On Friday PamConsult released PamFax for iPad, providing access to PamFax services from the most natural platform format for replacing a fax machine (or the fax feature of an All-in-One Printer).

In practice PamConsult, publisher of PamFax, actually released a new version of PamFax for iOS 4 with sensitivity to whether on an iPhone or iPad when displaying the user interface. The iPad version, which displays most completely in landscape mode, takes advantage of the iPad display size to present extra user guidance information on launching the application:

PamFax for iPad follows the usual five or six steps inherent to the PamFax sending process:

• selecting files (from the iPad – including photos, Dropbox, Google Docs or Box.net),
• entering a destination fax number (manual entry or from iPad Contacts),
• optionally selecting a cover page
• selecting fax progress and delivery notifications (via email, Skype Chat and/or SMS)
• checking for PamFax credits and
• submitting a fax for delivery.

In lieu of accessing the PamFax user portal, the Folders, Buy PamFax Credit and Settings buttons shown above take over the primary functions of the PamFax portal. For instance the Folders tab offers a menu for access to an Inbox, Outbox, Sent and Trash-bin folders.

Each of the folders provides almost instantaneous access to individual faxes and the ability to easily view them. In fact, I find this process easier than accessing them via the web-based PamFax user portal (although they are also available there).

It’s fast on delivery: On my test fax – with all steps handled on the iPad — (selected a file from a Dropbox folder, added a cover page, sent the file to my PamFax Inbound number and viewed the resulting file in PamFax Inbox – another Dropbox folder), the time between Sending the fax and Receiving it in the Inbox was somewhat less than a minute. This reflects recent “Summer Release 2011” to the PamFax “Back office” infrastructure that has significantly improved fax delivery speed. As is normal with any PamFax transmission, notifications can be sent via email, Skype chat and/or SMS messages.

Bottom Line: at this point I am cancelling my Bell Canada fax line and using my iPad as my primary fax “machine”. The only feature for which I need a PC are the scanner on my All-in-One multifunction scanner/printer for importing original document scans; in that case I can use PamFax on my PC or MacBook Pro for sending these faxes.

I am replacing a $15/month phone line with an all-inclusive $8.70 per month Professional Plan service, including 20 free faxes per month and ongoing archival fax storage, and low “per page” charges for sending additional fax pages (in lieu of using Bell Canada long distance for sending faxes internationally). A Basic Plan and Pay-As-You-Go On Demand service are also available.

Now if PamFax could just add a SkypeOut link to the “Remove this number from our Fax list” number at the bottom of every “spam” fax.

Voice On The Web’s Skype Reference Guide, under Hosted Services, provides a complete overview of PamFax: Obligation-Free Fax Worldwide On Demand.

Full disclosure: while the author has purchased a PamFax subscription (and cancelled a phone line for fax use), some links on this page lead to participation in the PamFax affiliate program.

Related articles

• Whither Skype Extras Today? Withered? (voiceontheweb.biz)

Skype has always been challenged with respect to making its growing feature set available on the most popular operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The major ongoing complaint from Skype users has been features on a new release for one OS that don’t appear on the other OS’s clients that may not be updated for up to a year later. With respect to Skype’s developer platform, a major complaint of third party developers has been the lack of any web services tools to embed Skype into web-based applications.

But maybe Scendix, publisher of PamFax and Pamela, is showing us how to make applications OS-agnostic such that all versions of an application get new features concurrently.

Since its launch in December 2007, although it was not obvious to the end users at the time, PamFax has been largely a web-based application, starting with PamFax for Windows. For the next sixteen months, the Scendix PamFax team worked not only to release PamFax 2.0 but also put resources into building a more robust back end, adding support of Fax-in numbers in 26 countries and extending their OS support to make available PamFax for Mac OS X. And subsequent upgrades have made it a more robust, lower cost and multi-lingual service.

Earlier this week Scendix announced the release of PamFax for Linux, bringing low cost, worldwide faxing to all those rabid Linux users who espouse the virtues of a very robust, yet open and feature rich operating system. In so doing, Scendix has, in practice, demonstrated how to make an application OS-agnostic, essentially by building a single website dedicated to the application.

So what did Scendix need to do to make their application run under Linux? After all, they had a core web-based engine supporting the entire feature set. Three steps:

• Build an installer package for each version of Linux supported
• test PamFax’s operation in each operating system environment, and
• perform integration with Skype for Linux (there is an option to send notifications to a Skype chat session)

But there was no need to build a new application or backend – as shown on the left, even the user interface is the same. Its web-services architecture simply needed the modifications described above. Bottom line: PamFax is basically an OS-agnostic “Software as a Service” (“SaaS”) application. And limited developer resources are required to migrate support between OS’s. Effectively the operating system becomes secondary to the more universal web browser.

As their next step, the experience of bringing PamFax to this level has led Scendix to start work on PamFax 3.0, due for release later this spring. The major change here will be to migrate the PamFax web-based infrastructure to an API-based architecture such that PamFax can be readily embedded into third party applications – for instance, a WordPress plug-in that puts a “Fax This” icon on a web page would be one such potential application.

Bottom line: As we await Skype’s new developer platform, PamFax serves as a proxy for demonstrating why a web-services architecture would be an ideal transformation into providing Skype client access not only from Skype-specific clients but also from Skype embedded into a third party’s offering that incorporates Skype access without the need for opening a separate Skype client. In other words, another key link towards building “Skype Everywhere”.

Note: Skype CEO Josh Silverman talks about this topic towards the end of the first half of our recent CES conversation.

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The recent announcement of Skype’s decision to drop its Skype Extras (marketing) program initially caused much anguish across the blogosphere; however, more sober commentary has been appearing in the past few days. To recall the announcement:

1. Immediately: No new partner programs or upgrades will be placed into the Skype Extras
2. Going forward: Skype Extras will remain available via the Skype for Windows client until their certification expires (which may be up to a year).

Alec Saunders whose developer program experience crosses many platforms, in What Next, Skype?, reviews the “swift and brutal” reaction around the blogosphere, puts a perspective on the characteristics of good ecosystem programs and then measures up where Skype stands today. He concludes with:

17 points out of a possible 30. Even so, the only real killer flaw in the Skype developer program is co-marketing.  Since Skype owns the customer, they are the only cost effective channel by which a developer reaches the customer.

Without addressing these flaws, especially the co-marketing issue, Skype’s developer ecosystem will die.  It may take time, but developers will leave and go elsewhere.

Skype knows all of this, however.  The smart money is on Skype developing a new program, and judging by the recent spate of announcements around Skype in business, and the beefed up Skype for Business team, it certainly looks as if they’re going that way. It’s no coincidence that that’s where the money is too. [Author’s italics]

In No Skype Extras Anymore, Scendix CTO Christoph Buenger, a veteran at developing applications for both the Skype and eBay ecosystems, outlines in a PamNews blog post  why their products are not impacted by the shutdown of Skype Extras:

So how does this affect Scendix/PamConsult products? The simple answer is: not very much.

He goes on to review how Pamela only uses the Skype API’s; how the new upgrade of PamFax to Version 2.0 made the product totally independent of the Skype Extras system (they were the only developer who had incorporated Skype Credits into a product but they also use other payment services) and their “standalone” version of Pamela Call Recorder. He concludes with:

We believe that some changes are always a good chance to make something much better than it was before. For us, this means finding more ways to market our software and the opportunity to change the pay-as-you-go payment process in PamFax will be a great step forward in making our products even better.

So: R.I.P. Skype Extras System. Let’s find something better out there!

