No matter the size of an organization, files are constantly in motion between  employees,  servers, and applications; both internally and in exchanges with business partners and customers. File transfer is part of the day-to-day operations on which an organization depends. Because file transfer is so pervasive and vital, organizations that investigate managed file transfer solutions often look to recognize value in three key areas:

• Cost control – Unification of technology and process that minimizes the recurring costs of developing, provisioning, securing, troubleshooting and reporting on file transfers.
• Governance and Data Security – Applying security policy and auditing to internal and external file exchanges between users, between systems, and between applications.
• Application Integration – Both the reliable movement of bulk data between applications and the facility by which secure and supportable file transfer is consumed within applications by application developers.

One or more of these managed file transfer topics may resonate with you, causing you to want to learn more.  That is why Realtime Publishers and technology author Dan Sullivan recently developed three articles that can help educate IT professionals on these key value drivers for managed file transfer. The Essentials Series titled, “Controlling Costs, Improving Compliance, and Streamlining Integration with Managed File Transfer,” is an excellent resource for those evaluating managed file transfer solutions for their operation.

The three articles, each focused on a specific value driver, are available on the Attachmate website at no cost:

• Article 1: File Transfers Cost You More Than You Realize—What to Do About It
• Article 2: Managing File Transfer and Improving Compliance
• Article 3: Improving Application Integration with Managed File Transfer

Realtime Publishers’ synopsis of this Essentials Series nicely sets up these articles.

Data is constantly moving through organizations to business partners and into the cloud. Businesses depend on file transfer methods for day-to-day operations as well as for longer-term planning and analysis. Although file transfers might sound like simple operations, they are not. Network connections fail, data packets are dropped, disks become full, and, perhaps worst of all, ad hoc scripts might not provide adequate error handling and reporting to help you troubleshoot such problems. This Essentials Series outlines the business drivers for using managed file transfer solutions and shows how to improve compliance and application integration while controlling costs.

You can access this Essentials Series here.  

If reading these articles leads you to want to learn more about managed file transfer, then check out the newly-revised Shortcut Guide eBook or any of the other educational resources available at Attachmate’s website.

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The market for managed file transfer solutions is constantly changing. It is important for vendors and consumers to be savvy about these driving forces to anticipate their organization’s needs. Forrester recently came out with a report, “Market Overview: Managed File Transfer Solutions,” in which Analyst Ken Vollmer interviewed 20 MFT vendors, including Attachmate, to gather industry information and perspective.

Vollmer found the market is growing rapidly. One of the largest drivers of the growth is the increased awareness about the limitations of file transfer protocol – or FTP. Both internal and external auditors are demanding “better security and improved governance over information that leaves the enterprise.” Vollmer says that MFT solutions provide an effective option for addressing this need. Vollmer’s report suggests most MFT vendors are targeting three specific sectors, which have seen an increased need for MFT solutions. The financial, healthcare and government sectors are all seeing an increased need for a solution that addresses increased security to maintain privacy and critical information.

Forrester believes MFT revenue grew about 15 percent year-over-year in 2010 and expects this growth rate will continue for the next three years as more and more organizations realize the value of MFT solutions and update their infrastructures.

The report concludes that the trend of traditional FTP being replaced with more robust MFT solutions will continue and that those FTP solutions will “no longer be adequate for meeting file transfer needs.” I’ve written about some of the limitations with FTP in previous posts.

For more information, including interesting survey data, you can check out the full Forrester report, “Market Overview: Managed File Transfer Solutions.”

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If you’re an IT professional and you’re looking for guidance on how to go about strengthening the security and reliability of file transfer in your organization, then you will want to read The Shortcut Guide to Eliminating Insecure and Unreliable File Transfer Methods written by Dan Sullivan.  This eBook, published by Realtime Publishers and sponsored by Attachmate looks at the challenges experienced when attempting to apply traditional file transfer techniques to today’s larger files and more stringent security standards.

Dan Sullivan is a 20+ year veteran in the IT industry with a history that includes experience in application design, systems architecture, and enterprise security across a broad range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, government, retail, gas and oil production, power generation, life sciences, and education.  Dan has written and presented extensively about security, systems architecture, infrastructure management, and aligning business and IT strategies. 

So I guess you can say he knows that of which he speaks.

The synopsis of the eBook reads like this:

“Transferring files often appears to be a simple task that is easily scripted. As a result, many organizations are littered with quickly written, insecure and difficult to maintain file transfer scripts. In The Shortcut Guide to Eliminating Insecure and Unreliable File Transfer Methods, author Dan Sullivan outlines the limits and shortcomings of home grown file transfer solutions along with business drivers that are motivating organizations to better manage all file transfers. This book closes with a detailed list of features essential to a dependable file transfer solution and offers guidance on how to deploy such a solution.”

The eBook is written in four chapters, each focused on a particular aspect of file transfer.

• Chapter 1: Understanding the Limits of Traditional File Transfer
• Chapter 2: Analyzing 5 Key Business Drivers for Improving File Transfer
• Chapter 3: Selecting a File Transfer Solution:  7 Essential Requirements
• Chapter 4: Deploying a File Transfer Solution

The eBook can be downloaded from Attachmate here.  Chapter 1 is now available with a new chapter planned each month through July 2010. 

So, check it out, then come back here and tell us what you think.  Comments are welcome.

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