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 Assess the data known about the fax upon arrival
Extract additional data from the fax image
Query a network resource for additional data and/or
delivery instructions
Modify the format of the fax image
Complete delivery to one or more destinations
Routing received faxes is a multi-step
process. The first step is to gather the data
known immediately about the fax when
it arrives. This data includes information
such as the date and time the fax arrived,
the number it was sent to, and possibly
the Caller-ID and TSID of the fax sender.
These details are often enough to complete
basic fax routing requirements.
More advanced fax routing requirements
might require that information be extracted
from the fax image itself. Faxes are sent
and received as TIFF files, a non-searchable
image format. An OCR process can
be performed on the fax image to extract
data. OCR works best when applied to
structured data such as forms, where the
Fax solution has some basis for
where on the fax to find the necessary
data. Another means to extract data from
the fax image is to perform barcode recognition.
Advanced Fax Routing can also query a
network resource, perhaps to determine
routing instructions, or to gather additional
data that corresponds to the fax – so that
this data can be delivered along with the
fax.
Gathering data from a received fax is a
critical step – it enables Advanced Fax
Routing to process and deliver faxes automatically,
and it enables additional data to
be attached to the fax delivery. Data known
about the fax when it arrives includes:
The Fax Port — the fax line or phone line
on which the fax arrives
The Dialed Digits — the number the fax is
sent to
TSID (Transmitting Subscriber Identifier) the string that identifies the fax sender,
often a company name or fax number
Caller ID (ANI – Automated Number Identification) the fax number of the sending
fax device
Date & Time – the date and time the fax
arrives
Additional data can be gathered by an OCR
process, whereby the fax image is converted
to text by OCR, and the fax is made
searchable; barcode recognition, whereby
a barcode on the fax is scanned and interpreted;
and database lookup, whereby a
network resource is queried for additional
data and/or delivery instructions. OCR is
used to search for particular characters or
locations on a fax image.
Email - the fax file can be delivered
as an attachment to an email message
or as a notification that contains a UNC
link to the fax file
Printer
UNC (Universal Naming Convention) - delivers faxes to a network directory
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - delivers
faxes to an FTP location
SFTP (Secure FTP) - delivers faxes to
a Secure FTP location
Quarantine - delivers faxes to a quarantine folder, which is
used for filtering spam faxes
Image Indexing - delivers the received
fax to the FAXCOM Image Indexing application,
Biscom’s fax workflow solution
for data capture and image processing
PRESENCE workflow folder - triggering a file delivery workflow or another process
The fax image can be converted from its original TIFF format to
formats such as:
Searchable PDF
PDF
Searchable TIFF
Text
The delivery can also include additional data extracted from the
fax image or retrieved via lookup to a network resource. This
data can be delivered in CSV, XML, or similar format.
Advanced Fax Routing extends fax routing capabilities to
enable fax processing to be included in business workflow's.
Examples include:
An insurance claims form received via fax includes a claim
number printed in one of the boxes on the form. An OCR
of the fax provides the claim number, and a database
lookup identifies the agent working on that claim.
A purchase order received via fax includes a barcode on
the cover page, where the barcode is unique to a specific
customer. A database lookup identifies the account manager
servicing that customer.
An invoice received via fax might be delivered to a specific
DID fax phone number assigned to an accounting contact.
Multiple reports are received in a single fax. After reading
a barcode on each report, the multi-page fax is split into
multiple faxes for individual processing.
Naming of the fax image can also be controlled, perhaps to
reference data extracted by OCR and the date & time received.
A record of the fax and corresponding data can be written to an
ODBC database.
Each Fax Queue can handle one or multiple workflow's. for
processing received faxes. The workflow integration is accomplished
by defining a set of criteria that trigger actions based on
certain conditions.
Examples of basic workflow's. include:
Deleting or forwarding faxes to specified subfolders when
they are detected as spam based on the TSID.
Routing faxes to users based on text extracted from the
fax cover page.
Automatically redirecting faxes when users are out of
the office.
A sample intermediate-level workflow is to:
First, convert a received fax to a text data file.
Second, deliver the data file to an application for automatic
processing.
A sample advanced workflow is to:
First, separate a multi-page received fax into multiple
documents.
Second, search a network resource for the owner of each
document based on extracted transaction IDs.
Third, deliver each document to the correct owner with an
attached .xml file that enables the document to be automatically
indexed according to data extracted from the fax
image included in the .xml file.
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