Sure, you can pick up a free, open-source file transfer solution to get most of your files where they need to be. But should you? What happens when you run into a problem, have questions, or need to quickly onboard new users? Commercial-based Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions that offer true customer support vs chat bots and FAQs are invaluable for organizations that depend on reliable, secure and supported file transfers.
Responsive Customer Support: Key Criteria for MFT Solution Choice
Implementing MFT solutions in an organization or large enterprise can involve establishing multiple configurations or perhaps integrations with other software used daily. While a robust solution can get users up and running quickly for even complex, multi-step workflows, individual scenarios such as establishing a disaster recovery environment, or hybrid file transfer set up might require customer support to keep the processes running seamlessly and without interruption.
“If I were looking into an MFT’s ability to meet my needs, I would look into the breadth and depth of support they offer such as professional services, a knowledge center, and what type of training options are available. I would also dive into real customer experiences that are detailed on third-party review sites such as G2, Software Reviews, and Capterra, and take advantage of available trials and demos,” Aly Essa, Technical Support Manager, GoAnywhere. “By assessing each of these factors for every solution under consideration IT teams can better determine a good fit for their unique situation.”
Read More: How to Choose an MFT Vendor
Reputable Review Sites and Reports for MFT
When looking at reviews, be sure to filter for those mentioning support if that is a high priority for your organization.
- Info-Tech Managed File Transfer Category Report: The Info-Tech Research Group evaluated the most popular managed file transfer software and vendors in the market – GoAnywhere MFT, MOVEit, IBM MFT, and more. Their detailed analysis includes a deep dive into vendor satisfaction for ease of vendor support, implementation, and product strategy. The report also provides head-to-head comparisons of leading solutions.
- G2’s MFT Grid Report: This report provides an analysis of providers in the MFT arena and covers satisfaction ratings, feature comparisons, market presence data, and more.
- G2 MFT Reviews
- Software Reviews
- PeerSpot Reviews
Customer Support Considerations for MFT Solutions
Essa also recommends IT teams ask themselves the following questions when assessing commercial-based file transfer solutions in terms of what they have to offer for support:
- What are the available hours for customer support?
- How reactive does your product need to be when new security concerns come out?
- What training is available?
- Is customized training available?
- Is training interactive or demonstration-led?
- Is certification available?
- Are training costs the same regardless of how many people attend the session?
- Are there course outlines you can review before purchasing the sessions?
- What type of professional services are available?
- Is help available for integration projects, development, and consulting?
- Is there migration assistance available?
- How are issues prioritized within the customer support department?
- What is the process for submitting a support request?
- Is there a customer portal available for downloading the latest updates, release notes, and documentation?
If any or all these questions are critical to your organization’s intended use of MFT, you’ll find that a robust commercial solution can address them more easily and completely than any open-source or free solution.
Commercial solutions, such as GoAnywhere MFT, will be able to meet the more complex needs of enterprises as well as organizations needing to meet compliance requirements around how file transfers are managed. And they can more positively answer the questions posed above. And when a security concern arises, a well-oiled customer support machine is one of your best defenses to quickly help users make any adjustments necessary.
Read More: Open-Source File Transfer vs Secure Managed File Transfer: Pros and Cons
Reputable Review Sites, Reports, and Buyers Guide for MFT
After determining that a commercial-based solution can best meet your needs for supportive and responsive file transfers, compare apples to apples for customer service concerns as well as many other targeted questions designed to help you get the best ROI from MFT in this MFT Buyers Guide.
Follow-the-Sun Responsiveness for Critical Business Impacts
“While I can’t speak for all MFT solutions, at GoAnywhere MFT by Fortra, we understand that every second counts when a technical issue impacts your business. Our expanded global support coverage ensures our teams are available 24x7 for critical production outages,” noted Essa. “This follow-the-sun model has experts available across all time zones ready to assist whenever they are needed.” High-severity production outages are prioritized, with clear expectations set and transparency delivered for the resolution process.
Customer Accolades Speak Loudly
As mentioned earlier, reading actual customer reviews provides a well-rounded glimpse of an MFT solution’s ability to satisfy customer needs and requirements.
“Customer Service is genuine and personally tailored and Technical support is outstanding. Each project and support case is treated with the utmost respect and care.”
Janice H. IT Software Eng Sr, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)
“GoAnywhere MFT offers a very robust approach to managed file transfer. There are a plethora of administrative tools that allow for administrative transparency and complement a strong security posture. Their customer support is top-notch, very friendly and knowledgeable staff. GoAnywhere MFT is very easy for users to access and share files.
There are a lot of features that can be leveraged, which may seem a bit daunting at times. However, customer service and the user guides complement this information overload and help make the implementation of new features seamless.”
Verified User, Government Administration, Enterprise (>1000 emp.)
Customer Support Forms Solid MFT Foundation
A robust file transfer solution is recognised in the industry not only for what it can do, but also how well any issues with the solution are addressed. GoAnywhere MFT customer support is second to none. To see the solution in action, give it a try at no cost today.
