Advantages of Cloud Based Fax Services

Advantages of Cloud Based Fax Services

Fax should be a major consideration as an enterprise develops its Digital Transformation strategy. Traditional steps that have always been part of the business processes must continue to be considered. If they are not, business processes will be broken.

FAX communications still holds significant importance in many industries, such as the legal, healthcare, and financial sectors. But, FAX is used for many business purposes because of the ubiguitous FAX protocol; its security, and relability.

As the Wel Corporation states in their post Legal and Government: Why use Cloud Fax?

Cloud fax services offer security features such as encryption and secure data centres to protect your confidential documents. In addition, many services offer audit trails and access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can view and send faxes.

EmailToVoice.Net FAX

One such cloud FAX service is offered by EmailToVoice.Net. This service allows users to send FAXes through their existing email accounts. Business applications can send FAXes as easily as sending an email. The Attachment of the email is converted to FAX format and delivered to the recipient’s FAX machine or email inbox. The content of the email will optionally be converted to the FAX cover page.

Cloud FAX services offer numerous advantages for enterprises, including cost-effectiveness, speed, security, and accessibility. EmailToVoice.Net offers cloud-based FAX solutions. Utilizing these services, businesses can streamline their FAX communications processes, improve efficiency, and reduce costs, while maintaining the security and confidentiality of their sensitive information.

How to Send a FAX Using a Cloud Service

Sending a FAX from the cloud-based EmailToVoice.Net is as easy as sending an email or adding an Email destination to your business applications software.

How to Send a FAX Using Email

Enter phonenumber@FAX.message-service.org in the “to” field.
phonenumber for the USA and Canada is something like 5555555555. The number does not need to be preregistered with EmailToVoice.Net.
For International numbers outside of the USA and Canada, the phonenumber needs a + country code and would look something like +6155555555

The FROM email address must be the same as specified in the subscription process or a special email address you provided.

Type in anything you want in the subject field using less than 120 characters.
Attach your document, such as a PDF, to the Email.

The content of the Email will be used as the FAX Cover Page.

In Summary

There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. This is just one of them. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy no-code solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.

Author

Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications. LinkedIn
Escalation Call List Delay in Email to Voice Service

Escalation Call List Delay in Email to Voice Service

Escalation Call Lists are needed when an emergency alert must be received and acted upon. EmailToVoice.Net provides the customer the ability to create a list of recipients that will be called sequentially until a person is reached and listens to the alert message.

We have added an additional feature to our Escalation List. The customer can now set a default amount of time that occurs between the sequential calls. The customer signs into the Customer Portal and goes to MY Details. The field is called ‘Escalation List Delay’. This field sets the time between each call that was not answered in an escalation list. The setting is the delay duration in minutes.

Escalation Delay in Email To Voice

List Management

EmailToVoice.Net has long provided List Management so that a customer can send a message to multiple recipients, such as an email to a voice phone call. This is done in the Customer Portal under the menu item Manage Personal Lists.

Escalation Lists are a feature of the List Management capability in EmailToVoice.Net.

Escalation Lists are used to sequentially send a text-to-speech (TTS) message to a list of phone recipients. The messages are sent one at a time until a person answers or takes an action to accept the call. The acceptance of the call is based upon specific criteria set by the administrator that created the list. This is unlike the standard list type, where the message is sent to all the recipients at one time.

The purpose of an escalation list is to find a recipient who can act on the message. Examples of such a message might be:

  • Perform an urgent maintenance job for a piece of equipment that has failed
  • Fill a shift vacancy for someone who has called in sick
  • Get a courier to urgently pick up a package and deliver it

Send a Message to an Escalation List

You send your TTS message using this list in EmailToVoice.Net. For example,

  1. send the email message TO dmy@tts.message-service.org
  2. in the body of your message, include:
    <Lists>*My New Escalation List Name*</Lists> (* * replace with your list name)

The message must be picked up (not by voice mail) and listened to for at least 10 seconds, otherwise, the next recipient in the list is called. Once someone listens to the message for the required length of time, the job stops there.

