Thinkronization Newsletter October 2012
Since 1972 companies have been utilizing FTP to move data between internal and external servers. While other communication methods, such as HTTP, SFTP, and AS2 have been adopted by many businesses, a large number of businesses still use FTP to move files. A recent survey by HubSpan indicates 70 percent of those surveyed still use unsecured FTP as their main transport protocol. In addition, 49 percent of those say their top concern regarding file transfer challenges is security. With this in mind, why are businesses still relying on a solution that can be unreliable, unsecured, and inefficient?
The average cost of a data breech in 2011 was $5.5, a drop from 2010 when it reached $7.2, according to a study by the Ponemon Institute. When evaluating your file transfer options; consider the cost of a breech in your business.
When organizations deploy an MFT solution they remediate the inherent risks of FTP, tighten security and have important levels of monitoring to ensure file transfer processes complete.
Differences Between FTP and MFT
Cost: FTP is a “free” file transfer solution; however, what is the inherent cost of FTP to your business? Maintaining and managing FTP, and its average failure of 8%, is costly and time consuming in regard to your staffing needs. MFT offers reliability, monitoring, and alerting capabilities increasing your profit margin by reducing manual operations associated with file transfer administration.
Differences Between FTP and MFTSecurity: FTP has no security. When FTP was created 30 years ago, it was meant to be used as an easy way to transfer a file, not the large scale use in which we use it today. MFT delivers security through edge or DMZ based solutions. The ability to encrypt and authenticate data leaves it the hands down choice for secure file transfer.
Reliability: When it comes to reliability, despite your best efforts with FTP, you aren’t able to easily restart or retransmit files without the fear of duplication or lost data. MFT Solutions offer multiple tools to ensure data is properly delivered completely, securely, and on time without duplication.
Visibility: How do you know if your FTP failed? Do you have a reporting process, or someone constantly monitoring transmissions? Or worse, do you not find out until your customer calls to inquire about the missing or late file? Solutions provided by most MFT vendors include comprehensive alerting, reporting, and tracking features to assure that your data gets to its destination within service level agreement parameters.
How do you know if you need to explore an MFT Solution? Here are a few questions to consider:
Do time-sensitive business processes get disrupted by late or failed file transfers?
Would your business benefit by timely notifications when a file did not transfer properly?
Do you have regulatory mandates for protecting sensitive information/files?
Is your daily business significantly impacted when your file transfers fail?
If you answered “YES” to more than one of these questions, your business would undoubtedly benefit from a comprehensive MFT Solution.
In a recent Forrester Security Survey, 91% of organizations listed data security as a high or critical priority. Given this priority, security also consumes a large chunk of technology budgets; 16%. The growing number of security breaches within the US has lead organizations to strongly consider all areas of data security, including file transfers.
Remedi Electronic Commerce Group recently hosted a series of MFT webinars geared towards educating organizations on not only the value of an MFT solution, but also the value of incorporating MFT into a Comprehensive Integration Suite approach to integration and data exchange.
Contact Remedi for more information concerning Managed File Transfer.
In Other News
The Supply Chain Delivers 27 Candy Corns For Each And Every AmericanRemedi is honored to be the first IBM B2B Integration Partner to contribute to the Smarter Commerce blog series. Read our piece on Halloween and Supply Chain Integration.
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Remedi Offers Value In IBM Software Subscription And Support
For those with IBM software, but not aware of Subscription and Support terminology, this is what has been known in the past as maintenance and support. By renewing your subscription and support annually you extend the help line, problem resolution, and patch/upgrade rights (among others) that were provided for in the first year following the acquisition of your IBM software. In other words year 1 of Subscription and Support is provided for in the original software price. Subsequent years are billed by IBM or a Partner and due on your software acquisition anniversary date, unless you are on a common renewal date with IBM across many different software titles.
Remedi, as an IBM Premier Business Partner, is able to help your organization weave your way through the complexities of this process and renew your Software Subscription and Support. Often times we are able to review renewals and help clients apply these funds to more robust IBM software solutions, and other times for those satisfied with their IBM solution, we can provide value through discounted renewal rates.
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