Follow the Signs
If you and your enterprise are needing to regularly transfer sensitive data between users, employees, and trading partners, it’s important to follow the signs.
One wrong move, such as the lack of file encryption for transfers, can hit your organization with huge fines for non-compliance. It’s important to avoid these instances of error, among other hiccups like files failing to reach their destination, so your business can run optimally.
But how do you know what kind of file transfer software will be the best fit for your enterprise? Or, if you’re ready to take the next step and implement?
Here are some of the key signs that your business is ready for an enterprise file transfer solution.
Sign One: You’re Using Traditional Methods to Send Data
Although FTP gives organizations the ability to send and retrieve data quickly and at a lower price, newer file transfer protocols that are much more secure and effective have surfaced.
If your IT team is considering using FTP for your file transfer needs, they should think again. FTP is at a much greater risk of cyberattacks and does not meet modern cybersecurity standards. Sending data using outdated methods like homegrown scripts takes time away from more critical tasks, increases the risk of human error, and is difficult to maintain. Using either of these older technologies can create liabilities for your organization if a data breach were to occur.
Enterprise file transfer solutions take the risk, maintenance, and programming off your plate. The software is easy to audit, friendly to use, and the ability to schedule batch transfers can remove manual work off an IT team’s list of responsibilities. These solutions also support the use of secure data exchange using SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS, and more – all of which provide encryption, unlike regular FTP.
Related Reading: Is FTP Dead?
Sign Two: You Need to Comply with Data Security Laws and Regulations
Compliance is a serious requirement for any enterprise that processes personal data. From health data (hospital records, test results), to banking data (debit and credit card numbers, bank account details), to personal data (home address, SSN), failure to follow compliance requirements can be fatal. Not only can it cost your organization time and money, but it can ruin a social reputation. In some situations, it can destroy a business completely.
Although it depends on your organization, most enterprise file transfer solutions can help your file transfers comply properly and meet popular requirements like PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITECH, and GDPR. You can use features like auditing, reporting, role-based access, secure protocols, centralized security controls, encryption, key management, and more to protect employee and consumer data from a harmful security mishap.
Related Reading: Meeting IT Security and Compliance Requirements with GoAnywhere MFT
Sign Three: You Need to Comply with Government Requirements
If your organization works with the government, you will need to follow the special reporting and encryption requirements developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
With an enterprise file transfer solution, these requirements can be met using:
- Secure authentication and user controls
- Audit logs and generated reports
- FIPS 140-2 compliant AES and Triple DES encryption algorithms
- And more, depending on your organization’s needs
Sign Four: You Need to Audit Your File Transfer Activity
There are several likely scenarios that can require you to audit your file transfers. Maybe your trading partner or stakeholder is looking to check out an overview of the month’s transfer activity. Or, maybe a file transfer has failed and you’re not sure where the process went wrong.
Auditing is helpful for a number of situations. Regardless of what needs to be examined, enterprise file transfer solutions will store detailed audit records for all file transfer activity and workflows that run in the solution.
An adept enterprise file transfer solution may come with an interface, allowing you to quickly search your audit logs for specific users, date ranges, or terms. You can also dive into your file transfer workflows for job log details. This includes details like what project a job was a part of, when the job started, and whether each step of the workflow succeeded or failed.
Sign Five: You Need to Exchange Data with Trading Partners in the Cloud
Many organizations are moving at least some (if not more) of their business processes to the cloud or need to exchange files with trading partners in the cloud. However, as cloud technology continues to rapidly grow, IT professionals at your own organization may struggle to address your partners’ requirements sufficiently, while maintaining the proper cybersecurity practices.
Enterprise file transfer solutions know that you have concerns. Is it safe to store sensitive data in a third-party cloud? Or, is it difficult to implement file transfers in a cloud-based environment? The answer to these questions can be remedied with the use of the right solution.
From streamlining and automating cloud file transfers to platforms like Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure, to integrating with popular web and cloud services like SharePoint and Google Drive, working with a partner in the cloud using an enterprise file transfer solution will be a smooth process. There will also be an enhanced layer of security and automation to your processes.
One other option is a SaaS (software as a service) solution, a multi-purpose enterprise file transfer tool that takes care of the setup, hosting, and management. With this option, there’s no need to manage a cloud infrastructure or install software on-premises. It also saves you money due to subscription pricing.
Related Reading: Why a SaaS Solution Can Benefit Your Company
Sign Six: Your Processes Need to Adapt to Changing Network Conditions
According to research conducted by Information Technology Intelligence Consulting, 98% of organizations say a single hour of system downtime costs them over $100,000. This price rises for 81% of enterprise organizations to over $300,000 per hour.
As organizations and trading partners become increasingly integrated, it’s critical that file transfers perform without delays or disruptions. For example, a document containing a batch of important transactions could traditionally be delivered in several hours without any issues. However, in today’s fast-paced culture, it’s important for processes to be as efficient as possible. Now, that same document is expected to be delivered within seconds.
An enterprise file transfer solution should have a high availability plan in place. The right solution will provide active-passive and active-active (i.e. clustering) methods for organizations who need to keep their processes running no matter the situation at hand.
Clustering provides the best high availability by running multiple servers simultaneously. Therefore, if one goes down, file transfers and workflows will continue to run on other servers so communication with your trading partners won’t be interrupted.
Related Reading: Can Your MFT Solution Do These 20 Things?
Have You Seen the Signs?
If any of the above are ringing a bell or sparking that feeling of familiarity, it may be time to consider a secure and streamlined enterprise file transfer solution like GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer (MFT).
GoAnywhere MFT is an all-in-one technology that automates and encrypts file transfers from a centralized dashboard. Not only does it simplify the completion of critical business initiatives, but it reduces the time spent on manual file transfers, in-house processes, and more.With GoAnywhere MFT you can also save money up front and in the long run.
See how this enterprise file transfer solution can benefit you today.