If you send a two-way TTS, the recipient must press 1 on the phone’s Dialpad to accept the message. Otherwise, the next recipient in the list is called. In this case, it doesn’t matter how long the person has listened to the message. Making a TTS message a Two Way is done by merely adding the tag <TwoWay> on a separate line in the content of the email.

More Features

EmailToVoice.Net is rich in features while being simple and effective to use for business communications and alerts. We transform an email message into a phone call or enterprise Text Message with no need to program APIs or install any hardware or software. You can send a voice phone call (TTS), Enterprise Text SMS, FAX or prerecorded Voice Message from any email program interface through your monitoring software, CRM, or Dispatch System. Contact Us and let us assist you in meeting your mission-critical business communications needs.

 

Author

Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications. LinkedIn
Most Commonly Used Features of EmailToVoice.Net

Most Commonly Used Features of EmailToVoice.Net

You have become a user of EmailToVoice.Net. So, now what?

First Things First

Let’s make sure we all understand the basics of how EmailToVoice.Net works. Our cloud messaging service converts the text in the email message to a genuine-sounding voice or formatted SMS text message and then delivers that message to a phone anywhere in the world without preregistrations. No need to install hardware or use APIs.

To send a message, the Email Fields would look something like this:

TO: phonenumber@NNN.message-service.org  (The recipient’s cell phone, NNN can be TTS, SMS, LinkInSMS, Voice or FAX)
FROM: emailaddress@yourcompanydomain.com  (The authorized email address to send messages through our service)
SUBJECT: Anything  (Used as a job name for reporting purposes, but can be used as the message or part of the message)
CONTENT (For TTS, this will be converted to a voice message. For SMS, this becomes the text message)

Those are the fundamentals. So, now let’s cover what more we can do to meet your enterprise business needs. (Note that this is not an inclusive list. These are the most commonly used advanced features.)

Send a Voice or SMS message from Monitoring Software, CRM, ERP, PCS, or any business application

Integrating communications with business applications is the most common use of EmailToVoice.Net. Applications can send an email, but it is so important in today’s sensory-filled world to get the important messages out as a voice phone call or an SMS text message. Merely change the recipient’s email address to the format of the TO as described above, and you are now sending live communications from your applications without the need for APIs, coding, etc.

What Email Addresses are Authorized?

The main email address specified during the Subscription process on the account can always send messages through our service. That email address also receives reports, password changes, and billing:

You can request us to add an additional email address to your account that will be authorized to only send messages through our service. Just Contact Us.

There are many security features to identify items such as a whitelist of IP addresses. Let us know what you need.

What Phone Numbers Can I Send To?

You can send messages to any number in the world. If the number is in the USA or Canada, then the country code is not needed. When the number is outside of the USA and Canada, then specify phonenumber in the TO field to be something like +6155555555, where 61 is the country code. (Note that there are some global regulations that may exclude some phone numbers.)

Can I Have Only Part of the Message Converted to Voice or SMS?

You can parse the email message by specifying where the important part of the text starts and ends. This eliminates the irrelevant parts of your email, such as the top Header part, and the bottom of the email, such as the Signature, leaving only the important part of the message. Set these parameters in the Customer Portal / My Details / Change Details. It is great to keep the message short and more succinct.

Can I Set a Window of Time for Delivering the Messages?

If you want to send alerts out to your staff as phone calls or SMS text messages only during a specific time of day, you can specify the times in Customer Portal / My Details / Change Details / Email To Broadcast: Active Window.

Can I have the Sending Number be From My Company?

You can have the Caller ID for TTS and Voice messages be from a number that you own. Just Contact Us. It is important that you are able to provide proof that your company owns the phone number. We cannot guarantee that the Caller ID will display in all regions of the USA and globally because carriers throughout the US and the world have to meet varying regulations regarding Caller ID.

You can specify an SMS Sender ID number in Customer Portal / My Details / Change Details. If you are not in the USA and Canada, you can specify a number you own. Within the USA and Canada, you will need to request a number (a Long Code) from us and we will update your account with that number. There will be a minimal monthly charge for that Long Code.

Can I Send to Multiple Destinations?

There are several ways to send to more than one destination.

