J2 Global Explained

J2 Global, Inc.
Type:Public
Traded As:NASDAQ:
Industry:Digital Media
Cloud Computing
Founded: (as JFax)
Founder:Jaye Muller
Jack Rieley
Area Served:United States (holding)
Worldwide (subsidiaries)
Key People:Richard Ressler

Vivek Shah

Scott Turicchi

Nate Simmons

Steve Horowitz

Dan Stone
Services:eFax
eVoice
Onebox
KeepItSafe
FuseMail
Campaigner
VIPRE
Livedrive
SMTP
SugarSync
Speedtest
Revenue: (2019)[1]
Net Income: US$218.81 million (2019)
Assets: US$3.505 billion (2019)
Equity: US$1.311 billion (2019)
Num Employees:over 4,000 (2020)[2]
Divisions:Business Cloud Services
Subsid:Excel Micro
Salesify
SMTP
VIPRE
IPVanish
StrongVPN

J2 Global, Inc. was an American technology holding company based in Los Angeles, California. The company provided Internet services through two divisions: Business Cloud Services and Digital Media.[3]

History

J2 Global was founded in December 1995 as JFax.com by Jaye Muller and Jack Rieley.[4] The company changed its registered name to J2 Global Communications, Inc. in August 2000,[5] and again to J2 Global on December 7, 2011, dropping "Communications" from its official name to reflect "…expansion from phone-number-centric services…into complementary lines of non-phone-number-centric services."[6]

On November 12, 2012, J2 Global launched its digital media division with the acquisition of digital publisher Ziff Davis for $167 million in cash.[7] On February 4, 2013, J2 Global acquired IGN Entertainment from News Corporation.[8] Terms of the IGN acquisition were not publicized.

On March 18, 2013, the company announced it had acquired MetroFax, a Bellevue, Washington, provider of Internet faxing services.[9] On April 17, 2013, the company acquired Backup Connect BV, a Dutch provider of online backup services.[10] On 19 November 2013, its media division Ziff Davis announced it acquired electronics aggregating website TechBargain.com.

In February 2014, J2 Global announced the acquisition of several companies: City Numbers, a UK-based worldwide provider of inbound toll-free numbers in over 80 countries;[11] Livedrive, a UK-based provider of online backup;[12] and Australian companies OzeFax and Faxmate.[13] On 3 April[14] 2014 J2 Global announced that it acquired Business Critical Software (also known as iCritical), a UK-based email security and management company.[15] In July 2019, J2 Global acquired the SaferVPN brand, bringing its total number of consumer VPN services to five.[16]

In April 2021, J2 Global announced its intent to spin off part of its cloud services business as a new publicly traded company known as Consensus, with the remainder of the company (consisting primarily of its media assets) being retained under the J2 Global name.[17] It was later announced that J2 Global would be renamed Ziff Davis Inc. upon its completion of the spin-off: the transaction was approved by J2 Global's board in September 2021.[18]

Brands and subsidiaries

The company operates two divisions; the "Business Cloud Services" division includes firms such as eFax, Onebox, eVoice, VIPRE, FuseMail, Campaigner, KeepItSafe, VaultLogix, Callstream, Yotta280, Mailout Interactive, GDV, BackUp Solutions, SugarSync, Nuvotera, UnityFax, Firstway Digital, Excel Micro, Web24 Group, MXSweep, City Numbers, IPVanish, Livedrive, Moz, MetroFax, FoneBox, TrustFax, RapidFax, Send2Fax, SFax, SRFax, and Fax.com. The company's digital media division, Ziff Davis, includes brands such as Mashable, PCMag, IGN and Everyday Health.

MyFax

MyFax is an Internet business communication tool which had been provided by the Ottawa-based software company Protus IP Solutions.[19] On December 6, 2010, MyFax announced that it had been acquired by J2 Global Communications, Inc.

History

MyFax was launched by Protus IP Solutions in 2009 as an alternative to fax machines, as it enables users to send and receive faxes from any location.[20] MyFax has grown to over 400,000 subscribers,[21] with approximately 20,000 new customers subscribing to the service each month.[19]

