Patent ID: 7913260

Claim:
A data communication apparatus comprising: an input unit configured to input data to be transmitted; a first transmitting unit operable to transmit the input data according to a first transmission protocol, wherein the first transmitting unit transmits the input data in a batch to more than one destination, if the first transmitting unit is instructed to transmit the input data to the more than one destination; a second transmitting unit operable to transmit the input data according to a second transmission protocol, wherein the second transmitting unit transmits the input data one-by-one to more than one destination, if the second transmitting unit is instructed to transmit the input data to the more than one destination; a designating unit that designates a plurality of destinations to which the input data is to be transmitted, the plurality of destinations including more than one destination associated with the first transmission protocol and more than one destination associated with the second transmission protocol; and a control unit that issues a first instruction to the first transmitting unit, the first instruction causing the first transmitting unit to transmit the input data in a batch to the more than one destination associated with the first transmission protocol among the plurality of destinations designated by the designation unit, and that issues a second instruction to the second transmitting unit, the second instruction causing the second transmitting unit to transmit the input data one-by-one to the more than one destination associated with the second transmission protocol among the plurality of destinations designated by the designation unit, wherein the first instruction is issued independently of a status of transmission processing by the second transmitting unit, and the second instruction is issued independently of a status of transmission processing by the first transmitting unit.