In Skype Says Next Generation Platform Will Embrace Developers Michael Arrington reports on a couple of weekend conversations with Jonathan Christensen:

Christensen says that the Extras announcement is not about Skype backing away from a robust developer platform. Rather, he says, Skype is focusing on a next generation platform that will hopefully address the deficiencies of the old program and open many more opportunities for developers to build on Skype services.

They went on to discuss third party applications that can make Skype calls directly and future web applications “leveraging Skype as a service”. But there are two reasons Skype has to continue to run on a client today:

• Maintaining high quality calls via their current audio/video encoding
• Skype’s p2p architecture which not only impacts latency issues but is also the major cost factor allowing free Skype-to-Skype conversations.

Read the post to see why Michael feels we’’ll first see desktop applications integrate Skype as a service first and how “the real win is when you can initiate Skype voice and video calls via web applications”. He concludes with:

Anyway, we’re looking a ways into the future with all of this. But one thing seems clear – Skype, which is happily soon to be under new management, will someday open its doors widely to developers.

Bottom line: Support for Skype developer activities is not dead; it’s evolving. No software partner’s business has been significantly impacted by the closure of the Skype Extras [marketing] program. Lots of suggestions about how Skype developer support should be executed going forward but it’s probably going to be an evolution rather than a “revolution”.

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• Skype closes its Extras program for developers (infoworld.com)
• “Skype Extras” Is Dead; Long Live the Skype API’s! (voiceontheweb.biz)
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PamFax adds a Japanese partner, lowers rates to 13 destination countries and enhances its infrastructure

Back in April Scendix launched PamFax 2.0 with many new features outlined in a post at that time. To address some reader feedback and summarize PamNews announcements, it’s appropriate to do an update summary of PamFax’s evolution.

First, and most important, is that the launch of PamFax 2.0 with its feature set has triggered accelerated user adoption. While not at liberty to reveal numbers, its acceptance says that, if you provide an  easy-to-use service, the customers will come. Adding Mac support and fax-in numbers brought instant credibility as a fully featured fax service.

A more robust, stable service: With user experience PamFax has required some infrastructure improvements. Issues involving the individual fax-in numbers were resolved during the first week of this new service. Fax-in numbers for Mexico have been added; as result fax-in numbers are available in 22 countries. And as their fax volume grows, the PamFax servers have required improvements to increase the stability and reliability of the service. Probably sounds “boring” but servicing PamFax’s “back office” infrastructure is probably more critical to sustainable reliability at this point than any modifications to the user interface.

Adding a Japanese version: But the PamFax team has not stopped with simply technology improvements. Earlier this week they announced a strategic partnership with Fusion Network Services in Japan who are  offering a Japanese version of the service:

We have jointly worked hard to prepare the launch by localizing the entire PamFax system in Japanese. Fusion is also a Skype partner and provide Skype with the local Skype-In numbers in Japan.

Fusion plan several marketing activities over the next months to introduce the PamFax solution to the market.

Reducing costs: While there were significant price reductions with the launch of PamFax 2.0, there were still some challenges out there. Recently I was going to send a four-page fax to Estonia but when I found out there was a $0.89 per page charge via PamFax, I scanned the document to a pdf file and sent it as an email attachment. However, as of this week, Estonia has been moved to the PamFax Zone 1 list of countries served with a base rate of €0,09/$0.12 per page (or €0,06/$0.08 for PamFax Pro subscribers). In total, thirteen fax destination countries were moved to the lowest Zone 1 rates: Singapore, Israel, Aland Islands, Malaysia, Finland, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Venezuela, Cyprus, Argentina, Estonia. (As a side benefit it now becomes a reasonable cost to use PamFax to send faxes to Skype’s developer team in Tallinn.)

Bottom line: Launching any service has its hiccups, but the PamFax team is there for the long run. If you encounter difficulties they have a support program where you can seek assistance and/or voice your issues for a response. The PamFax team wants to ensure a sustainable, reliable, seamless service and is listening.

Most amazing has been the response in terms of user adoption; while certainly email and other Internet services provide the means to send/receive documents, there’s still a large market for sending hard copy fax to all those dedicated fax terminals and “All-in-One” printers still sitting in offices worldwide. Offering a secure, low cost, yet easy-to-use, worldwide service was really the key to unlocking this business opportunity.

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• PamFax updates, adds FaxIn, distances from Skype (skypejournal.com)

When attempting to “trash” a service via Comments to a post, make sure (i) you have made appropriate attempts to contact a service’s support operations and (ii) give them a chance to respond. A recent attempt to “trash” PamFax in a Comment turned out to be the result of the user attempting to fax to a number that was “not in service”.

I am starting to receive an occasional comment harshly complaining about a service whose offering has been reported in Voice On The Web. When I receive such a Comment I will forward it to the relevant vendor for a response prior to publishing the comment in all fairness to the vendor. Upon receiving a response from the vendor, I will publish the relevant story in order that all the facts are on the table.

In the next few days I will be publishing the editorial policy for Voice On The Web establishing some ground rules. But one of those is that before reporting on an offering, I will, if possible, test out the offering to make sure it works as described. There are a few vendors whose stories are currently on hold pending getting their offering to work properly.

Prior to reporting recently on the PamFax 2.0 launch I tested out the service on a laptop PC (Windows XP), a desktop PC (Windows XP) and a MacBook. In all three cases I was able to make some suggestions for minor modifications (usually text or navigation) but I did successfully send three different faxes to my All-In-One printer.

PamFax 2.0 did experience some teething problems during their first week; they were monitoring the situation via their internal dashboards and making changes to the back office servers. In addition they have released a client update which is automatically installed when a user next opens PamFax (done it on all three of my PC’s here). And then I demonstrated to InnerPass personnel how they could use PamFax as a Windows printer to send a stored document from their document management service.

A couple of days ago I received a comment (I’ll save embarrassing the sender) that, amongst other statements, claimed PamFax was “Inconsistent, poor software”. He had attempted to send a fax – three times unsuccessfully – (including his one time “Free” test fax). He concluded with:

Now I have credit with them I never wanted to give, and a useless piece of software that also takes you[r] skype user and pas[s]word. the software is a POS. I found plenty [of] other experiences online to substantiate this. Do not waste your money. The claimed repeated use in the article is the clincher. I now probably am in that category since after the useless trial page was blown by them, my two further tries would be registered as a repeat customer. Trashy, scam type software, skype certified or not, I promise if you have Vista you will be subject to frustration. [typo corrections by author]

I forwarded the comment to Dick Schiferli at PamConsult, publisher of PamFax, who investigated the user’s attempts to send a fax; I received the following response:

I’ve attached the transactions summary and the fax summary to this email. As you can see the three fax jobs originally failed with “Line hung up”. There were line costs as a connection was made and that is why a partial refund was issued. This is also clearly communicated by the system to you.

The reason is because this number is no longer in service. I called it and got a voice answer saying this number is out of service or disconnected. So, the PamFax error message is correct and also the fact that there were line costs resulting in a partial refund is correct.

This user tried to send faxes to a disconnected number. He apparently found out after three tries that he had the wrong number and then sent to the right one (see attached history).

I personally called the number where three times the user got a message “The line was hung up” and confirmed that this number is “no longer in service”.

Bottom Line #1: PamConsult personnel are monitoring their service to ensure that it delivers as promised. They have the back office systems, including call detail records, that allow them to investigate any customer service issues that may arise. PamFax also has a Help Desk system, including a knowledge base, for reporting such issues.

