Like lifeblood pulsing through the veins of modern enterprises, file transfers carry critical information that fuels business success. Yet, like clogged arteries, outdated file transfer methods can choke the flow of data, threatening to disrupt operations.
While quick and efficient file exchange has become a business imperative in our interconnected world, protecting sensitive internal and external data is paramount for organizations as they increasingly adopt cloud-based applications and hybrid IT environments. For years, businesses have used a combination of file transfer protocol (FTP), secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), manual file handling, and custom-built solutions for file transfers.
However, as file-based business transactions get more complex and interconnected, the demands on integration increase significantly beyond real-time API-based integration. Traditional methods, like email attachments, are often insufficient for modern data exchange due to their lack of essential features such as visibility, security, and reliability.
This shortfall causes compliance issues, data breaches, and operational inefficiencies, which pose deep-seated legal and financial implications for businesses. So how can businesses transfer data securely and efficiently while eliminating the risks associated with outdated file transfer protocols? Managed File Transfer to the rescue!
Managed File Transfer: An Overview
Managed File Transfer (MFT) simplifies and secures file exchange within and across organizations. It provides centralized control for IT teams to create, configure, manage, and monitor file transfer connections between people, applications, businesses, and systems.
Many organizations find it challenging to manage numerous client-server integrations. IT teams, already burdened with maintaining existing integrations, face pressure around governance, security, and compliance.
MFT offers a solution to these file-sharing challenges. It replaces complex and error-prone legacy file transfer methods by providing a centralized and comprehensive solution for the file transfer needs of all types of businesses.
Key features of an MFT solution include:
Secure file transfer: End-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, granular access controls, and comprehensive auditing for files (both in transit and at rest) collectively guarantee the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data.
Automated workflows: MFT platforms boost operational efficiency by enabling configuration and scheduling between diverse sources and destinations. MFT eliminates the need for manual, error-prone methods such as complex individual entries or custom scripts. With intuitive, no-code interfaces, IT teams can quickly set up and manage file transfers, freeing resources for more strategic initiatives.
Robust monitoring and reporting: Detailed dashboards, reporting and alerts improve an organization’s operational oversight and control. They enable tracking of file transfer activities, confirmation of delivery and receipt, and proactive troubleshooting.
Scalability and high availability: Engineered for enterprise-level file transfer, robust persistent storage, automatic retries, and high availability, MFT guarantees reliable file delivery regardless of infrastructure availability or peak demand. It scales with your business, processing millions of files daily for tens to tens of thousands of users.
Seamless integration: MFT facilitates effortless file exchange throughout the enterprise by integrating various applications, data sources, and cloud services. It allows for the centralized management of all file transfer activities, eliminating the complexity and fragmentation associated with maintaining multiple, disparate file transfer tools and processes.
Why MFT Makes a Difference To Your Business
MFT is crucial for businesses of all sizes facing diverse file transfer challenges, which vary with their maturity level. It is especially vital for highly regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, and the public sector.
MFT for Startups
Modern, fast-growing businesses require fast and easy-to-use cloud-based MFT solutions without the complexities of legacy middleware deployment. They need solutions that empower citizen integrators for rapid file transfers and are not interested in hybrid deployments that involve on-premises applications.
For startups, key concerns include security, scalability, reliability, quick provisioning and privacy compliance.
MFT for Large Enterprises
Securing file transfers across complex IT infrastructures is a major challenge for large businesses. Rapid growth often leads to a fragmented environment, making monitoring and management challenging due to a proliferation of disparate tools, legacy systems, and bespoke solutions.
Ultimately, a fragmented approach hinders the creation of a cohesive and secure file transfer strategy. This complexity is further compounded by the daily exchange and generation of massive data volumes (often exceeding terabytes), coupled with a wide variety of applications and systems in use.
Benefits of MFT
Businesses need to modernize their file transfer strategies with MFT solutions to stay competitive in today’s digital world.
Safeguard Sensitive Data
In 2024, the United States experienced 3,158 data compromises. MFT solutions provide secure file transfer capabilities to protect sensitive data during B2B file transfers. This helps organizations comply with stringent government and industry regulations, including GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA, mitigating the risk of costly data breaches and compliance violations.
Lower IT Overheads
Traditional in-house file transfer methods demand significant IT resources. They often rely on skilled programmers to create and manage intricate scripts using languages like Bash, Python, and Windows PowerShell. These scripts are then scheduled for execution via tools such as Windows Scheduler or Linux “cron jobs” to facilitate file transfers between FTP clients and servers.
This approach is not only time-consuming to manage but also carries the risk of unreliability for critical business operations. MFT solutions, with their no-code GUI, offer a more efficient alternative for IT teams, drastically reducing the time and effort required to establish and automate file transfers between various endpoints. This ease of automation frees up valuable IT resources.
Reliable Business Processes
Consistent and reliable data flow is crucial for business success. Companies that do not use MFT often encounter operational disruptions such as server downtime due to a lack of redundancy and problems stemming from undocumented file transfer scripts.
Incomplete or failed file transfers can lead to significant problems:
- Business processes may be disrupted
- Limited ability to make informed decisions due to insufficient data
- Increased expenses for data recovery and penalties for SLA breaches
Adopting an MFT solution helps enterprises maintain file transfer compliance by enabling reliable data exchange. This leads to cost savings, fewer disruptions, and improved decision-making within an organization.
MFT + iPaaS Native File Transfer
Though both MFT and traditional integration platform as a service (iPaaS) solutions manage the exchange of data, their core functions differ. iPaaS primarily connects applications, APIs, and data sources across both cloud and on-premises environments. Conversely, MFT focuses on the secure, compliant, and reliable transfer of file-based data.
MFT distinguishes itself from file transfer clients and servers found in typical integration platforms by incorporating crucial “management” elements. These include persistence, scheduling, auto-correction, monitoring, tracking, and enhanced security. Moreover, integrated file transfer management must comply with corporate IT data governance, industry regulations, and security requirements.
Innovate Digital Business Processes With Boomi Managed File Transfer
Modern file transfer requirements often exceed the capabilities and flexibility of existing integration platforms. Traditional solutions are particularly limited, as managing the transfer of large file-based data in complex network environments requires the implementation of complex logic and raises development and support costs.
Boomi Managed File Transfer (MFT) provides an enterprise-grade secure file transfer solution that combines Boomi’s integration capabilities with cloud-native MFT functionality to transform digital business processes. This top-tier solution helps enterprises accelerate digital transformation, improve agility, ensure governance, and deliver tangible ROI across their distributed ecosystem.
Boomi customers looking to modernize their legacy MFT tools can gain value from having all their daily tools in one unified platform. With Boomi MFT as part of the Boomi Enterprise Platform, you can simplify operations and reduce costs — enabling persistence, scheduling, fault tolerance, monitoring, audit logging, and additional security to manage all your critical data exchanges.
Learn more about Boomi Managed File Transfer on our product page.