Everything You Need to Know About SFTP Automation

Image

Last edited on 4/25/2024

There are many file transfer protocols that organizations could use within their workflows. Some organizations may simply be looking for a way to automate their file transfers. Whether you send a dozen file transfers a week, hundreds a day, or rely on SFTP in an enterprise-fashion, to transmit millions of files per day, SFTP automation can deliver.  The benefits are simple: automatic file transfers cut down on user errors, reduce or eliminate the need for scripts, free up manual time spent on creating and maintaining jobs, and most importantly, get files where they need to go securely and reliably.

Paired with encryption technologies like Open PGP, GPG or AES, automation provides a secure way to push and pull files between an organization’s employees, clients, trading partners, systems, applications, and remote locations. With end-to-end encryption, ease of use, and detailed auditing for file activity, there are few reasons why IT professionals should opt for secure versions of FTP automation software to increase their file security and user productivity.

What is SFTP Automation?

SFTP automation streamlines the exchange of data over a secure SFTP connection. Automation can improve multiple transfer processes: projects and tasks to run, file monitoring, cloud data exchanges, recurrent file transfers, and file encryption.

With software for file transfer automation in place, administrators can quickly set up workflows and tasks to provide end-to-end automation for SFTP file transfers. This means you can set up your transfers to run at certain dates and times, build a flow for how you want the project to function, and then shift your focus to other business-critical objectives while your automation software does the heavy lifting.

5 Things to Know About FTP Before Choosing a File Transfer Automation Solution

There are dozens of file transfer automation solutions available – from free or open-source software, cloud-supported software, to MFT and EFT software. The options can be overwhelming if you’re not sure which one to choose.

“SFTP commonly provides a backbone of B2B communications, allowing secure transmission of upwards of millions of files per day. Event-driven automation is a key advantage of sending data when it is ready for processing, ensuring optimal resource utilization, an important consideration as your MFT operations scale," said Fortra’s Chris Spargen, Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering. "Anything on the internet in the 21st century that is not encrypted is at risk of being stolen and used for profit on the dark web. If you have any sensitive information being transmitted through FTP, it would be wise to immediately explore a secure alternative solution."

As you evaluate solutions on the web, here are five things you should consider about modern automated file transfer software and why a dated, unsecure FTP might not be the best solution.

1. FTP is Outdated and Unsecure

In the 1970s, FTP was the powerhouse file transfer protocol organizations used to share files with each other. Security wasn’t a big consideration then. The internet was still new, and the words "hacking" and "data breach" didn’t have the same weight they do now.

As file sharing—and the sensitive information included in these files—has increased, so has the interest in hacking. FTP was created during a time when security wasn’t as widely needed. FTP is not only outdated, but it also has no security measures to help protect sensitive data in transit. A good example: FTP retains a user’s login credentials and presents it "in the clear" to anyone watching (aka "sniffing") network traffic.

Better, more secure options for FTP have been introduced over the decades. If you’re ready to safeguard your data in transit with secure server-to-server connections, it’s important to explore options like  SFTP, FTPS, AS2, or HTTPS.

2. File Transfers Need More than Automation; MFT Delivers

Automatic file transfer software allows users to schedule when files should be sent or retrieved between systems, users, trading partners, applications, or the cloud. This software is frequently used to manage recurrent file transfers, especially if a high volume of transfers is processed daily, to allow the prioritization of other business-critical tasks.

But automation should do more than just move files on a regular basis. With a managed file transfer solution, you can also use automation to monitor folders on-premises or in the cloud, receive email and SMS alerts when triggered events occur, and test and debug file transfer workflows.

Related Reading: Benefits of File Transfer Automation

3. What’s Your Budget? FTP Automation Software can Vary in Cost

Automatic file transfer software can range from free to affordable to costly depending on the vendor, how many licenses you need, what features you’d like to add, and the size of your organization.

For a good framework of budget considerations, check out this buyer’s guide to secure file transfer solutions . Use the printable checklist included to help work through a list of considerations for your organization and budget.

Related Reading: Secure File Transfer vs Free File Transfer: What’s the Difference? 