Bottom Line #2: Make sure you have the correct fax destination number! While “The number was properly input, +1 showed up with a US flag and the 10 digit number including area code was there” is true, if  issues you call a number that is not in service, yes there may be a small termination charge – since the call was answered by a phone system robot – but, really, get the number right!

Bottom Line #3: Don’t attempt to “trash” a service without first contacting the service’s technical support. In this case a service request had been sent in; it was investigated but such investigations are not instantaneous. Better to take time to get an appropriate response than to rush a partial or inappropriate response that only creates further antagonism and frustration.

Full disclosure: For over four years the author supervised a technical support operation for a software product where over half the support calls related to the software’s feature set reporting on either faulty (third party) PC application software or faulty PC hardware. It is important to hear both sides of the story before allowing comments that are effectively a “blasting off” rant.

PamNews, May 6, 2009: PamFax update published – Upgrade to PamFax; backend server addressed for improved performance.

PamConsult launches PamFax 2.0 as an obligation-free hosted fax service that supports sending and receiving faxes worldwide with no capital expenses, no usage contract requirements and lower “per page” costs.

The process of sending and receiving faxes involves:

• a document source: whether physical or a computer file
• physical document scanning
• a cover page
• transmission of the fax (originally over a phone line)
  • often at expensive long distance rates and/or hotel service charges
• receipt of the fax (over a phone line)
• printing the received document
• logging the transmission and archiving the document

In the early 80’s the original fax machines were huge (at least the size of a bulky floor model photocopier), expensive and rare. However, a former medical practitioner customer was impressed that he could fax electrocardiograms to obtain diagnosis assistance with, say, a remote cardiology specialist, providing an initial level of value in time-critical circumstances.

As we moved through the 80’s fax devices became less expensive, more pervasive and somewhat smaller such that they fit on a table top; the biggest issue was finding or installing a nearby fax-dedicated phone line. In 1985 GammaLink introduced the first Fax PC board; a fax modem became common in PC’s throughout the subsequent 15 years. In the early 90’s there were various attempts to develop fax software for PC’s; the most widely remembered program was WinFax, which was sold to Symantec in 1995 and discontinued by Symantec at the end of 2006. But, while WinFax certainly could send and receive faxes, it did not exactly provide the simplest user experience for sending and managing faxes. Over this period several Internet-hosted fax services became available and contributed to the demise of WinFax.

Certainly, with Internet email and various file transfer services the volume of faxes has dropped off. However, they are still essential for (i) convenience of sending and receiving faxes via a dedicated device and (ii) exchanging executed legal documents, real estate papers and other business requirements which are suited to having a hard copy.

In many circumstances recipients still simply like to have a piece of hardcopy paper in their hands. As a result the real challenge for any new service is to offer a simple, easy-to-understand and easy-to-use fax services experience at lower costs yet that take advantage of the Internet’s cloud infrastructure and worldwide accessibility.

Fast forward to late 2007 when Ethernet ports had replaced modems on PC’s; PamConsult launched PamFax 1.0, a fax sending service that significantly simplified sending a fax from your desktop or laptop PC to any fax number worldwide. PamFax 1.0 was solely a Windows application that featured:

• sourcing documents from either a computer file or a scanned image
  • compatible with all recent scanners, including multi-function printers
• five or six steps to send a document:
  • select the document source
  • (optionally) scan in a paper document
  • enter the destination recipient and fax number
  • (optionally) add a cover page
  • pay via Skype Credits or PayPal
  • send the document
• integration with Skype for fax confirmation notification and payment using Skype Credits
• an infrastructure that handled the payment transaction and sent the fax to any destination worldwide
• a Windows printer driver capability
• a minimum cost of ~$0.20/€0.14 per page
• a web-based PamFax portal to report on usage and archive sent faxes

But PamFax 1.0 lacked the ability to receive faxes and was not available for Mac PC’s. Yet PamFax usage has grown constantly; this past weekend PamFax 1.0 downloads passed the 200,000 mark, confirming the demand for easy-to-use fax services available wherever one finds a PC and Internet connection. It sure came in handy when on the road in a hotel room – at a much lower cost and no need to go to the front desk to send a fax.

According to PamConsult CEO Dick Schiferli, 58% of PamFax 1.0 downloads resulted in at least one additional paid page being sent; the average paying customer sends 6.5 pages. Overall month-to-month volume growth is currently running at 10% per month.

Today PamConsult is launching PamFax 2.0, elevating PamFax to a complete send/receive fax service on both Windows and Mac PC’s at lower costs. PamFax 2.0 features:

• Support for both Windows and Mac OSX
• Fax-in numbers available in 27 countries
• A complete redesign incorporating new user interface
• “Per page” pricing reduced by ~40% to $0.12/€0.09 page for on-demand service and $0.08/€0.06 page for volume subscriptions
• Several additional destination countries moved into the lowest cost zone 1.
• No requirement for Skype although Skype integration adds notification and payment options
• Ongoing support for Facebook and Salesforce.com integration
• A Vista sidebar widget

Much like Calliflower which takes a user through the entire conference call business process from invitations to archiving, PamFax 2.0 is a complete service that takes you through the entire fax generation and transmission process from the initial document sourcing requirement through to logging and archiving your fax activity.

The ground rules for pricing include:

• On Demand/Pay-as-You-Go or Prepaid?
• destination country (seven zones covering the world)?
• Fax-in number required?
• currency (select from 15 options)?

While PamFax can be used as an obligation-free “On Demand” service for sending faxes (at €0.09/£0.085/US$0.125 per page to Zone 1 countries) , PamConsult is offering volume bundles that reduce per page costs even further. For receiving faxes a monthly or annual subscription is required for the associated fax-in number.

PamFax Professional, a monthly or annual subscription, includes:

• Fax-in number for the subscription period (select one of 27 countries)
• Unlimited fax reception
• 33% discount on “per page” prices, starting at €0.06/£0.06/US$0.08 to Zone 1 countries
• Monthly: €3,95/£3.75/US$5.50 (subject to fluctuation with exchange rates)
• Annual: €47,40/£45.00/US$66.00 (subject to fluctuation with exchange rates)

PamFax Credit Packs add credits to your account at the €10, €30, €50 (with 5% bonus credit), €100 (10% bonus credit) and higher levels with increasing bonus credits.]

PamFax also offers a “business control panel” from which a business’s administrator can create a group account, assign and manage PamFax credit and track employee fax activity.

I have used PamFax 1.0 successfully on many occasions over the past 18 months and have tested PamFax 2.0 with success on both a MacBook and a Dell Inspiron laptop.

As a next step, address book integration and scheduled sending would be useful features to incorporate into future releases of PamFax.

Bottom line: PamFax 2.0 is another disruptive service within the Skype ecosystem as it eliminates several costs associated with faxing documents:

• country and international long distance charges
• hotel and airport kiosk fax service charges
• charges associated with having a fax-dedicated physical phone line
• cost and overhead of a dedicated fax machine

and results in turning your desktop or laptop PC into a fully featured fax machine. Laptop users have the convenience of being able to take their PamFax-enabled “fax machine” anywhere they may travel and find Internet access. Basically PamFax 2.0 allows you to disconnect your fax-dedicated phone line and to throw away your dedicated fax machine while having fax services available not only at the home office but also on the road.

Give it a try and report on your experience in the Comments.

