GartnerGroup's Dataquest Says Internet Faxing Must Provide Better Faxing, Not Just Free Faxing
New Survey Shows Eager but Cautious Market for IP Fax Solutions
San Jose, California, August 25, 1999—As new products and services enable companies to more efficiently route their fax traffic over the Internet and intranets, the number of Internet Protocol (IP) fax pages rerouted away from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) in the United States will grow from 1.7 billion pages in 1999 to 14 billion fax pages in 2002, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT). Dataquest's study shows strong demand for Internet fax solutions that save companies money on their fax charges and better integrate their messaging solutions.
Comparing the data with a similar study that Dataquest completed in 1997, the new Dataquest study reveals that about 15 percent of U.S. companies will acquire an IP fax solution or capability within the next 12 months. IP fax traffic is tracking along forecasted levels and will account for about 10 percent of all U.S. fax traffic by 2002.
"There are several hot pockets of eager buyers for the IP fax solution," said Andrew Johnson, principal analyst for Dataquest's Facsimile and Multifunction Products North America program. "They seem to understand the benefits but are waiting for a solution that addresses their reliability and confidentiality issues."
"Consistent with the 1997 study results, nearly two out of three respondents expect their fax usage to increase over the next two years," Mr. Johnson said. Companies surveyed said that it is this increase in the use of faxing that is driving their plans to implement intranet and Internet faxing in the near future. The study revealed a wide variation as to the type of IP fax solutions that different types of companies planned to acquire.
"For many companies, the vendor selection process is as important as the type of solution they implement. These types of responses indicate a willing but cautious market," Mr. Johnson said.
Additional information about the Internet fax market is available in the Dataquest report "Internet Fax End-User Market Demand Study." This report provides detailed analysis of end-user awareness and purchase intentions for Internet/intranet fax products and services. This end-user survey measures market demand and identifies key issues among small office/home office and small, medium-size, and large business. This report is available to purchase for $18,000.
To purchase this report, please contact Andrew Johnson, principal analyst for Dataquest, at andrew.johnson@gartner.com. To purchase or subscribe to other Dataquest reports, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs, descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.dataquest.com.
GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.
As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis, and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global community serving Fortune 1000 clients from 80 locations worldwide. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.gartner.com.
CONTACT:
Tom McCall
(408) 468-8312 tom.mccall@gartner.com