On December 6, 2010, MyFax announced that it had been acquired by J2 Global Communications, Inc, owners of eFax.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: J2 Global Inc. 2019 Form 10K . United States Securities and Exchange Commission . 2020-03-02 . 2024-03-18.
  2. Web site: About Ziff Davis . 2024-03-18.
  3. Web site: j2 Global Communications, Inc. . Hoovers www.hoovers.com . 2011-12-13 . 2024-03-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120115023414/http://www.hoovers.com/company/j2_Global_Communications_Inc/hjykif-1.html . 2012-01-15.
  4. Web site: The Fax Of Business Life . 2023-04-13 . Forbes . 2004-02-04.
  5. Web site: JFAX.COM Evolves to Become j2 Global Communications; Company is Launching New Business Services, New Website, and New Name. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230030/http://investor.j2global.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=197687. 2000-08-10 . 2013-12-02 . J2 Press Release: JFAX.COM Evolves to Become J2 Global Communications; Company is Launching New Business Services, New Website, and New Name. August 10, 2000, Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
  6. Web site: j2 Global Communications, Inc. Becomes J2 Global, Inc. . Ziff-Davis . 2011-12-07 . 2024-03-18.
  7. News: j2 Global Acquires Ziff Davis, Inc. . 2012-11-12 . 2024-03-18.
  8. News: IGN Entertainment Sold to J2 Global . 2013-02-04 . 2024-03-18 . Erik . Kain.
  9. News: j2 Global Acquires MetroFax . 2013-03-18 . 2024-03-18.
  10. News: j2 Acquires Dutch Online Backup Business Backup Connect BV . 2013-04-17 . 2024-03-18.
  11. Web site: j2 Global Acquires UK-Based Phone Number Provider City Numbers . Yahoo! Finance . 6 February 2014. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006072142/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/j2-global-acquires-uk-based-130000917.html. 2014-10-06. dead.
  12. Web site: j2 Global Acquires Livedrive; j2's Online Backup Annualized Monthly Run-Rate Exceeds $40M. Yahoo! Finance. 10 February 2014. 30 September 2014.
  13. Web site: j2 Global Acquires Australian Companies OzeFax and Faxmate. Yahoo! Finance. 11 February 2014. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006162641/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/j2-global-acquires-australian-companies-130000877.html. 2014-10-06. dead.
  14. Web site: Ziff Davis acquires TechBargains.com. Venture Capital Post. 21 November 2013. 30 September 2014. VCPost Staff Reporter.
  15. Web site: j2 Global Acquires UK Email Security and Management Business Critical Software Ltd.. Yahoo! Finance. 3 April 2014. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006105201/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/j2-global-acquires-uk-email-115900428.html. 2014-10-06. dead.
  16. Web site: Tech Giant J2 Global's NetProtect Acquires SaferVPN. www.top10vpn.com. 25 July 2019 . en. 2019-08-20.
  17. Web site: Sumagaysay. Levi. J2 Global to split into two publicly traded companies. 2022-02-24. MarketWatch. EN-US.
  18. Web site: J2 Global board approves spin-off, announces record date (NASDAQ:ZD) Seeking Alpha. 2022-02-24. seekingalpha.com. 22 September 2021 . en.
  19. 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Awards - Tmcnet.com, http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0210/2009-internet-telephony-product-of-the-year-awards.htm
  20. Web site: protus.com. Protus Launches MyFax, an Internet-based Fax Service for SOHO Market. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110715124537/http://www.protus.com/company/news_room/release.asp?r=115. May 20, 2004. July 15, 2011. December 2, 2010.
  21. Putting 400,000 Subscribers into Perspective - Inside MyFax blog, http://blog.myfax.com/2009/11/putting-400000-subscribers-into.html
  22. Web site: MyFax.com. Online Fax Service Award Winning Features. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100206131525/http://www.myfax.com/features.aspx. February 6, 2010. December 2, 2010.
  23. Web site: 2020-10-20 . Best Free Fax App for iPhone . 2023-04-13 . gmail to fax . en-US.
  24. Web site: MyFax - Customer Agreement. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120610040446/http://www.myfax.com/legal/terms.aspx. June 10, 2012. October 31, 2014.
  25. Web site: 2016-07-09 . MyFax Review 2016 Good & Bad of MyFax . 2023-07-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160709213516/http://faxing-service-review.toptenreviews.com/myfax-review.html . 2016-07-09 .
  26. Web site: MyFax.com. MyFax and my1voice Receive INTERNET TELEPHONY® Magazine's Product of the Year Award. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100817165803/http://www.myfax.com/about/news-room/release.aspx?r=358. February 22, 2010. August 17, 2010. December 3, 2010.
  27. Web site: How We Started . 2022-09-02 . 2024-03-18 . Vladimir . Malygin . StrongVPN.com.
  28. Book: Khan. Mohammad Taha. DeBlasio. Joe. Voelker. Geoffrey M.. Snoeren. Alex C.. Kanich. Chris. Vallina-Rodriguez. Narseo. Proceedings of the Internet Measurement Conference 2018 . An Empirical Analysis of the Commercial VPN Ecosystem . 2018-10-31. 443–456. New York, NY, USA. ACM. 10.1145/3278532.3278570. 978-1-4503-5619-0. free.
  29. Web site: Athow. Desire. IGN owner J2 Global snaps up major VPN brands. live. TechRadar.com. 7 May 2019 . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20190507162850/https://www.techradar.com/news/ign-owner-j2-global-snaps-up-major-vpn-brands. May 7, 2019. June 14, 2021.
  30. Web site: Gewirtz. David. StrongVPN review: A clear and easy-to-use VPN ideal for coffee shop use. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303092531/https://www.zdnet.com/article/strongvpn-review-a-clear-and-easy-to-use-vpn-ideal-for-coffee-shop-use. September 16, 2019. March 3, 2020. June 14, 2021. ZDNet.com. en.
  31. Web site: Sead. Fadilpašić. StrongVPN Review: Strong and Simple. July 24, 2019. June 14, 2021. Tom's Hardware. en.
  32. Web site: StrongVPN review: A good VPN service for rookies. https://web.archive.org/web/20200919191801/https://www.pcworld.com/article/3269191/strongvpn-vpn-review.html. live. June 11, 2018. September 19, 2020. June 14, 2021. PC World. en. Ian. Paul.
  33. Book: Ziccardi, Giovanni. Resistance, liberation technology and human rights in the digital age. 2013. Springer. 978-94-007-5276-4. Dordrecht. 184. 812452659.
  34. Web site: j2 Global, Inc. Once Again Ranked Among Top Technology Innovators by InformationWeek. 2021-09-05. finance.yahoo.com. 12 September 2012 . en-US.
  35. Web site: Darwin's Digital Darlings: How These Web 1.0 Companies Survived And Thrived. Forbes. 2013-10-09. 2022-03-11. Robehmed, Natalie.
  36. Web site: j2 Global Files Patent Infringement Suit Against CallWave, Inc..
  37. Web site: j2 Global Files Patent Infringement Suits Against Protus IP Solutions, Inc, Captaris, Inc. and EasyLink Services International Corporation.
  38. Web site: J2 GLOBAL, INC. - FORM 10-K - February 23, 2010.
  39. Web site: j2 Global Acquires Protus IP Solutions, Inc.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228102615/http://www.myfax.com/about/news-room/release.aspx?r=404|date=December 6, 2010|archive-date=December 28, 2010|access-date=March 18, 2013}}

