Find the Right Managed File Transfer Solution for Your Business

With data coming in abundance, organizations need to manage their data flows, convert the data into files and share these files quickly and securely. To do so, a good workload automation software solution with workload scheduling, managed file transfer, and real-time monitoring capabilities is essential.

Transferring files and data among team members and other stakeholders is a necessary step in the business process for any company. The average company transfers thousands of files daily, and file transfers represent an integral part of jobs scheduled through any workload automation software. To keep up with its evolving business requirements, any company that works with IT should ensure quick and secure information sharing.

Although many other file transfer and sharing methods exist, managed file transfer solutions have recently gained popularity. The best-managed file transfer software programs are discussed here, along with information on secure managed file transfer and its features.

What is Managed File Transfer?

A reliable and effective method to secure file transfer is managed file transfer or MFT. Before delivering your file or data to the recipient, MFT programs secure it using Open PGP, AES ciphers, or other protocols.

MFT is regarded as superior to other file transfer protocols and methods – such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), and file transfer protocol (FTP) – and is appropriate for transferring sensitive, high-volume, or compliance-protected data.

Retail, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, telecommunication, and insurance companies generally prefer this strategy over alternative technologies.

What are the benefits of Managed File Transfer (MFT)?

Enterprise file transfer methods like managed file transfers (MFT) benefit businesses of all types. However, while most MFT benefits apply to all kinds of companies and organizations, some may only be relevant to your industry or to your specific requirements.

1. Better cybersecurity

Every organization places a high priority on data protection. Organizations have a strong motivation to ensure that information remains in the right hands – whether it’s user data, credit card information, or sensitive proprietary material.

By securing file transfers inside and outside the company, managed file transfers can strengthen an organization’s cybersecurity. But MFT goes beyond safely transferring files between users and systems. It can also be used to automate procedures, guarantee secure connections, monitor file transfer activity (including user access), and more.

2. Automate file transfers and workflows from a single point of control

You can only partially predict when file transfers and processing will be finished when several systems are involved. It is therefore important to manage file transfers using a single, integrated platform – the same platform that orchestrates business application and data activities – in order to ensure transparency and increase visibility for all stakeholders, while also keeping your customers satisfied and protecting your team’s sanity. In addition, this platform should allow you to create, plan, and manage file transfers (from the mainframe to the cloud) in the same manner as any other process while offering role-specific views reliably and thoroughly.

3. Strong encryption

Any organization’s file transfer requirements – whether it’s a few dozen files per week or several thousand per day – can be met readily by managed file transfer systems. MFT uses Open PGP, AES, SSL, and SSH – four industry-standard data security technologies – to encrypt and compress your file transfers in transit and at rest.

4. Deployment Options

Whatever your IT budget might be, it can be accommodated by MFT software suppliers offering a range of deployment choices, each with a range of prices:

• Self-hosted on-premise offers the most flexibility in terms of people, technology, and the necessary time for maintenance and upgrades.
• Self-hosting in the cloud enables you to expand swiftly and contract server space using a cloud service provider rather than local servers.
• Hybrid solutions mix the cloud’s flexibility with the freedom of internal servers.
• SaaS options have lower initial costs and require less staff time to manage downtime for upgrades or maintenance.

5. Easy to meet compliance requirements

Encrypting your file transfers is essential for compliance with existing and future privacy laws, compliance standards specific to your industry, and rules designed to safeguard personal data in high-risk sectors like healthcare and retail.

MFT, however, offers enterprises the additional benefit of integrated monitoring, tracking, and auditing in addition to encryption. Furthermore, you can quickly download access and data movement reports as PDF and CSV files with a few mouse clicks.

6. Visibility

Damage can be minimized by predicting and examining risk factors. In addition, MFT provides operational visibility into problems like unsuccessful transfers, which aids in proactive problem-solving and SLA adherence.

7. Scalability

A company’s file transfer requirements are likely to increase as it expands globally – in which case you will require extra file transfer capacity and new file-sharing modules. You can use MFT solutions to keep up with your business expansion.

8. Budget-friendly customization

The need to share data and files varies from business to business. The industry is filled with managed file transfer software apps that provide personalized solutions, enabling you to choose the MFT tool that best fits your budget.

9. Regular updates

If your organization handles such data, you must exercise extra caution when disclosing sensitive or essential information to third parties. Use systems that offer frequent upgrades to keep your files safe from hackers. MFT products provide updates to assist you in keeping up with changing requirements for data protection.

10. Flexibility

While some businesses only deploy apps on-premise, others leverage cloud-based services. In addition, several companies have adopted hybrid solutions. As a result, you can get an MFT tool to deploy wherever you want, regardless of the policy you follow.

Conclusion

For businesses with complex file-sharing requirements or numerous external stakeholders, managed file transfer solutions are essential to maintain security and stay competitive and are crucial to a company’s success. Specialized technologies are needed to provide secure, high-quality managed file transfer services as business networks continue to spread across the globe.

Looking for a managed file transfer solution? HCL Workload Automation helps you with internal and external file transfers, integrating with all your automation workflows.