Is Managed File Transfer Technology Outdated?

The hype around technology comes and goes these days, often quicker than we expect it to. One moment, we’re inundated with information about the latest and greatest in social platforms, coding languages, and augmented reality. Pokemon Go is cool and the world is bright with the promise of automation … and then a new kid appears on the block and our old excitement becomes old hat.

Remember Token Ring and MS-DOS? Yeah, we don’t either. They’re so 1980s.

Hype over IT tech is much of the same. FTP was all the rage when it debuted in the 70s. So was SFTP. Then Managed File Transfer (MFT) arrived on the scene, solving secure file transfer needs and encrypting data like a boss, until suddenly, it wasn’t new news anymore. MFT solutions met business needs and addressed compliance requirements, but there wasn’t anything exciting or fresh about it… Right?

Is MFT just … outdated technology?

Not at all. The Managed File Transfer software you know is changing, expanding from a technology that secures data at rest and in transit to a technology that is far more than its origins.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here are a few exciting things to watch for with MFT.

State-of-the-Art Features

Notice some companies that push frequent updates for their MFT solution? Keep an eye on them. These organizations are the ones fueling the fire of change for managed file transfer. Look for new features that attempt to solve today’s security concerns and vulnerabilities or improvements that build on the solution’s foundation to tackle ever-evolving compliance regulations (like PCI DSS or GDPR).

MFT doesn’t have to be boring OR stagnant, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking it does. Instead, when choosing the MFT solution that’s right for you, hold out for the one that’s proactive, innovative, and passionate about bringing you the tools you need for success. Your wallet and cool kid cred will thank you.

Versatile MFT Principles

A Managed File Transfer solution that secures your data and transfers files from one place to another is a solution that does its job. But MFT can offer so much more than that. Search for solutions that have expanded into broader territories and think outside the box—like managed file transfers that integrate with the cloud, MFT Agents that automate and manage your transfers from a central deployment, clustering technology that provides active-active automatic failover for disaster recovery, and more.

Why do solutions that expand on these principles actually matter? They allow you to secure more, analyze more, solve more, and automate more business processes and IT needs, while still getting the best bang for your buck. Companies that develop MFT into other helpful areas can help you save time and precious resources, too. Who wouldn’t want that?

Companies that Accept Customer Feature Requests

The biggest giveaway that an MFT solution is taking off and making waves comes from companies that actively work on releasing customer feature requests. Find these solutions and put them on your radar; some of the best ideas for technology happen when people work together, and requests submitted by users who work with the product every day are no exception. These clients are often close enough to the software that they know exactly what it needs to make it better—not just for them, but for everyone.

GoAnywhere MFT is a great example of a solution that actively accepts customer requests. Some of its most popular features, including GoAnywhere MFT Agents (which came out earlier this year) and GoAnywhere Secure Forms, are a direct result of communicating with its customers and working their feature requests into future releases.

What’s the takeaway in all this? MFT isn’t going nowhere, it’s going everywhere … and fast. It’s a technology that’s spreading across multiple industries, evolving from a simple managed file transfer into a powerhouse of data encryption, automation, cloud integration, file transfer acceleration, and much much more.

So don’t discount MFT as old technology quite yet. It still has some tricks up its sleeve.