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Managed file transfer is an important investment. It’s a critical part of an enterprise hybrid integration infrastructure, sitting alongside iPaaS, EDI and other middleware. Put simply, there is no better technology for moving files.
If you choose the right managed file transfer solution, you’ll quickly see a return on investment, benefiting from increased security, simpler compliance, business efficiencies and a real-time view of your file transfers. You can read up on these success stories in our case studies.
Get it wrong, however, and you’ll most likely be back comparing products again within a few years. So the question is, how best to compare enterprise managed file transfer solutions when there are so many on the market?
This blog contains simple steps to follow and includes our independent viewpoint of the marketplace and the products you should consider.
START THE FILE TRANSFER QUIZ
Step 1: Avoid Out-of-Date Comparisons
There are many outdated comparisons available online. For instance, people still refer to the Gartner MFT Vendors Magic Quadrant, which is over ten years old! Since the marketplace has changed so much since then, these resources have little relevance to the current vendor landscape.
Step 2: Avoid Vendor Comparison
Vendors will naturally promote their product, making it impossible to obtain an independent recommendation on whether it is the best fit for your needs. If you use these resources, make sure to approach each vendor to get a complete picture. However, this can be time-consuming. Therefore, use our free, independent comparison service to shortcut the process.
Step 3: Make Sure You're Comparing Like-for-Like
MFT (on-premise) should have, as a minimum, a gateway, file transfer server and automation/rules engine. Many online comparisons include simple ad-hoc person-to-person file sharing solutions, so it is essential that you review all features and compare them with an MFT with a similar offering. If you’re not comparing like-for-like, you can’t get an accurate viewpoint.
Step 4: Consider More Than Just Features
Most products will perform the same functions. They all support major transfer protocols, offer high security with PGP encryption and other measures, have sophisticated enterprise schedulers, workflow triggers, cloud connectivity, and excellent visibility/SLA monitoring capabilities. The important thing is how they perform these functions. You need to consider vendor support, how frequently they release new versions and other factors. We only recommend vendors who release regular updates and are responsive to any issues.
Step 5: Check the Information Below
At Pro2col, we are independent experts who have worked with secure, managed file transfer solutions since 2004. We are also providers and developers of the only vendor-independent training program: The Certified File Transfer Professional (CFTP). We have distilled this knowledge below.
Step 6: Complete the Free Comparison Questionnaire
Our recommendation is completely free and independent. You only need to answer a series of questions about your requirements, and our experts will match the best managed file transfer software for your needs.
Enterprise Managed File Transfer Vendors
These on-premise solutions are in alphabetical order – we haven’t listed them by which is best. They are all strong products and the right one will depend entirely on your business and budget.
AXWAY MFT
Axway has been specialising in enterprise data integration for 20 years. They acquired Secure Transport from Tumbleweed in 2008.
It is a mature product, but a recent addition to our list of top four MFT solutions. Recent price changes have made Secure Transport more competitive, which is why we’ve included it.
The product provides most out-of-the-box MFT features and wider integration requirements can largely be delivered from an extensive portfolio of their other complementary technologies, such as CFT, B2Bi and multiple API toolsets.
Axway is based out of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, but with regional headquarters worldwide.
DIPLOMAT MFT
Founded in 2008, Coviant Software has made significant progress in developing its Diplomat MFT offerings, expanding its capabilities while also ensuring competitive pricing.
Diplomat MFT empowers you to effortlessly automate, manage, and audit your file transfers while maintaining the highest levels of security, compliance, and visibility. It ensures compliance with regulations such as NERC CIP, FERC, and HIPAA through end-to-end encryption and secure data transfer. Moreover, the MFT solution includes cloud integration with a wide range of providers, including Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Box, Citrix ShareFile, Dropbox, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and more.
Although Coviant Software is based in Texas, USA, it serves the global marketplace, catering to clients in the United Kingdom, Europe and other regions.
GoAnywhere MFT
The original developers Linoma were acquired a few years back, bringing GoAnywhere MFT under the Fortra umbrella. Since this acquisition, they have continued to prove themselves to be an innovative vendor.
