8 Secure Managed File Transfer (MFT) Tools for Your Business

Fast and secure file transfer is critical to any business. Using secure managed file transfer (MFT) software can help.

Transferring files between team members and other stakeholders is an inevitable part of business processes for any company. Especially for IT organizations, you need to ensure fast and secure file transfers to keep up with changing business requirements.

Although there are various file transfer and file sharing modes, managed file transfer solutions have become very popular these days. Here, you will learn about secure managed file transfer, its features, and top managed file transfer software applications.

What is managed file transfer?

Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a reliable, efficient, and secure mode of file transfer. MFT tools encrypt files or data using Open PGP, AES encryption, or other protocols before sending it to the recipient.

MFT is considered superior to other file transfer methods and protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). MFT is suitable for compliance-protected, sensitive, or file transfers. Large amount of data.

For this reason, companies in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, banking, telecommunications, and insurance prefer this method over other technologies.

Differences between MFT and other file sharing options

Let’s take a look at how MFT differs from other popular file transfer protocols.

• MFT and FTP: MFT solutions provide secure encryption. Experts do not recommend FTP because it does not encrypt files in transit or at rest.
• MFT vs. FTPS: We recommend choosing MFT over FTPS because FTPS requires both private and public key authentication for decryption.
• MFT and SFTP: SFTP has more complex client setup and key management than MFT.
• MFT and HTTP: Unlike MFT, the HTTP protocol also does not provide encryption functionality and is not recommended.

Benefits of using a managed file transfer solution

visibility

By predicting and understanding risk factors, it is possible to reduce damage. MFT provides operational visibility into issues such as failed transfers, helping you proactively resolve issues and meet SLAs.

Scalability

As businesses expand globally, a company’s file transfer requirements are likely to increase over time. As a result, more file transfer bandwidth and new file sharing modules are required. MFT solutions can help you keep up with your company’s growth.

safety

For any company, avoiding file transfer failures and data breaches are some of the best ways to maintain its reputation. MFT provides businesses with a proactive security strategy. It also protects data during file transfer and at rest through features such as real-time monitoring and verification security policies.

Customization according to your budget

Data and file sharing requirements vary by company. There are various managed file transfer software apps on the market that offer customizable solutions. Users can choose an MFT tool that fits their budget.

compliance

Depending on the industry, companies must comply with several laws and industry-specific rules and compliances. These may include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) 🩺 and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Modern MFT systems are highly configured to meet security requirements by encrypting, monitoring transmission, and storing critical data.

Regular updates

If your business handles sensitive or sensitive data, you should be especially careful about sharing that data with others. To protect your files from hackers, you should use a solution that provides regular updates. MFT tools provide updates to keep pace with evolving data security requirements.

flexibility

Some organizations prefer to deploy only on-premises applications, while others use cloud-based services. Apart from these, a group of companies is using a hybrid solution. No matter what policy you follow, you can get MFT tools and deploy them wherever you need them.

Managed file transfer software features

Businesses often choose MFT solutions to save time, effort, money, and resources. Efficient MFT tools allow you to monitor and audit file transfer processes. Before choosing a tool for secure and managed file transfers, check if it has the following features:

Ease of use: Choose an app that increases your productivity and eliminates the need to write scripts for data transfer.

Broad file type support: Before choosing an MFT tool, you should check the number of file types supported for transfer. You need to transfer PDFs, multimedia files, XML, EDI, and emails.

Security: MFT tools should provide optimal security (encryption) features in transit and at rest, for both internal and external transfers.

Data Analytics: If you want to collect data about file transfers for HIPAA compliance, we recommend choosing a tool with built-in analytics and reporting capabilities.

Centralized workflow automation: A good MFT tool allows you to manage and schedule file transfers from an integrated platform.

Complete visibility: MFT software should be able to provide 360-degree visibility, so you can see who is sharing what using the system.

To help you find the right managed file transfer solution, here is a list of top MFT software.

Cleo Integrated Cloud (CIC MFT)

While there are many secure MFT solutions on the market, CIC MFT is the best choice when it comes to seamlessly connecting to partners and infrastructure and integrating with complex automated processes.

