J2 Global

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]

J2 Global, Inc.
TypePublic
Nasdaq: JCOM
IndustryDigital Media
Cloud Computing
FoundedDecember 1995 (1995-12) (as JFax)
FounderJaye Muller
Jack Rieley
Successor
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Area served
United States (holding)
Worldwide (subsidiaries)
Key people
Richard Ressler
(Chairman)
Vivek Shah
(CEO)
Scott Turicchi
(President & CFO)
Nate Simmons
(President, Cloud Services)
Steve Horowitz
(President, Ziff Davis)
Dan Stone
(President, Everyday Health Group)
ServiceseFax
eVoice
Onebox
KeepItSafe
FuseMail
Campaigner
VIPRE
Livedrive
SMTP
SugarSync
Speedtest
RevenueIncrease US$1.372 billion (2019)[1]
Increase US$277.08 million (2019)[1]
Increase US$218.81 million (2019)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$3.505 billion (2019)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$1.311 billion (2019)[1]
Number of employees
over 4,000 (2020)[2]
DivisionsBusiness Cloud Services
SubsidiariesExcel Micro
Salesify
SMTP
VIPRE
IPVanish
StrongVPN
Websitej2global.com

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]

The founders of JFAX, Jaye Muller (l) and Jack Rieley (r) with Muller's brother Kai in the middle in their first office on Lafayette Street in New York in 1996.

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, 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.[22]

On December 6, 2010, MyFax announced that it had been acquired by J2 Global Communications, Inc, owners of eFax.[23]

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.[24] A program has been released that allows for iPhone and BlackBerry applications to make it fully compatible with smartphones.[25]

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.[26]

Reviews

Before its acquisition by J2 Global, MyFax had received a few favorable reviews[27] including an Internet Telephony magazine product of the year for 2009.[28]

StrongVPN

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

History

It was founded in 2005 and is one of the oldest VPN services.[29] It was acquired by J2 Global in 2019 from its former owner StackPath.[30]

Features

It supports various protocols, including IPsec, OpenVPN and WireGuard.[31]

Reception

ZDNet considered StrongVPN "A clear and easy-to-use VPN ideal for coffee shop use".[31] Meanwhile, Tom's Hardware considered it strong and simple, but noted the lack of information on its no-log policy.[32] PC World considered it "a good VPN for most people".[33]

Logging policy

StrongVPN has not directly answered questions about logging, but they are able to match an IP address to a customer.[34]

Awards

Litigation

J2 Global has filed patent litigation cases against several companies, including CallWave,[37] Comodo, EasyLink Services International Corporation,[38] 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.[39]

References
  1. "J2 Global Inc. 2019 Form 10K". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  2. "About Ziff Davis - Ziff Davis".
  3. "j2 Global Communications Hoovers Overview". Hoovers www.hoovers.com. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  4. "The Fax Of Business Life". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  5. http://investor.j2global.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=197687 Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine 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. "j2 Global Communications, Inc. Becomes J2 Global, Inc". Yahoo News - finance.yahoo.com.com. 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  7. "j2 Global Acquires Ziff Davis, Inc". 2012-11-12. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  8. "IGN Entertainment Sold to J2 Global". 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  9. "j2 Global Acquires MetroFax". 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  10. "j2 Acquires Dutch Online Backup Business Backup Connect BV". 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  11. "j2 Global Acquires UK-Based Phone Number Provider City Numbers". Yahoo! Finance. 6 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  12. "j2 Global Acquires Livedrive; j2's Online Backup Annualized Monthly Run-Rate Exceeds $40M". Yahoo! Finance. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  13. "j2 Global Acquires Australian Companies OzeFax and Faxmate". Yahoo! Finance. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  14. VCPost Staff Reporter (21 November 2013). "Ziff Davis acquires TechBargains.com". Venture Capital Post. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  15. "j2 Global Acquires UK Email Security and Management Business Critical Software Ltd". Yahoo! Finance. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  16. "Tech Giant J2 Global's NetProtect Acquires SaferVPN". www.top10vpn.com. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  17. Sumagaysay, Levi. "J2 Global to split into two publicly traded companies". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  18. "J2 Global board approves spin-off, announces record date (NASDAQ:ZD) | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  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. "Protus Launches MyFax, an Internet-based Fax Service for SOHO Market". protus.com. May 20, 2004. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved 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. 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
  23. "j2 Global Acquires Protus IP Solutions, Inc.". December 6, 2010. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  24. "Online Fax Service Award Winning Features". MyFax.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  25. "Best Free Fax App for iPhone". gmail to fax. 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  26. "MyFax - Customer Agreement". Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  27. "MyFax Review 2016 | Good & Bad of MyFax". 2016-07-09. Archived from the original on 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  28. "MyFax and my1voice Receive INTERNET TELEPHONY® Magazine's Product of the Year Award". MyFax.com. February 22, 2010. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  29. Khan, Mohammad Taha; DeBlasio, Joe; Voelker, Geoffrey M.; Snoeren, Alex C.; Kanich, Chris; Vallina-Rodriguez, Narseo (2018-10-31). "An Empirical Analysis of the Commercial VPN Ecosystem". Proceedings of the Internet Measurement Conference 2018. New York, NY, USA: ACM. pp. 443–456. doi:10.1145/3278532.3278570. ISBN 978-1-4503-5619-0.
  30. Athow, Desire (7 May 2019). "IGN owner J2 Global snaps up major VPN brands". TechRadar.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  31. Gewirtz, David (September 16, 2019). "StrongVPN review: A clear and easy-to-use VPN ideal for coffee shop use". ZDNet.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  32. Fadilpašić, Sead (July 24, 2019). "StrongVPN Review: Strong and Simple". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  33. Paul, Ian (June 11, 2018). "StrongVPN review: A good VPN service for rookies". PC World. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  34. Ziccardi, Giovanni (2013). Resistance, liberation technology and human rights in the digital age. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 184. ISBN 978-94-007-5276-4. OCLC 812452659.
  35. "j2 Global, Inc. Once Again Ranked Among Top Technology Innovators by InformationWeek". finance.yahoo.com. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  36. Robehmed, Natalie (2013-10-09). "Darwin's Digital Darlings: How These Web 1.0 Companies Survived And Thrived". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  37. "j2 Global Files Patent Infringement Suit Against CallWave, Inc".
  38. "j2 Global Files Patent Infringement Suits Against Protus IP Solutions, Inc, Captaris, Inc. and EasyLink Services International Corporation".
  39. "J2 GLOBAL, INC. - FORM 10-K - February 23, 2010".
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