Update: Alec Saunders: PamFax – no strings attached PC FAX

Previous PamFax posts:

• PamFax: Sending Faxes via Skype
• The Dawn of the Mashup World II: And the European Mashup Competition Winner Is…
• Mashup Champion PamFax Becomes a Full Fax Sending Solution
• PamFax Receive Skype Certification, Grows Usage
• PamFax – Adding Click-to-Fax
• PamFax Update: Lower Rates, Volume Plans and Improved Perfomance

Pamela, the original Skype Extra that provides a range of utilities to enhance your Skype conversations experience, recently introduced Pamela 4.5 with enhancements which provide new call management functionality.

Pamela’s feature set can be broadly summarized as including:

• Conversation management
  • notification management
  • voice mail (with optional email forwarding)
  • video messaging (caller can leave a video message)
  • call transfer (missing from Skype for Windows 4.0)
  • call scheduling (new)
  • conference call management (with new features)
  • launch an application (when a call is received)
• Conversation archiving
  • Call notes (personal text notepad while in a call)
  • Call recording
  • Chat session archiving
  • Video recording
  • Custom recording (for blogs or podcasts)
• Personalization
  • personalized chat auto-responses
  • birthdays
  • rich mood editor

The two key new features are probably of most benefit to business users who have repeated calling patterns to, say, customers and/or suppliers or those who have routinely scheduled (say, weekly) conference calls with a common set of participants, such as a sales or marketing team.

Call Scheduler, shown above, allows you to schedule Skype calls with notification and recurring calls features. When the call is made there are options to provide an audio notification prior to the call, record the calls and/or open a text notes window.

More interesting is the Auto Conference Group Editor  which provides the ability not only to create conference call groups but also to trigger a conference call with the “group” when either (i) a call is received from a designated Skype contact or (ii) an outbound Skype call is made to a designated Skype contact.

It’s a feature-limited conference call management feature; it’s not a full conference call service such as Calliflower or HiDefConferencing with full moderator management features.

As outlined above Pamela has a long list of features that I have used over time, there is one feature that still needs work on both its operational reliability and the user interface. The video recording feature requires download of DivX decoders (which have licensing issues otherwise). I also find that it only works with one of the DivX decoders (DivX 6.8.5 YV12) out of a list of decoders available in the drop down box for selection of a video decoder. Apparently there are some PC- and webcam-specific dependencies related to the decoder issue.

Pamela is traditionally associated with Skype call recording – the feature that made it become virally adopted over the years; however, this is only one feature out of many that can benefit Skype users. Its uniqueness arises from:

• archived content (call recordings, chat sessions) is stored on the local PC’s disk drive in a standalone “Pamela” folder (whereas, say, Skylook is tightly linked into Outlook stores this information in your Outlook folder or Evoca stores your Skype call recordings at a hosted location accessible from anywhere on the Internet).
• the comprehensive feature set of the utility allowing you to select the combination of conversation management, archiving and personalization that adapts best to your individual Skype-enabled conversation activities.

Both PamConsult and Skylook offer basic call recording utilities based on the more feature-rich “parent” utility. Pamela Call Recorder is a free utility for Skype calls up to 15 minutes long. Skylook’s Call Burner has free basic call recording of Skype-to-Skype calls where  both parties have CallBurner but requires their premium version for calls to non-CallBurner users and SkypeOut calls. Evoca offers a free 30-day trial of their hosted recording service.

You can download Pamela 4.5 here for a 30-day trial of Pamela Professional. Pamela comes in four different configurations (including a free Basic configuration) when it comes time to purchase. Updates for Pamela and Call Recorder released

Pamela Case Study: Radio Free Asia: A Skype Facilitated Broadcasting Service

Software developer and publisher PamConsult pioneered third party software development for Skype, having provided the initial German translation of Skype and then launching the first Skype Extra, Pamela in 2005. Two weeks ago PamConsult released Pamela 4.5 for which a review is forthcoming. Their PamFax offering won accolades as the 2007 Skype Partner mashup competition.

But the PamConsult team has also been busy developing software that interfaces home TV sets with Internet-based services. A recent announcement provides a window into how consumers will interact with these services simply through their TV’s remote control.

Just a little over two years ago, the Pamela team linked up with Scendix, publisher of “digital home” software for Windows Media Centre, to form PamConsult. For instance, mceAuction allows you to bring eBay onto your TV screen via Windows Media Centre; mcePhone for Skype provides easy access to Skype from your TV. More recently Scendix released Jaast for Wii, leveraging their mceAuction technology into the Nintendo Wii console. Scendix also developed an eBay Skype Tab used in German and French versions of the Skype for Windows client. While attending CeBit in Hannover two years ago I had the opportunity to experience these offerings first hand; the simplicity of their user interfaces via a TV remote control opens up new opportunities for consumer access to eBay and Skype.

Last Thursday, Philips announced a new line of LCD TV’s which will include a new feature, called Net TV, that will deliver Internet-based services and modules to the viewer’s screen via the remote control. From the Philips press release:

The Net TV feature will be available on all Philips televisions in Europe in the 8000 series, 9000 series and Cinema 21:9 from Spring 2009 onwards. Through Net TV, Internet content is tailored for the best possible viewing experience on the TV screen, and is easily accessed through the TV’s remote control, without the need for extra set top boxes or service subscriptions, or for starting up a laptop.

PamConsult, leveraging their Scendix experience and technology, yesterday announced that they will be providing the eBay channel for Net TV, designated as “eBay, Powered by Jaast”:

Internet with remote control on TV/Media Center/Wii are things we have been working on for years and thus we are proud to say that eBay and Philips have selected us to provide an eBay channel on the new sets.

Based on our mceAuction technology we have adapted the eBay content to work seamlessly on the new Philips systems.We will provide the channel via our Jaast brand.

eBay navigation on the TV is very simple, the same intuitive way of browsing eBay as with mceAuction on Microsoft Media Center and Jaast on Wii.

Given Scendix’s experience with Skype, how long will it be before their mcePhone for Skype technology could be showing up on Philips’ offerings? More importantly does this provide a path for Skype to deliver “Skype Everywhere” through TV as Skype announced at their CES 2009 press conference?

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• PamConsult Has a “Fantastic Year” (voiceontheweb.biz)
• World’s largest Windows Media Center remote control (istartedsomething.com)

Amidst all the macro economic turmoil of 2008, there are businesses that have stuck to their knitting and had a quite successful year. Pioneer Skype Partner PamConsult recently reported on their 2008 achievements where they have both built out their product line and provided consulting services that have resulted in a stronger development team and enhanced product offerings.

PamConsult comprises two business divisions: Scendix for software product offerings, such as their widely accepted Pamela utility for Skype (the first Skype Extra going back to 2005) and PamFax, and PamConsult for development consulting where, for instance, they developed Skype for Salesforce.com under a contract with Skype. Some highlights:

• A major accomplishment has been the ongoing growth of PamFax. During the year they built out the infrastructure to provide the robustness and scalability such that PamFax now supports over 130,000 registered users. They have announced plans for a fax-in service as well as Mac support in 2009.
• Pamela has now had over 5 million downloads; early in 2009 they expect to release version 4.5; mcePhone, their Skype integration tool for Windows Media Center, will soon see version 3.
• Finally, PamConsult continues to provide eBay offerings, including the eBay Skype tabs licensed to eBay Germany, eBay France and eBay UK. At last year’s eBay Live event, PamConsult won an eBay Star Developer award for their Jaast for Wii, which brings eBay to your TV via Nintendo’s Wii console.

It will be interesting to see how PamConsult’s Skype partnership evolves in 2009 as the new executive team introduces a comprehensive technology roadmap and revamped partnering programs.