CIC MFT is an award-winning, secure, managed file transfer software that provides extensive functionality to secure your file transfer environment and manage your trading partner community. CIC MFT is built to be easy to use. The platform provides full protocol support, security, end-user authentication/single sign-on, and visibility/dashboards/reporting.

CIC MFT is built to scale with your business needs. This technology handles deployments from small businesses to multi-billion dollar enterprises without any problems. Other notable platform features include:

• Secure access control with LDAP
• Antivirus and content scanning with ICAP
• Authorization (OAuth 2.0), authentication (SAML), encryption, and certificate management
• Boundary layer security with bidirectional proxy architecture
• Reporting, audit trails, and visibility dashboards

When it comes to service options, businesses can choose between self-service, managed service, or a blended approach, ensuring complete flexibility and control over their MFT strategy.

go anywhere

GoAnywhere is a securely managed file transfer software that allows file transfer between users and servers. Users can run on Windows, Linux, IBM i OS, and AIX and have central control over the entire process.

This tool can perform bulk file transfers according to enterprise requirements with load balancing. Features such as an intuitive interface and complete workflow are sufficient to meet your organization’s needs.

To ensure complete flexibility, GoAnywhere offers multiple deployment options. Additionally, it can integrate with a variety of cloud and web apps used by your organization. This tool provides active/active automatic failover as a disaster recovery measure.

Progress MOVEit

MFT software Progress MOVEit allows organizations to minimize enterprise mobility-related risks. This open-source framework provides necessary features such as centralized access control, data encryption, and tracking.

All of these attributes ensure that your organization’s file transfers are SLA compliant and operationally reliable. In addition, collaboration features allow users to transfer files with internal and external users.

Progress MOVEit supports advanced automated workflows without scripts. This platform infrastructure also provides a customized solution for mobile device management for enterprises with large numbers of mobile device 📱 users participating in file transfers.

Diplomat MFT

If your company is looking for a reliable MFT solution that can reduce file transfer time and effort, Diplomat MFT is the tool for you. You can use HTTP, HTTPS, email, and SMB servers to transfer files between people connected through your local network.

This platform can be easily integrated into your daily business processes. This MFT software also allows you to automate and control file transfers. Therefore, there is less business risk.

Other important features of this tool include PGP encryption, reporting, alert notifications, process automation, and auditing.

ArcESB

ArcESB is a modern MFT software that allows you to implement file sharing strategies and centrally manage processes. The robust and scalable platform supports drag-and-drop functionality, making file sharing easy and fast.

Full logging and auditing provides real-time visibility into all file transfers occurring within your organization. ArcESB also supports various data privacy regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI.

This allows you to eliminate manual file sharing and instead move to automated, scheduled workflows using conditional logic, webhooks, and API management. Additionally, we use AES, Open PGP, and Secure DMZ to fully secure data transfers.

kite works

Kiteworks provides a security-first architecture that ensures large-scale file transfers. Users can streamline and manage file sharing operations from the tool’s graphical operations dashboard.

This software makes it very easy to create workflows and onboard new partners. File transfers can be initiated manually or scheduled at a time of your choice.

Kiteworks’ vault-to-vault transfer feature ensures end-to-end security for transferred files. Access your data in folders, repositories, and the cloud. Additionally, the software provides a library of thousands of workflow functions to help you develop visual workflows without any coding.

Axway

Axway provides reliable and secure managed file transfer solutions, especially for the medical, financial, and manufacturing industries. The platform facilitates file sharing between businesses, employees, partners, and applications.

Not only can you manage your organization’s file transfer needs, but you can also comply with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI, DSS, and GDPR.

IBM Aspera

IBM Aspera is a flexible platform available on-premises or via a hybrid cloud. Instead of optimizing file transfers, utilize 100% of the available network bandwidth to avoid underlying bottlenecks.

It also supports large file transfers, data transfer automation, hybrid cloud workflows, and secure asset exchange using blockchain technology.

Conclusion👩‍💻

To ensure security and stay ahead of the competition, you need a managed file transfer solution, especially for businesses with complex file sharing requirements and multiple external parties. These too play an important role in a company’s success.

As business networks continue to expand globally and require high-quality services, only purpose-built tools can provide the right kind of secure managed file transfer services.

Now let’s take a look at tools that can help you share large files online.