Acknowledgement tracking and automatic faxing system of edi transactions

Abstract

A method and apparatus for performing reliable data transfer operations over a global computer network are provided. This is accomplished by transmitting data stored on a first computer system connected to the global computer network to a second computer system connected to the global computer network, sending a receipt acknowledgment signal to the first computer system when the data is received on the second computer system, monitoring acknowledgment signals received by the first computer system, and automatically transmitting the data via facsimile if the receipt of the data is not acknowledged within a predetermined time period. In addition, a paging signal is automatically transmitted to a the business partner to indicate that the data has been transferred by facsimile. Unlike prior art techniques, in which data transfers are performed in batch off-line, embodiments of the invention allow for secure data transfer operations to be performed on-line in real-time. In addition, since a global computer network is utilized, there is no need to maintain a dedicated communication line between the first and the second computer systems, but rather a single network connection can be used by the first and the second computer systems to communicate with any number of computer systems connected to the global computer network.