Other posts:

• Radio Free Asia: A Skype Facilitated Broadcasting Service
• PamFax: Adding Click-to-Fax

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The PamConsult team, producers of Pamela and PamFax amongst other products, lives and breathes conversation products due to the breadth of their overall product line. In their PamNews blog post on Skype for Windows 4.0 Beta 2 they state:

…. We have tested it and found it to be already stable enought for day to day usage. It has less rough edges as Beta 1 and a lot of the Beta 1 feedback has been incorporated in this release. So if you are a bit computer savy you will definitely want to give the Beta 2 a go.

…. Again, this Beta 2 is a great step forward. It is noticeable that Skype are listening hard to their users and I think the end product will really reshape the way people look at “messenger” applications. Just compare this beta release with the Live Messenger 2009 release – wow, does the Live Messenger look outdated .

If you visit their post, you can also vote in their poll.

Send faxes via PamFax for €0.14 (a 17% reduction) or, if on a PamFax Professional or PrePaid Pack plan, as low as €0.09.

Since last summer Skype Journal has been reporting on the evolution of PamFax, which allows Skype users to send faxes anywhere worldwide from your laptop in as few as five mouse clicks. Source documents can be locally scanned hard copy or electronic documents in any of 100 file formats, including Office and PDF documents. PamFax can also act as a Windows printer. This weekend last summer’s Skype Mashup Contest winner has added several new features:

• An interface for both Facebook and Salesforce.com. The Facebook interface provides your PamFax history and has a link to launch PamFax to send another fax. If you have activated a “still-in-beta” version of the Skype Toolbar for Firefox, the PamFax “Click-to-Fax” icon becomes activated. If you’re a Facebook member, you can add the Facebook interface here.

In Salesforce.com, the integration goes much further: You not only have the fax history embedded in Salesforce, but you also have the ability to start a fax from any Contact, Account, User or Lead! So no more copy&paste to send a fax to one of your contacts, as PamFax starts with name and fax number prefilled and you only have to select what you want to fax and then send the fax.

• Improved startup and performance speeds. PamConsult has invested heavily in infrastructure that accelerates the startup time (probably the major feedback complaint) and also makes the entire faxing process much more responsive. To take advantage of this feature you will need to upgrade to PamFax 1.0.0.34 client, either manually from the PamFax Home page or, after next weekend once Skype has released a new version of the Skype Extras Gallery, an automatic upgrade when you launch PamFax.
• The most significant announcement this weekend is a price reduction for Pay-As-You-Go users and Premium Packs for frequent or high volume users. Highlights:
  • Pay-As-You-Go: has been reduced from €0.17 to €0.14 (~US$0.22¹) for Zone 1 faxes with reductions to other destination zones as well.
  • PamFax Professional Plan: €2.95 (~US$4.70) per month provides a 35% discount of standard page pricing, starting at €0.09 for Zone 1.
  • Prepaid Packs: buy a pack and get a “per fax” discount. Starts at 10% for a €30 Pack to 40% for a €1000 Pack.

Having grown from 25,000 registered users back in April to over 52,000 users today, primarily in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Italy, Germany, Russia and France, PamFax is definitely filling a user need, especially for both the road warrior who needs to send a fax from any Internet connection and situations where hard copy needs to be exchanged instantly in a trackable manner. About 40% of users are paying via Skype credits while others are paying via PayPal or Amazon Payments.

Previous PamFax Posts:

• PamFax Receives Skype Certification, Grows Usage
• PamFax to the Rescue
• Mashup Champion PamFax Becomes a Full Fax Sending Solution
• PamFax: Sending Faxes via Skype

¹US$ conversions based on current rates (€1.00 = US$1.585) and are subject to currency market changes.

Tags: PamFax, PamConsult, Skype, PayPal, Amazon Payment, Fax Service, Fax

Becomes an Extra Premium; implements major server upgrade.

While email and VoIP technology have changed our communications patterns, it seems that faxing still has its place as a communications mode. The growth of PamFax as a worldwide fax service using Skype’s underlying Skype Extras infrastructure is demonstrable proof.

A key advantage of PamFax is that it works from a Windows-based PC on any Internet connection worldwide and can readily send a fax to any fax terminal worldwide in about five or six simple steps. Amongst its features PamFax can serve as a Windows printer. It can accept input directly from an Office document or scanner. It’s available to use any time that you may need it; there are no upfront payments, subscriptions or registration required.

Since its launch last summer (with a major feature upgrade in late December) this winner of last summer’s Skype Mashup competition has steadily increased its usage to a point that proves that sending faxes is still a robust, widely acceptable, widely used communications tool. In January I had occasion to use it to recover tickets forgotten for an event. Dick Schiferli, CEO at PamFax publisher PamConsult, has provided some interesting numbers that demonstrate the ongoing viability of fax services:

• almost 25,000 users have installed PamFax with over 1,000 new installations per week
• average fax is 1.57 pages
• 58% of users who take advantage of the initial free page offer come back to send at least one more revenue generating fax
• paid faxes are averaging 6.5 pages
• for progress notification, 88% of all faxes use Skype chat while 25% use email (both options can be selected)

Christoph Buenger, CTO at PamConsult and lead developer of PamFax, reports recently in their blog that PamFax has received the “Skype Certified” designation. “:

Now you can be sure that this add-on for Skype does what we promise and is of high quality. The certification-team at Skype did some very intense tests of PamFax and also helped us improving the add-on.

And over the past few days, PamConsult has upgraded the PamFax infrastructure and architecture such that:

• A much larger number of formats (>100) are supported
• Independent clusters are running in both Europe and North America
• Fax processing speed and server availability are improved (the 2-page PamFax referenced in the chat session above was sent out at about 8:35 a.m.)

In a PamNews.com blog post Dick states:

We are coming up to 25.000 PamFax users now and have made some decisions how to further improve the platform. In the past 9 months we have seen some issues we don’t like and which impact performance and/or system flexibility. Users have also been providing excellent and valuable feedback.

In sending the fax referenced in the chat session above to ensure the new setup is working I noticed that PamFax needs to add a time stamp to the date information associated with the fax. This would be necessary for any use by the legal profession or anyone involved in time sensitive transactions.

Much like Skype provides real time communications worldwide agnostic to service providers, HiDef Conferencing from VAPPS provides high quality audio conferencing capabilities worldwide agnostic to service providers, PamFax is growing in its provision of fax services worldwide agnostic to service providers.

PamFax is a Skype Extra that lets you quickly and easily scan and fax a hard copy document or fax a PC-based document to any fax number worldwide.

Not only helpful for the home or small business office but also ideal for road warriors who need to fax documents while traveling from their hotel, an airport lounge or at a coffee shop with Internet access. In fact, it can be used as a road warrior’s printer by “printing” a document to your local hotel’s fax number.

PamFax has three modes of sourcing a document for faxing:

• scan a hard copy document from almost any scanner;
• select a stored document on your PC or
• print a document from within a Windows application with PamFax being the Windows printer.

Costs start at €0.17 (~$0.25) per page and vary by destination country.

Summary from Supplier :

Looking for a simple and inexpensive solution to send your faxes? PamFax has it all:

• Simple to use:
  • Fully integrated with Skype
  • User friendly wizard makes sending a fax a breeze
  • Send faxes from Word/Excel 2003/2007
  • Send faxes from any application by printing to PamFax printer
  • Easy payment with your Skype Credit
  • No upfront payments, no subscriptions, no additional cost, no registration
  • No advertizing on faxes
• SSL secure
• Status notification via Skype Chat, E-Mail and/or SMS
• Many supported file types
• Scanner support. Scan and fax a paper document. Supports multi-feed
• Send a fax to multiple recipients at once
• User portal with fax history and settings
• Download sent faxes as PDF
• Add an optional cover page (several choices)
• Reserve credit for faxing so you can one-click send your fax
• Preview your fax
• See recipient’s location in

Ideal for: Home, Home Office, Small Business, Road Warriors

Publisher’s Expertise and Background: PamConsult has a long history of developing third party applications using the Skype infrastructure.

