A look at the importance of selecting the right MFT solution for your organisation. Article originally written by Greg Hoffer, of HANDD Business Solutions Partner Globalscape.

Have you looked into a managed file transfer (MFT) solution for your organisation but are having a hard time seeing the value? Let me put it out there for you: your current solution has limitations that you might not even be aware of.

Five Things to Consider:

1. Automated processes that have been created to perform file transfers could be crippling your IT department due to high costs to build, monitor, maintain.
2. FTP is still in use despite limitations and the security risks it poses.
3. Visibility into your organization could be missing – do you know when missing or incomplete transfers happen, or do you have to rely on your business partners to tell you?
4. If you are in a regulated industry, compliance mandates control (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, GLBA, SOX, DPA, FSA, COCO, among others) much of what you do – do you worry that you might be in violation?
5. Is your file transfer system useable? If employees find it difficult they are going to find any workaround they can, usually decreasing security along the way. This can lead to data breaches and/or cybercrime attacks.

Bottom line: MFT solutions save time and money, and ultimately they can help create a clear path to secure, compliant, visible data transfers.

MFT features and deployment options will certainly continue to expand, but the fundamental need for organizations to securely exchange information within and across enterprise boundaries is growing, not shrinking. When you consider business transactions, information management, big data analysis, application integration, business-to-business commerce—all of these require the secure, compliant, auditable, automated, extensible, and easy-to-use capabilities of a mature MFT solution.

Not updating your MFT Solution is a lot like not keeping up with your health. It’s just not good for you.

Getting the most out of your MFT solution

MFT solutions often work well for a long time, sitting “behind the scenes” of an organization, and it is all too easy to forget its significance. This can be a dangerous oversight, because not only is the transfer of data continuing to grow, the threat landscape is matching that growth, if not beating it. As heavily discussed at this year’s RSA Security Conference, we will all remember 2014 as an incredibly challenging year for SSL/TLS security, and vulnerabilities continue to be reported in these and many other software programs and devices.

To ensure proper security and controls over the sensitive data being exchanged by your MFT solution, it is imperative that you keep it up to date. MFT upgrades often have the added benefit of an increased feature set, since vendors typically add features in addition to fixing bugs and updating security. But the real value in keeping your MFT solution current is that it helps ensure that your data transfers remain secure and compliant.

In short, if you are currently using an MFT solution, be sure to check that you have the most recent version and if you don’t, upgrade. And, if you don’t have an MFT solution, then it is important to evaluate the right MFT solution for the needs of your organization. Our MFT Buyers Guide is a great resource to help guide you through the process.

About HANDD

Founded in 2006 and now with offices across the globe, HANDD Business Solutions are integrators and thought leaders embracing the strap line ‘Securing the journey of your data’. Operating in a niche sector of the I.T Security market, HANDD exists to deliver Data Security and Managed File Transfer solutions to a global client base including some of the biggest brands and companies in the world.

For more information on our products, or to discuss your Data Security project requirements, contact HANDD Business Solutions on 0845 6434063 or email sales@handd.co.uk.