Multiple Destinations in the TO Field

Multiple destinations can be specified in the TO field by separating them with a “#”. IE;:
2145551234#2145551235#2145551236@tts.message-service.org
OR, multiple destinations can be entered as multiple full email addresses:
“2145551234@tts.message-service.org, 2145551235@tts.message-service.org

NOTE: When stringing destinations in the TO field of the Email, there is a standard general length restriction of about 64 characters for the TO field.
NOTE: The type of messages, such as TTS or SMS, cannot be mixed in a single message.

Multiple Destinations in the Email Content

Multiple Destinations can be In the body of the message in the following format:
<Numbers>
2145551234
2145551235
2145551236
</Numbers>

NOTE: The destination phone numbers are included in the body of the message. So, the TO field should be: msg@tts.message-service.org

Multiple Destinations Using a Pre-Loaded List

Multiple Destinations can be through pre-setup lists by using the format:
<Lists>
First ListName
Second ListName
</Lists>

NOTE: These lists are created and loaded through the Customer Portal
NOTE: The TO field should be: msg@tts.message-service.org

Can I Have the Subject Field be Part of the Message?

The Subject field of the email coming into our service is always used as the Job Name for reporting purposes. However, sometimes the Subject Field has valuable information in it. So, you can choose to concatenate the Subject field to the message or have only the Subject field be the entire message. You specify this in Customer Portal / My Details / Change Details.

Can I have an SMS Message Deliver Large Amounts of Formatted Data?

An Aert text message sometimes needs to deliver a large amount of formatted data (HTML). This can be done by sending the SMS message with the TO field as phonenumber@LinkInSMS.message-service.org. For instance, the formatted data may be the section of a user manual on how to perform the repair for the failed device. Our ‘Enterprise SMS’ feature, which uses LinkInSMS, is explained in more detail in our post called “Sending Enterprise Text Using a Simple Email Interface “.

How Does Reporting Work?

Every time a message is sent from your account through our service, the main email address receives a detailed email providing the status of the message. This can be changed in your account so that the main email address receives messages only if there are exceptions, such as a failed job. Just  Contact Us.

You can specify additional emails to receive reports, or specify that no email reports are sent at all.

Is There A Customer Portal To View Job History?

We have mentioned the Customer Portal previously regarding Account Details and Lists. However, it has much more, such as ‘View All Jobs’ to see the jobs history on any date range you choose.

In Summary

There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. These are merely a few of them. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy no-code solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.

Launch of New Customer Portal by EmailToVoice.Net

Launch of New Customer Portal by EmailToVoice.Net

We are excited to announce the launch of the new EmailToVoice.Net Customer Portal. The Portal will be available to the customers of EmailToVoice.Net on Monday, March 16th at 7:00 AM EST. This capability has been requested by the customers of EmailToVoice.Net and we are pleased to deliver.

The customers of EmailToVoice.Net will be able to securely login to the Customer Portal at any time and see detailed information about the jobs submitted through their customer account. Here is a summary of the Portal’s advanced features:

    • View All Jobs: The customer can view summary and detailed information on messages that have been sent through EmailToVoice.Net. Date ranges can be specified to review monthly, weekly or daily activity and even a specific job number.
    • Manage Personal Lists: The customer can setup lists, which are then referenced by the LISTS tag in the content of the email for sending TTS or SMS messages to groups of recipients.
    • New Broadcast: The customer will be able to send a TTS, SMS and even email messages to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
    • Quick SMS: A customer will be able to send a Quick SMS message, one-way or two way, to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
    • Manage Opt-Outs: The customer can specify a phone number that is never to be sent through the customer’s account. This is useful for phone numbers that have changed and should no longer be used.
    • My Details: The customer will be able to change certain fields within their account, such as company address, email address or phone number. This includes the customer’s account password.

Customer Considerations to Access the Portal

    • Access to the login of the Portal will be available as a Menu tab on EmailToVoice.Net or can be accessed directly by using Portal.EmailToVoice.Net.
    • The username will now be prefixed with etv/. The old username prefix of us/ will be retired on March 16th at 7:00 AM EST.
    • If the customer does not know their password, the customer will click on ‘Forgot Password’ on the Login page of the Portal the first time they use the Portal.
    • This portal is for all customers on the USA EmailToVoice.Net site. This includes our International customers that had a username prefixed with us/. However, the username prefix of us/ will be retired on March 16, 2020 at 7:00 AM EST and will become etv/username.