Contact Information:

• Website : http://www.pamfax.biz
• Phone: n/a
• Forum: PamFax Forum
• Email: Enquiry Form

Products and Services amFax will send faxes from three sources

• A PC-based scanner
• Browse to select a document
• As a Windows printer directly from a Windows application

Requirements:

• Skype: Version 3.x or later
• Platforms: Windows XP/Vista

Product Acccess :

• Skype Extras [Tools | Do More | Get Extras];
• Download

Installation Comments: When installing you will be asked to agree with the license.

Product Description

Pricing: Rates by Destination Zone

While this blog tends to focus on new developments and the role they can play in our future real time conversations, it sometimes pays to look back to see what has been accomplished. For 2007, these are, from my perspective, top ten accomplishments for the Skype ecosystem:

1. eBay CEO Meg Whitman states at an eBay quarterly analyst conference call, “Not enough focus on ‘Delight The User’”. Hopefully this is a high priority guiding principal in the search for a new Skype CEO. Great technology but needs the business development, marketing and leadership skills of a seasoned high technology executive to truly make Skype happen on a world market leader scale. End users need a delightful “total” experience, including user support, adequate and well timed announcement of changes to calling plans, more participation in the blogosphere, higher awareness and broader availability of Skype hardware … and the list goes on.

2. Skype High Quality Video: because it brings a whole new dimension and level of realism to real time conversations. Yes, to take full advantage requires a new webcam with enhanced optics, but my final selection came because of the very positive reaction and response of those whom I converse with and who receive my High Quality Video (Recipients don’t need all the requirements of senders — the past two weeks two parties have observed “my” High Quality Video on their Macs.) A success story involving not only Skype software but also hardware specifications and co-operative device driver development.

3. HD Voice –nobody has called it that specifically but here I pick up a term used to name a Fall VON session. I refer to wideband voice transmission covering a minimum 8Khz audio bandwidth (twice that of conventional telephony). Over the year Skype has been making gradual improvements to the Skype voice engine, including the codecs, such that today most Skype voice conversations can be held with a basic laptop, and no additional headset or microphone (provided one is available in the laptop) is required. Over Christmas I helped my son with a Skype for Mac installation; he made a call yesterday from his home that was very clear using his basic Mac speakers and mic. Each new version of Skype since Skype 3.2 has had some improvements but with Skype 3.6 I am getting many unsolicited comments about how it better handles lower Internet connection bandwidth configurations. And, should you use a headset, such as the FreeTalk Wireless Stereo headset, for, say, personal privacy or office etiquette reasons, you will find your other parties on the call “in your head”. HD Voice received additional support this fall when HiDef Conferencing became equipped with the ability to ensure all Skype participants on a conference call would experience HD Voice quality when conversing with other Skype users on the same call.

4. Mobile Access to Skype. We still don’t have a Skype client for three of the most popular mobile devices (Nokia, Blackberry, iPhone); true mobile VoIP requires not only either WiFi or 3G connectivity but also appropriate wireless network infrastructure to handle the capacity demands VoIP would place on a wireless network. However, we have seen the release of several offerings that provide a combination of an IM client for these platforms along with a protocol that allows easy access to the wireless network to complete a call from a mobile device at reduced costs. These include the 3 Skypephone, IM+ for Skype (even works on not only the iPhone but also iPod Touch), iSkoot and Fring.

5. Skype Developer Partner acquired: Pioneering Skype Developer Partner Webdialogs was acquired by IBM’s Lotus Sametime division in September. Certainly says that with the right technology and offerings there is potential for other Skype developer partners to lead the way to expanding the Voice 2.0 world where applications are the value generator. Question: will IBM’s Lotus Sametime license Skype technology for their own real time conversations capability?

6. Skype Developer Platform. While still requiring web services support to be offering a complete mashup development platform, the Skype Mashup contest and announcement of the Skype Public Platform Roadmap have brought enhanced awareness to this program. Partner PamConsult has led the way in demonstrating, with PamFax, how Skype technology, digital rights management and transaction engine can be combined to offer a carrier independent, worldwide service that requires only a Skype user account, an Internet connection but no additional hardware beyond a basic PC.

7. Disruption Rules: While PamFax can reduce the cost of those $1.00+ per page faxes from hotels, two Skype Partners have introduced products that portend for significant business model disruption:

• OnState’s Call Center brings a “no hardware” solution to the call center space. Whereas a full call center previously required a low six figure investment in a PBX, as well as IT support and other infrastructure, OnState’s Call Center has the cost of a PC for each agent along with a $30 per month per agent ongoing subscription fee with no long term commitments.. Suddenly call centers become viable both for even the smallest business and for remotely located, geographically distributed employees.
• Vapps, Inc.s’ HiDef Conferencing provides hosted business grade conference calling (with HD Voice support as mentioned above) that is robust, reliable, scalable and supports up to 500 participants on a call. For as little as $25 per month to as much as $200 per month you can have 10 to 500 Skype participants with unlimited minutes as well as 300 to 5,000 toll-free minutes for callers from the legacy phone network. Six years ago $200 got me one hour of a five-party conference call. (Jan 2009 Update: HiDef Conferencing has been acquired by Citrix and is offering free trial calling until February 15, 2009.)

8. Innovation Rules. Whereas disruption requires the displacement of legacy business processes, innovation brings new services that allow new, previously unavailable (business) processes to happen:

• For instance, there is a Vosky distributor in Texas who has worked with a local social service agency to provide much more effective counselling services by bringing into the monthly review of “challenged” children’s education the child’s teachers located at the school during a social worker’s monthly visit to parents at home.via Skype conference calling.
• But we also are seeing innovative new services such as Evoca’s Media Service. This involves a hosted “Get a Phone for your Website” audio service that provides for asynchronous voice conversations being used, for instance, by Discovery Channel, with user access from either Skype or a legacy telephone.
• Collaboration: there are three different collaboration services, each addressing its own market niche. I label these services as innovative as they bring entirely new processes to business for both internal and external conversations, especially businesses that are geographically disbursed.

9. Skype Toolbars: For some time Skype has offered toolbars which make Skype calling more readily accessible in common applications such as Outlook, Internet Explorer and Firefox. In fact, the Skype Outlook Toolbar and Firefox extension have both become routine elements of my everyday communications operations. (Remember, I don’t dial phone numbers, I call people with real names.) Two weeks ago, Skype released a new version of the Skype Outlook Toolbar which has optimized Skype-enabled operations within Outlook while eliminating a couple of “nuisance” bugs in the previous version. However, the browser toolbars became embedded into the standard Skype installation but should you elect not to install them, you now have to re-install Skype itself. This is one example where Skype needs to “Delight the User” by restoring the ability to install these Toolbars individually when they were not installed at the time of Skype installation.

10. Skype Public Chats: Since first introduced in May, I have been a participant on several group chats, the most enduring being the Skype 3.x Discussion chat where several Skype enthusiasts share their thoughts and ideas. One interesting aspect of this particular chat is that a few members of the Skype Developer team and Skype PR people monitor the session and, when appropriate and not in conflict with “company policy”, participate in the conversation as well as provide notification about new releases, etc. It was a rather heated discussion on this public chat that lead to this Skype Journal post about restoring a “geek” feature buried in Skype related to Skype video. Another Public Chat was open during the beta testing of the Skype Outlook Toolbar; no doubt its input, and ability to bring out common issues, contributed to the robustness of the newly released Skype Outlook Toolbar.

