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What Is Managed File Transfer?

What is managed file transfer? How does it work? What resources do I need? Read our Managed File Transfer 101 for everything you need to know about MFT.

What is managed file transfer?

Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a secure, efficient way of moving data between systems, applications and people. As organizations continue to produce and exchange large amounts of data, they require a secure, automated file transfer Solution to ensure that their data is protected and meets compliance requirements. The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution capabilities provide end-to-end encryption, access controls and audit trails that ensure fast, reliable and secure data exchanges within and between organizations and IT environments to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, data breaches and cyber attacks.

How does managed file transfer work?

Managed file transfer sends data directly from endpoint to endpoint. This is different from email, in which data passes through several points of presence and can be accessed by a third party. The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution supports endpoints for a system, an application, an IIoT device, a data lake, blob storage and more. It can move data to or from cloud-based software, between data centers, and – thanks to the SEEBURGER BIS platform – it can integrate with legacy systems. The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution transfers structured data, e.g. neatly categorized data, as well as unstructured data such as video and audio.

With the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution, data transfers can be scheduled and triggered as part of an automated process or by a person. Before the transfer takes place, both parties are authenticated to ensure they have the permissions to handle the data.

The transport medium and often the data itself is encrypted to stop any unauthorized people or systems from gaining access in transit or intercepting the data. The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution offers tracking at the technical, process and business level in near real time and keeps audit logs. These features are important for compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations.

What is required for the use of MFT in a company?

Managed file transfer needs to be highly available around the clock. If you choose an on-premises installation, you will need to have significant staff resources and IT skills in house. There will be new and ongoing tasks for managed file transfer as your organization changes and grows. You will need to connect new suppliers and other trading partners. You might also need to connect other systems to enable real-time processes, increase security as regulatory compliance becomes more demanding and expand data capacity as digitalization intensifies. You might even need to migrate connections if a core system like your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system changes.

However, did you know that SEEBURGER also offers hosted managed file transfer services? Deployed from the SEEBURGER cloud, SEEBURGER takes care of everything, letting you concentrate on your core business.

Do you like the idea of hosted managed file transfer, but company policy dictates keeping sensitive data or certain IT tasks in house? SEEBURGER offers an integration platform as a service (iPaaS). An iPaaS lets you choose what tasks to keep in house and what tasks to delegate to a partner like SEEBURGER. You can also use the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution on an iPaaS in any public cloud.

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution is available on-premises, in a hybrid setup or in the cloud.

Our MFT capabilities, powered by the SEEBURGER BIS Platform, allow you to securely transfer files. They connect and convert to and from anything. As your business needs and systems change through expansion, merger or acquisition, the SEEBURGER BIS Platform and our SEEBURGER experts ensure that your MFT capabilities move data when and where it needs to go.

What are the benefits of managed file transfer

Security

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution uses advanced security protocols to protect data in transit and at rest. This ensures that sensitive information remains confidential and is not exposed to unauthorized parties. For this reason, many companies choose to replace FTP with MFT.

Efficiency

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution automates file transfer processes, reducing the time and effort required to manage large data sets. This enables organizations to transfer files quickly and easily, without the need for manual intervention. The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution capabilities, powered by the SEEBURGER BIS Platform, integrate with anything.

Compliance

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution helps organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements, such as GDPR, HIPAA and PCI DSS, by providing audit logs and tracking of file transfer activities at the business, process and technical level.

Scalability

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution, enabled by the cloud-based SEEBURGER BIS Platform, is available as a cloud service with a pay-by-volume pricing model. You can add more volume and other data transfer and integration capabilities, if and when your needs change. You can also manage huge volumes of data and file transfers, which makes the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution suitable for organizations of any size.

What are alternatives to managed file transfer?

Common alternatives to MFT include FTP, SCP SFTP and cloud-based file sharing services.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

FTP is a standard protocol used for transferring files between servers and clients. It's a simple and widely supported method for file transfers but lacks the security and automation features provided by the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution. Furthermore, FTP sends messages on a first-come, first-served basis, while the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution lets you prioritize the messages that need to get through in near real time.

What happens if managed file transfer fails?

The SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution places checkpoints at regular intervals in the data transfer process. If a data transfer should be faulty, the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution uses checkpoint restart to resend the entire data set from the checkpoint before the error occurred.

If a receiving endpoint fails, the smart retry function parks the affected messages and regularly probes the defective connection until the endpoint starts responding. Then, it starts sending data to that endpoint again, including resending the originally affected data.

The high availability offered by the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution supports active-active clustering, deployment from the fully-managed SEEBURGER Cloud or deployment as an integration platform as a service (iPaaS).

Why SEEBURGER Managed File Transfer?

With the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution, any organization can transfer any type of files and data securely and efficiently between systems, applications, devices and data centers. The built-in encryption, non-repudiation, confidentiality and security helps you send data in compliance with regulations and standards. Automate, prioritize and track all of your file transfers at the technical, transport and message level.

Learn how to expand your business with the SEEBURGER BIS MFT Solution, powered by the SEEBURGER BIS Platform.

 

Further MFT resources

Watch our webcast with real examples of how SEEBURGER customers are using the SEEBURGER BIS MFT SOLUTION to automate processes and drive efficiency while ensuring security and compliance.

Do you work in a sector with its own specific needs?

Take a look at the SEEBURGER range of industry-specific solutions