In today’s digital landscape, maintaining best practice for your data at rest and in transit, regardless of file size or type, is vital for businesses. 

MFT enables organisations to centrally manage growing data volumes while reducing a number of serious risks. While MFT is not new, many organisations have never adopted a supported vendor solution, or may find themselves with an older vendor solution, which can be a risk in itself. Enter cloud based Managed File Transfer.

Created as an alternative to traditional file transfer practices, cloud-based MFT tools require no hardware to deploy or manage, taking advantage of state of the art global data centres to meet data residency requirements, and automatic upgrades to leverage new features. 

These cloud based deployments also include the traditional benefits of MFT such as meeting high availability and file transfer delivery SLAs, as well as complying with the latest security and compliance mandates by maintaining certifications such as ISO 27001.

At its core, five of the most critical advantages that cloud-based MFT tools bring to enterprises are:

  • Enhanced security and visibility
  • Improved efficiency
  • Effortless scalability and reliability
  • Streamlined auditability and compliance
  • Greater integration and collaboration

Enhanced security

Safeguarding sensitive data against the risks of loss, or breaches, is essential, with costs of more than £20 million facing enterprises who fail to demonstrate compliance.

Continuously tested against the latest security challenges, MFT tools offer robust security measures that ensure your data is protected. Featuring end-to-end encryption, hourly backups, and granular user permissions, MFT solutions ensure that any files remain fully secure, wherever they are stored, shareed, or accessed.

Mitigating the Shadow IT threat

Featuring centralised management and visibility, cloud-based MFT tools also make it easier than ever to consolidate department wide file-sharing into a single tool.

Often, Shadow IT applications (those used but unsanctioned by a company) pose the greatest threat to an organisation’s control over their data. Sitting in unknown locations, and governed by unknown or unsuitable security controls, Shadow IT can introduce significant vulnerabilities throughout the file sharing process.

Deploying a suitable, easy to use app with the right security controls increases the chances that users will readily adopt it – reducing the footprint of unsanctioned apps in the process. What’s more, certain apps can then be blocked on the company network to prevent such use going forward and overall threat landscape is reduced.

Improved efficiency

Traditional manual file transfers are prone to the risks of human error and inaccuracies, causing long delays as mistakes are identified, rectified, and resolved. 

MFT solutions remove the possibility of these delays altogether, with automated capabilities decreasing reliance on manual entry to enable vast improvements in efficiency and productivity.

Through automation, users can schedule transfers to occur at specific times or at regular intervals – eliminating the need for manual entry. Costly delays can also stem from large file sizes and data volumes. To navigate this, MFT tools use batch processes to transfer multiple files, or even entire folders, simultaneously.

Download our free eBook to discover how MFT can unlock security, transparency, and compliance today

Effortless scalability and reliability

As businesses expand, so too do the complexity and volume of their data and file transfers, as a 2022 market report on file sharing showcased:

“As more and more data is generated, stored, accessed and shared by organisations, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage. This challenges companies’ ability to operate effectively and efficiently due to the sheer volume of data. Enterprises require solutions that can help them synchronise files and share information among different teams more easily.”

Quatrix, and other MFT tools, are designed to handle this increasing complexity easily and with minimal risk. This ensures secure file transfers that don’t compromise on performance or security. 

Streamlined auditability and compliance

Complying with national and international data protection regulations, such as GDPR and HIPAA, is vital for maintaining trust and avoiding costly penalties. 

This is why MFT solutions like Quatrix offer comprehensive audit trails and reporting capabilities; to demonstrate compliance and ensure robust data governance.

MFT tools log a range of detailed information about ongoing activities, including:

  • Timestamps
  • File names
  • File sizes
  • Sender and recipient details 
  • Any modifications made to files during transit 

These logs allow users to track file movements, monitor user actions, and swiftly identify any unauthorised access or data breaches. If security incidents or compliance audits do occur, users have access to a comprehensive digital footprint of activity which can be used as evidence.

MFT tools can also generate regular reports summarising all file transfer activities. This provides visibility into transfer volumes, success rates, and potential bottlenecks amongst other details. These reports are invaluable for many situations, ranging from compliance audits to internal reviews and ongoing performance monitoring.

Greater integration and collaboration

In rapidly shifting markets, collaborating with partners, customers, and suppliers is vital to navigating the latest trends and challenges. MFT solutions enable secure and efficient data exchange by integrating with various systems, applications, and protocols.

MFT solutions offer connections that seamlessly integrate file transfer capabilities directly into existing business systems, including:

  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
  • Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems

These integrations eliminate the need for manual intervention and minimise the hassle of switching between multiple applications.

What’s more, MFT solutions support a wide range of file types, including structured data formats like XML or CSV, as well as unstructured data like documents, images, or media files. 

This flexibility ensures full compatibility with all business needs, encouraging collaboration by enabling any team to share valuable information regardless of file type.

Empowering enterprises with Quatrix

Advanced MFT solutions like Quatrix bring several significant benefits to both small and international enterprises. 

At Maytech, we’re committed to making file sharing simple and secure. Integrating advanced MFT tools empowers your business to deploy secure, efficient, and compliant file transfer operations – both internally and with third parties – to minimise risk and maximise the benefits. 

To learn more about how Quatrix can bring a wealth of insights to your enterprise, why not get in touch for a free discovery call? 

Read More: 6 Reasons Why Managed File Transfer is Better than FTP