11. (I can’t stop at 10): And for the 11th accomplishment: Skype Technology Licensing: In my recent interview with Sten Tamkivi, GM of Skype Estonia (a detailed post to follow), he mentioned that Skype is migrating its development focus to becoming a platform developer from simply a client and services developer. In addition to a platform for Partners (discussed above), the recent licensing to MySpace is the first in the series of what they hope becomes Skype infrastructure technology licensing deals with other services as their route into, say, providing social networking infrastructure.

From my perspective these have been the top accomplishment within the Skype ecosystem in 2007. It has resulted in a cost effective conversation ecosystem that has no equal amongst VoIP service providers. However, this ecosystem is not near demonstrating its full potential; hopefully eBay will announce a new CEO soon who captain the ship into providing a “delightful user experience” at full sail.

Next: My projections for 2008. Related “Skype Primer” posts:

• A Backgrounder
• Enabling Real Time Communications
• Skype Hardware – If and When Available
• Skype’s Extras Gallery and Developer Partner Program
• Mobile Conversations

Tags: Skype, eBay, Meg Whitman, High Quality Video, HD Voice, Skype Developer Program, OnState, Evoca, PamFax, Convenos, Yugma, Unyte, PamConsult, Skype Public Chat, MySpace, HighSpeedConferencing.com, FreeTalk Wireless Stereo Headset, Vosky, Skype Outlook Toolbar, IBM Lotus Sametime

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… adds scanning and print driver features for sending faxes worldwide.

Back in August PamConsult, publishers of the Pamela universal Skype utility with call recording, conversation archiving, message personalization and audio emoticons, entered the Skype Mashup competition with their beta release of PamFax. At the time PamFax would allow you to select a (Word or PDF) document and fax it to any destination. At the Prague developer event in September PamFax was announced as the worldwide winner of the (first?) Skype Mashup Competition. Dick Schiferli at PamConsult reports that PamFax has been quite busy delivering faxes for Skype users since the September launch.

Today PamConsult has released a gold edition of PamFax which adds two important new features:

• the ability to scan a document from any Windows-compatible scanner for faxing, and
• a PamFax print driver which allows you to select PamFax as a printer and turns every fax machine worldwide into a potential printer for your Windows print operation.

I have been beta testing the new edition of PamFax with three scanners: a 5-year-old HP4470C, a 7-year old HP OfficeJet T45 and a one-year old Lexmark 8350 over the past few weeks. It is safe to report that, after several iterations, PamFax now works flawlessly with these scanners or multi-function devices. PamConsult has also been running beta tests with several other parties to obtain feedback on a wide range of scanners. (I think the HP4470C and its siblings presented the biggest challenge but now they work fine.)

PamFax installs as a Skype Extra. Initially you will have to download it from the PamFax website; the released gold version (1.0.0.29) should appear in the Skype Extras within a few weeks. My only caveat: after installing PamFax reboot your PC to ensure that all the “appropriate association” between PamFax, the scanner(s) and Skype are properly established. You can then launch PamFax from the Skype Extras menus, a desktop icon or as a Printer for any Windows application.

To quickly review PamFax:

• is a web-based program accessed via a Skype Extras client
• has three document source modes: Wiindows document, scanner and printer driver
• allows optional selection of cover page
• uses Skype Credits, via the Skype Extras transaction engine, for payments
  • there is now an alternative for USA-based suers to use Amazon payments
• delivers fax status notification via Skype chat, e-mail and/or SMS
• provides a user portal for tracking fax activities
• has SSL security
• is totally ad hoc: no upfront payments, no subscriptions, no registration
• is added to the Windows Explorer “Send To” menu as “PamFax Recipient”

While, for cost reasons, I will probably continue to use my home office fax machine for sending scanned documents within North America I can see using PamFax for faxing documents:

• to destinations outside North America
• from remote “road warrior” locations: hotels, customer offices, coffee shops, airports, or any available WiFi access point
  • locations that have been charging $1.00 per page or more.

PamFax has become another disruptive communications application that, like Skype itself, transcends specific carriers and eliminates geographical restrictions and physical barriers to sending faxes. And, as one who has never mastered the complexities of WinFax, PamFax provides a much easier, more user friendly “faxing from anywhere” solution.

Tags: Skype, PamFax, Skype Extras, PamConsult, Pamela, Dick Schiferli

A post a few days ago, The Dawn of the Mashup World: Part Ia: What is a Mashup, generated a heated discussion on the Skype Mashup Group Chat. Also a few comments. Glad to get some feedback onto Skype Journal; thanks Don and Thomas. (And congratulations to Don Kennedy for having MyToGo selected by ProgrammableWeb.com as August’s Best New Mashup.)

Having monitored the discussion and been involved as a judge in the Skype Mashup competition, my criteria for a mashup are:

1. An solution to a user or business problem that
2. Marries two or more otherwise independent technology platforms or technology services and
3. Makes use of both the technology craftsperson’s unique toolkit mix and his/her experience
4. To satisfy an otherwise unfulfilled user or business process need.

In the course of this exercise I took the opportunity to ask a few developers what they used for delivering their solution. For instance, the iotum team combined the Facebook API’s, Ruby on Rails, the Active MQ framework and an interface to the conference bridge to create their Free Conference Call mashup for Facebook.

In judging the Skype mashup contest I also learned a lot about the wide experience range of mashup developers. Many have excellent experience and development process skills while others forgot some basics such as testing their install and registration procedures and/or their software in a user environment. Some looked at the business or user need while others failed to realize that the world does not need another social networking platform. Ideally mashups are an opportunity to leverage the large user base of a Skype, eBay or Facebook! in meeting an unfulfilled niche user need.

The PamConsult team created PamFax to solve the problem of providing a very simple process (especially relative to the somewhat cumbersome WinFax) of using the Internet to easily fax an MS Office document anywhere worldwide. The primary Skype feature here has nothing to do with voice; they used the Skype Extras publishing platform not only to install the application but also as a transaction processor for collecting revenues for the service using Skype credits. Skype Chat is used to send notifications re a fax’s delivery. In addition they developed a web-based portal to manage and archive your use of the service. The application can be launched from the Skype Extras menu or from within MS Excel or MS Word. A link to Google Maps will also show roughly where the fax is being sent (to within an Area Code).

PamConsult married the Google Maps API’s, Microsoft Office COM objects and a backend fax API with their long term experience using the Skype API’s. They started a year ago this summer with development of specifications; coding commenced in January with an initial version available in May. After a beta testing program in July, PamFax was released as a Skype Extra in the second week of August.

In the course of this process their CTO attended the Skype Developer Conference in Boston in June where there were several sessions on the Skype Extras program, including one on the Skype Extras publishing platform. And it was developed during a period when PamConsult was also developing and releasing new versions of Pamela, Skype for Salesforce.com and some eBay utilities.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect to me was the simplicity of the process. For years I fought with WinFax to have a means to send faxes from a PC (although many new Internet technologies have in the interim reduced the need for faxing). As an initial test I sent myself a fax via PamFax and was somewhat surprised that (i) I had completed the process in so few steps and (ii) I did not need the overhead of installing a printer driver to make it work. Find or create the document, insert the fax number, select a cover page and enter any cover page message, arrange payment and the fax is delivered. Serves a niche need within a small mashup application marrying multiple technology platforms. From the PamFax website:

Simple to use:

• Fully integrated with Skype
• User friendly wizard makes sending a fax a breeze
• Send faxes from Word/Excel 2003/2007
• Easy payment with your Skype Credit
• No upfront payments, no subscriptions, no additional cost, no registration

That last line is one example of why mashups can be so readily accepted; it’s there when you need it but you have no ongoing commitment to use it with any regularity.