EmailToVoice.Net User Portal Login

Background: How EmailToVoice.Net Works

For those that are not familiar with EmailToVoice.Net, this is an example of the value our cloud messaging service brings to enterprise customers.

After subscribing to EmailToVoice.Net, you can make a phone call or send an SMS by sending just an email. Just make the TO field look something like 5551234567@TTS.message-service.org or 5551234567@SMS.message-service.org. (International calls made outside of the USA and Canada should have a + country code in front, like +61555123456@tts.message-service.org)

For a voice call, the text in the email is converted to a nice sounding voice (TTS – Text-to-Speech). If the recipient answers, they will hear the message right away. If they do not answer, the message will be left on their voice mail system. You can even leave a different message if the call goes to voice mail. There are many mission-critical features in our service.

We deliver Text To Speech message or SMS text message to phones with no need to install special APIs, hardware or software.

Why Send a Voice Phone Call Alert

Phone calls get people’s attention when you need them to act on a critical event. When you send an email, it just does not get the necessary level of attention for important information.

Email is the typical mode of communication for alerts from the monitoring software, CRM or other business applications. But, few of us immediately respond to email, especially after-hours. A phone call, however, will get our attention at all hours of the day or night.

Alerts for IoT Devices

An IoT device is any device connected to the Internet. In an enterprise environment. Monitoring these devices is commonly done through Monitoring Software.

These IoT devices need to communicate with people through alerts and integration with mission-critical applications. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) needs to be given a voice. An IIoT device that has only the ability to send an email must now be enabled to dial a phone. The voice phone call may be sent to a repair truck, or an emergency call in the middle of the night, or used as a means to cut through all the mundane communications received during the regular business day.

In any case, a phone call is an effective means to communicate very important information that needs to be acted upon in a timely fashion.

Stay Updated on EmailToVoice.Net

Subscribe to our mailing list in the right column of our Blog to stay updated on further advancements of EmailToVoice.Net. We also provide some very useful information in our Blog regarding Industrial Internet of Things, Workflow, Monitoring Software, and much more. Also, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or we can assist you further in meeting your business communications requirements.

You can Subscribe for a free trial of EmailToVoice.Net. No credit is required for the free trial period.

How to Check on the Success of a Job in EmailToVoice.Net

How to Check on the Success of a Job in EmailToVoice.Net

As a customer of EmailToVoice.Net, you may want to check the status of a message that was sent through EmailToVoice.Net. This is easy for you to do. You need to merely do a Search from inside the email mailbox of the email address that receives reports from EmailToVoice.Net. This will provide you detailed status of any job.

The reason this is available to you is because EmailToVoice.Net sends a detailed Job Success Report back to the main email address on the account, plus any additional email addresses added to account upon request. So, there is a detailed success report residing in the main email address specified on your EmailToVoice.Net account. A Job Success Report exists for each message sent through EmailToVoice.Net. Many customers set a Filter in the email mailbox so these detailed Job Success Reports are put in a special folder.

Example of Locating Job Success Reports

Therefore, to locate a past Job Success Report showing the detailed status of a job, merely sign into the email address that is designated as the the main email address in your EmailToVoice.Net account. Then you can do a Search to find the job’s detail. Below is an example for GMAIL.

Step 1: In the Email Search box, click on the Down Arrow to open. This will open advanced search capabilities.

GMAIL Search Box

Step 2: In the Search Box, enter Search criteria. In the Subject Field, enter “job report: Success “. Then in the ‘Has the words’ field, you can enter other search criteria, such as the phone number.

Gmail Search criteria EmailToVoice.Net

That’s it. You will see email search results showing the Job Success Reports matching your search criteria. You will be able to see things in the detailed reports such as:

  • Was the job successful or is there an error code.
  • Did the call go to Voicemail
  • What was the cost to send the message
  • And much more…

Alternative Use of Job Success Reports

Another good use of these Job Success Reports is to automatically take action if a certain result occurs. For instance, if a call goes to Voicemail, then another job can be initiated for sending the message to a different phone number, SMS or email address. This can be done using Microsoft Flow or other like services.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.