me a one paragraph
>proposal on your topic, with complete contact information, before the
>September 30 deadline.
>
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