Well, last night at the Skype Developer Evening in Prague, Czech Republic, PamFax received the award as the best European Skype mashup. In a Skype chat interview this morning with Dick Schiferli, Founder and CEO of PamConsult, he stated:

“We are very excited to be the winner with PamFax. Using PamFax to fax with Skype is a great solution because you can pay with your Skype credit. And its very easy to use. We enjoy working with Skype and plan to further expand our solution suite.”

You can download PamFax via the Skype Extras [Tools | Do More | Get Extras | Business], the Skype Extras website and also at the PamFax website. Give it a try; the first fax sent is on Pamela.

Tags: Skype, PamFax, PamConsult, Skype Extras, Pamela, Skype for Salesforce.com, PamBot, Skype Developer Program, iotum, mashups, Skype Mashup Competition, Dick Schiferli

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Salesforce.com has been an ongoing web application success story over the past few years. Securely accessing an individual enterprise’s customer database on-demand from the web and promoted largely through viral customer adoption, I have encountered many enterprises who have come to rely on Salesforce.com as their primary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. It is a classic in terms of how it allows businesses of all sizes to manage their customer database without the hassles of dealing with IT management while adopting to the individual enterprise’s business rules and building a secure archive of the enterprise’s sales and support activities. From their own company website:

Why? Perhaps it’s because we deliver integrated, completely customizable enterprise applications for companies of all sizes. Or maybe it’s because Salesforce is so easy to learn and use, and thanks to the power of the on-demand Apex platform, it can be up and running in weeks or days—not the months or years required by traditional client/server CRM software. Or it could be the unprecedented speed with which our customers see real, tangible ROI. Or maybe it’s because of our 100-percent dedication to the success of our customers.

Today Skype and Salesforce.com issued a press release announcing:

“the availability of a new version of Skype for Salesforce via salesforce.com’s AppExchange. Skype for Salesforce provides seamless Skype integration into Salesforce on-demand CRM applications and aims to improve workforce productivity and to streamline customer and partner communication.”

Skype for Salesforce enables real time customer conversations via:

• Skype-to-Skype and Skype-to-SkypeOut voice calls; the latter optionally using Skype Unlimited Calling within North America or Skype Pro in Europe and Asia
• Receiving calls via SkypeIn
• Embedding Skype presence indicators into Salesforce
• Text chat with customers and prospects using Skype IM
• Conference calls for up to ten participants involving any combination of Skype and non-Skype users.

Skype for Salesforce was developed by Skype Partner PamConsult, the publishers of the very popular Pamela personal digital assistant for Skype. Extracting from the Salesforce.com AppExchange description:

Skype for Salesforce offers you full Skype functionality in your Salesforce screen. You will see the online status of your Skype contacts, you will be able to call them with one click and also receive calls. For received calls with caller ID, Salesforce automatically retrieves the record of that person so you are prepared when you take the call.

You may also import your Skype contact list. This allows for easy Skype calling from Salesforce.

Conference calls are also supported and allow you to easily, directly from Salesforce, start a conference call with a few clicks.

and concludes with

We also plan to release a (commercial) Premium version with added functionality like call recording, call transfer,

With Salesforce.com’s over 646,000 subscribers at over 29,800 companies, Skype for Salesforce represents one more viral step towards building Skype adoption, especially in the SMB market. More to follow after interviews with some of the principals involved.

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To: Meg Whitman,
CEO, eBay

That was quite the quarterly report; lots of good news. Congratulations to the entire eBay team (including Skype, of course). But there is the Skype monetization issue to address. Following up on my other post Wednesday, I think I found one way to contribute to this while at CES. Bottom line: it can bring in more Skype registrations of eBay members (@ $0.38 Skype revenue per account per quarter), increase the fun and enthusiasm associated with participating in eBay auctions while minimizing desktop real estate and probably is the most virally intuitive way to justify the Skype acquisition.

In Wednesday’s post I drew attention to the eBay Tab for Skype available for eBay U.S. members. It has significant usability issues and definitely results in a negative user experience. You mentioned in the analyst conference call Wednesday that priorities for 2007 include a focus on improving the user experience and experimenting with Skype to increase the fun and excitement associated with an auction. (BTW, Jordan Banks, Managing Director for Canada, at a presentation in Toronto last night, reinforced that theme when he talked about the importance of understanding user behavior and finding an action point within 2 clicks.)

One of your eBay and Skype developer partners, Germany-based PamConsult, has already developed a solution. (Their Pamela-Systems Call Recorder is ranked third in terms of Skype Extras Downloads.) In fact, their eBay Skype Tab has been licensed by eBay Germany, eBay France and eBay U.K. Based on the slide show of screen shots below enhanced by an accompanying video and a discussion with one of the principles of PamConsult at CES, their eBay Tab for Skype:

• provides a positive user experience,
• allows an eBay member to carry out ALL their major eBay activities within a Skype Tab and
• basically elevates their eBay activity to the level of Skype IM activity within the Skype client both in terms of delivering real time information and creating a truly interactive experience
• has the potential to virally drive Skype subscriptions by eBay members.

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The user experience provided by this version of an eBay Skype Tab brings to the table:

• a user login that is accessible and visible — note the same screen also shows the day’s top auctions
• an eBay search capability for logged-in members
• complete item descriptions with the Tab itself (no need to open a web browser)
• a bid confirmation screen
• real time notification of the upcoming end of an auction
• options for user determined parameters
• as well as access to My eBay
• appeals directly to both buyers and sellers (whereas SkypeMe buttons are targeted at sellers to install on their listings)

To provide a more real time experience (pardon the German but you get the flavor):

Bottom line is that all eBay members can participate interactively in the full eBay auction process within the Skype client, obtain real time information and switch quickly between eBay and Skype activities. Did I mention it also saves on desktop real estate? And, most importantly, it has viral potential.

Merging and integrating acquisitions is not trivial; been there, participated in that! But, aside from generating more revenue for both Skype and eBay, this situation demonstrates: the developers of a product must be passionate about what they are doing. The Pamela team understands both eBay and Skype infrastructure as well as the Skype and eBay user cultures in a way that would take months if not years for an internal synergy between eBay and Skype to develop. (I have had experience with situations where “big” companies thought they could do a better job than a dedicated solution provider on an infrastructure task and eventually came back to the solution provider to get the job done right.) And it did not go unnoticed that this solution has been licensed by the two eBay European subsidiaries whom you highlighted in the analyst conference call Wednesday.

Let me do a calculation associated with monetization: Skype generates $0.38 per registered account per quarter (~$1.52 per year). With 97 million eBay U.S. members that represents a minimum sustainable market size of $148 million for Skype. Now, if one could just raise the revenue per registered account! Or considering the North American Unlimited Plan, at $29.95 per year, the market size to consider booms to over $1.4B!

BTW, PamConsult was participating in the AMD booth demonstrating eBay auctions through an ATI set top box via the Windows Media shell within Windows Vista. Imagine eBay auctions for the SuperBowl championship clothing immediately after the game!

Have a great Weekend-Before-SuperBowl!

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