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Why Sharetru?
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File sharing is the practice of sharing or enabling access to digital media, including documents, video files, graphics, etc. Anytime you are moving one or multiple files, documents, etc. from one place to another you are executing a transfer if information! Isn’t this exciting stuff?
Secure file sharing is the act of sharing information (files, folders, etc.) digitally and securely by protecting this information from unauthorized users, intruders, and other malicious manners. When a business or organization needs to share or transfer confidential information to specific person or group it becomes the utmost importance to ensure you are transferring information and sharing files securely.
Secure file sharing is usually done through a combination of encrypting the file while at rest or in-flight to its destination, security protocols requiring passwords or other verification/authentication before accessing the information. Most secure file sharing services or software providers enable secure file sharing by restricting access to the file, allowing only authorized personnel to access, view, or download the file.
I’m sure most people think that in 2022 transferring files or sharing data is a safe thing to do – especially when the organization you work for has provided you with a solution, right? But if they have not, then who knows what’s happening with a company’s files. Users just attach files to an email, drop them in a shared folder, or upload them to a server via FTP or web application (WebApp), etc. It’s easy, and people at your organization have done it the same way for years. We like to call this the wild west of data transfer or file sharing. This means that your organization is basically allowing users to make their own decisions and throw data, files, information into a void and hoping someone doesn’t obtain them while also not managing account types or user controls.
However, all too often we find that there is many well-known transfer or sharing options that just simply lack basic security to keep data protected or have never been reconfigured or reviewed by administrators to keep up with security concerns – especially corporate data. As you may know, this can cause harsh and costly damage to an organization. In fact, according to the 2021 data breach report from IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the cost of a data breach has risen to an average of $4.24 Million! This represents a 10% increase over one year ago. These are only the financial implications – the qualitative harm to your brand and your users cannot always be undone. Therefore, it’s now more important than ever to avoid having unmanaged systems. In this section we will review some risks and examples of common Unmanaged File Transfer solutions.
The movement of data/information is common practice in most if not all business operations today. More than likely this is the transfer or sharing files or business information. MFT enables businesses to transfer or share files and information in a controlled, secure, centralized manner – between users and systems – outside or inside and organization.
Managed file transfer (MFT) is much more than a desktop application that utilizes file transfer protocols. MFT utilizes admin level security controls, automation and supports secure protocols such as HTTPS, SFTP, FTPS. This solution enables businesses to safely and securely share or transfer high levels of valuable business information. MFT is known to be a more secure method than UFT because there’s someone within your organization managing the platform. There is typically a user interface (UI) with the ability to enable visibility and control, but your organization is responsible for managing many additional aspects of the system beyond the software layer including the application, patching, security updates, and more.
Managed File Transfer is usually implemented to replace outdated legacy file transfer configurations written with code or implementing a companywide policy for the first time. This evolution typically improves agility and efficiency by removing a time-consuming chore from your IT team. Choosing MFT software instead of building it yourself saves time that can be allocated towards other digital transformation goals such as big-data, cloud-first initiatives, and anything else your company is prioritizing. Historically, MFT solutions are operated on a company’s in-house infrastructure whether on prem or their public or private cloud to achieve tight unification with internal systems and administrators.
Managed File Transfer as a Service (MFTaaS) is a cloud based MFT solution that enables organizations to securely transfer and share files and data by combining the security, efficiency, and automation of MFT with the benefits of SaaS. The MFTaaS solution provider will be responsible for infrastructure, fault tolerance, load scaling and balancing, patching, development, and any software or security updates that may occur. MFTaaS is hosted by your MFT provider as a SaaS solution with the added benefit of removing hardware (IaaS) administration needs, PaaS administration needs, and additional administrative headcount needs for your organization to host your own file transfer solution.
The billion-dollar global marketplace is pushing advancements and innovation to rapidly evolve. This means that there are innovative solutions popping up that will increasingly change the landscape as the marketplace advances and established providers such as Sharetru continue to develop the platforms.
MFT solution providers have been challenged with making their robust solutions available on the cloud. The available options are single tenant (dedicated IaaS) or multi-tenant instances (shared IaaS), with different options and plans available for the platform. Software vendors are widely focused on providing a robust platform versus dedicating time and resources to building out large professional service teams. However, at Sharetru we focus on both!
More and more organizations are making the move toward digital transformation as they grow and scale. This means there is a need for a secure and reliable way to automate and modernize their IT operations. They need to be able to bridge internal teams, partners, systems, and data with the highest security standards throughout the business.
Today we reviewed key factors to consider when you are weighing out the advantages and risks of a file sharing/file transfer solution. The choice you make will most likely be guided by the budget and scope of requirements for your organization. No matter what, there is a Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution for your organization. Sharetru is a robust solution that can simplify operations and streamline costs. Reach out to one of our Secure File Transfer experts to learn more about our MFTaaS solutions.