    Features

    MyFax includes the ability to send and receive faxes by email and through the internet, as well as send faxes directly from Microsoft Office

    ], Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Windows-based applications including Google Docs, OpenOffice.org, and Intuit QuickBooks.[22] A program has been released that allows for iPhone and BlackBerry applications to be fully compatible with smartphones.[23]

    MyFax is now owned by J2 Global, which has imposed very restrictive terms and conditions restricting the client's right to local number portability. Among the restrictions is a $40 US charge per number if J2 permits the number to be ported out; the company imposes many arbitrary restrictions on portability and has attempted to claim the numbers as its own property, in some cases imposing inflated penalties and unilaterally taking numbers back after they've been ported to another provider by clients.[24]

    Reviews

    Before its acquisition by J2 Global, MyFax had received a few favorable reviews[25] including an Internet Telephony magazine product of the year for 2009.[26]

    StrongVPN

    StrongVPN is a commercial VPN service owned by J2 Global and was founded in 2005.[27]

    History

    It was founded in 2005 and is one of the oldest VPN services.[28] It was acquired by J2 Global in 2019 from its former owner StackPath.[29]

    Features

    It supports various protocols, including IPsec, OpenVPN and WireGuard.

    Reception

    ZDNet considered StrongVPN "A clear and easy-to-use VPN ideal for coffee shop use".[30] Meanwhile, Tom's Hardware considered it strong and simple but noted the lack of information on its no-log policy.[31] PC World considered it "a good VPN for most people".[32]

    Logging policy

    StrongVPN has not directly answered questions about logging, but they are able to match an IP address to a customer.[33]

    Awards

    Litigation

    J2 Global has filed patent litigation cases against several companies, including CallWave,[36] Comodo, EasyLink Services International Corporation,[37] OpenText, Packetel, Protus, Venali and Zayo Group. Some of the companies filed counterclaims, some of which alleged antitrust violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act and California's Business and Professions Code §§ 16720 and 17200.[38]

    External links

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "J2 Global".

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