4. What Do You Need? FTP Automation Software can be Basic or Robust

While automation software can do the bare minimum and automate your file transfers, you may need more functionality depending on your organization’s needs. While you evaluate solutions, consider if other areas of the business could benefit from a more robust file transfer product:

• Do you need to be compliant with requirements like PCI DSS or HIPAA?
• Would you benefit from being able to send ad-hoc files and packages via secure email?
• Do you need seamless integration with cloud applications or folders?
• Would you like an easy way to collaborate with internal teams and partners?
• Do you need to connect securely to remote locations and offices?
• Would your organization benefit from better user and admin security settings?

5. The Open-Source Software Debate

If you’re only sending the occasional file transfer, or your files don’t contain any sensitive information that must be compliant with industry or federal regulations, an open-source solution may seem like a viable choice.

However, it’s a good idea to be well informed about open-source software.  Open-source software can have decent functionality, an ongoing community for support and development, and allow you to develop it to your unique requirements. On the other hand, there’s no guarantee of support for open-source options, nor any guarantees that the software is updated for security regularly. These tools can be time consuming to set up, and you could quickly outgrow it if you decide to scale your environment in the future.

Spargen added, “When it boils down to dependability and the need for a responsive partner, open source is a risky play. This is especially true when you operate in an ecosystem that sees a high rate of growth with cyberattacks on the rise each year. Open-source software struggles to meet the demands of growing enterprises that need security updates, features, and assurance in a timely manner."

Related Content: ROI of Managed File Transfer Calculator

Whether you want to use an open-source FTP automation tool is completely up to you, but make sure you know what you’re getting into before you implement one.

It’s Time to Migrate from FTP to SFTP

Whether you regularly receive 10 or 10,000 file transfers from your partners, manually retrieving, decrypting, and processing can be time consuming and leave you open to user errors, security vulnerabilities, and noncompliance issues. SFTP automation is a better alternative.

What an Automation Workflow Looks Like

To get an idea of what a workflow for SFTP automation looks like, consider this: you set up a workflow to retrieve remote direct deposits from an SFTP trading partner every Tuesday morning at 8 a.m.

When the time comes, the workflow reaches out across the secure SFTP connection, accesses a secure folder on the partner’s network, and retrieves the documents you need. Once these documents are back in your network, the workflow then automatically decrypts these files, translates them into different file formats (e.g., CSV, XML), and drops them into a folder for your team to process.
 

3 Steps to SFTP Automation

If you’re ready to simplify your SFTP file transfers and ease up on the manual work.  These three easy steps can help you start automating file transfers:

1. Evaluate File Transfer Automation Software

The best way to achieve SFTP automation in your organization, while also reducing your workload and homegrown processes, is to find and implement a file transfer automation solution. SFTP automation is frequently wrapped into a managed file transfer (MFT) solution like Fortra’s GoAnywhere MFT. In one centralized, enterprise-level product, you can automate your SFTP and other secure FTP connectivity (including FTPS, AS2, and HTTPS).

2. Determine Which Features Appeal to You.

Not every solution with file transfer automation is built the same. Here are some features to consider:

Workflow Tasks: Tasks can be used to personalize the flow a project proceeds through upon triggering. ’GoAnywhere’s pre-configured workflows  help administrators improve the performance of their business processes. From compression to data translation, emails to loops, to help improve the performance of their business processes. From compression to data translation, emails to loops, tasks can be connected within a project and automate every aspect of your SFTP file transfers.

Built-in Scheduler: GoAnywhere’s setup of SFTP automation is intuitive, with no programming required. The scheduler helps you plan when your automated file transfers should execute, and calendars can be customized to ensure projects don’t run on dates you want excluded.

File Monitoring:  This monitor can detect when new, modified, or deleted files are placed in a SFTP or FTPS trading partner’s folder for retrieval. It scans specified folders regularly, as well as watches local folders if you need to process files added internally. It can also trigger a project to run whenever new files are found and notify you if errors occur throughout the process.

3. See the Benefits for Yourself.

Once you’ve found an SFTP automation solution and have checked that it comes with the features you need to streamline your file transfer processes, put it through its paces. Here are a few things to check out during a software trial:

• Is it easy to build new SFTP file transfers?
• How quickly can you execute and run a new file transfer?
• Can you execute multiple workflows for file transfers concurrently?
• Is the solution able to scale to match future automation needs?
• Are you able to easily resume a dropped SFTP file transfer?