GoAnywhere is a cross-platform file transfer product. It strengths lie within it’s ability to connect to many cloud storage provides and an increasing number of SaaS applications. Fortra have put a considerable focus on out-of-the-box cloud connectors. We’ve seen how this has simplified cloud strategies for a lot of organisations – both global enterprises and smaller businesses.
They bring out a major new release each year and are continually adding new cloud connectors to their portfolio. GoAnywhere MFT is another easily scalable solution and a big advantage is its seamless operation with other Fortra products, such as their DLP and RPA offerings. Fortra also recently acquired FileCatalyst and integrates it for super-fast UDP transfer technology, for faster file transfer of larger files.
Fortra is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, with regional offices around the world.
Globalscape EFT
No MFT comparison would be complete without including Globalscape EFT Server. It has been a cornerstone of the MFT marketplace for well over a decade. It has always been a strong automation platform for Windows and they bring out a major new release each year.
Globalscape EFT, which stands for Enhanced File Transfer, has a modular structure, so organisations can easily scale their solution by adding new features.
The privacy and compliance features are ideal for supporting GDPR or other regulations. This is – without a doubt – the product’s USP. It includes settings that map to the sections of the GDPR, a built-in risk assessment report to identify compliance fails, the ability to assign tasks to the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and a lot more!
The company was acquired by Fortra and remains based in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Fortra continues to develop Globalscape EFT alongside their other MFT solution.
MOVEit Transfer MFT
The MOVEit product suite includes MOVEit Transfer the server component, and MOVEit Automation for the workflow automation element of their managed file transfer suite. Users can choose either the Corporate or Enterprise tier on Automation – the latter providing more extensive functionality.
MOVEit has been known and loved for many years. It is very well-established and has a loyal customer base. People trust it because it has always had a strong reputation for security. Its multitenancy capabilities, for example, are among the most secure on the market.
MOVEit Transfer can work out more cost-effective for smaller organisations due to discounts applied to bundles. Another plus is that MOVEit Automation (Enterprise) users can automate the movement of files between unlimited servers.
Formely known as Ipswitch MOVEit Transfer, the previous vendor was acquired by Progress in 2019 for +$200m and there have been some positive recent developments, such as API enhancements and executing custom scripts in PowerShell. The new pricing packages on offer for MOVEit mean that this continues to be a competitive solution.
Ipswitch was formed in 1991. Progress was founded in the 1980s and is based out of Massachusetts, USA.
Quatrix MFT
Maytech has a long history of providing secure, fast and industry-approved file sharing solutions, spanning over two decades. With Quatrix, they offer an easy-to-use, optimised file-sharing solution with enterprise grade security.
Quatrix streamlines how organisations manage and exchange sensitive information and data, making collaboration fast, secure and effortless. It is at the forefront when considering workflows, with script automation, public API, numerous plugins and integration with SSO/ADFS, Mulesoft and Microsoft 365.
Maytech is based in the UK, with Quatrix being used in over 60 industries in more than 25 countries.
Thru MFT
Thru, a trusted provider in the MFT space since its establishment in 2002, delivers an exceptional managed file transfer as a service (MFTaaS) solution. Their offering ensures efficient and secure file transfers while maintaining compliance. The no-code interface provided by Thru enables users to consolidate workflows effortlessly, facilitating smooth operations. Thru also offers the ability to deploy within Azure and AWS if companies want to utilise their cloud environments.
The seamless integration of file transfers with integration platforms (iPaaS), applications, and endpoints is made possible through convenient APIs and pre-built connectors.
So Which Is The Best Managed File Transfer Solution?
Unfortunately, there's no easy answer to that question. It all comes down to your unique requirements. There isn't a one-size-fits-all "best" managed file transfer solution out there, but rather the one that suits you the most. That's why we recommend giving our File Transfer Quiz a go. It'll help identify your current and future needs and give you a straightforward, no-cost recommendation based on our two decades of independent expertise in file transfer solutions. By using it, you'll save loads of time that would have been spent sifting through documentation from different vendors, and you can rest assured that you're making the right choice for your organisation.
Thinking about replacing your File Transfer software?
Choosing a new MFT is not a decision to take likely. Our experts can help you secure your existing solution or scope the best replacement or alternatives on the market.