Why a Fast FTP Server is Important for Employee Productivity

There are a lot of important issues to consider before picking an FTP provider for your business. One of the most essential is compliance - you need to know that whatever provider you select has features in place that allow you to maintain compliance with governing bodies like HIPAA and PCI DSS. Another has to do with backup and disaster recovery - you need the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing even if you suffer a catastrophic system failure, you can get back up and running quickly.

One area that people don't pay enough attention to, however, is speed. A fast FTP server is hugely important for businesses of any size in terms of the employee productivity gains they can bring.

What You Need to Know About FTP Server Speeds 

The biggest benefit that a fast FTP server brings with it in terms of employee productivity, has to do with the speed of the actual file transfers. Because no metadata is being added in the files being uploaded or downloaded to the server, FTP can send larger files at much faster speeds than alternative options. This allows employees to make more information available to an enterprise faster, getting the right information into the hands of the people who need it the most as quickly as possible.

Another way that a fast FTP server is helpful has to do with streamlining the workflow normally required for sharing files across a business enterprise. Many file sharing providers (along with most email providers) impose a file size limitation of roughly 2 gigabytes. This means that if the file you're trying to share exceeds this size, you either have to spend time breaking it up (and the recipient will need to spend time putting it back together again) or you need to employ alternative methods like sharing a local drive over a network, transferring that file to a flash drive, or physically handing the file to the recipient.

With a fast FTP server, however, this is no longer a concern. All files can be uploaded immediately regardless of size, meaning that the speed of the upload or download is only limited to the amount of bandwidth available at the moment.

A fast FTP site can also help automate certain processes that other file sharing options would require employees to do manually. There is no need to individually upload 100 files into different directories like you are required to do with consumer-grade cloud-based options. An FTP site natively support things like bulk uploads. Employees don't even have to wait for the transfer to complete before moving onto the next task - they can "set it and forget it," essentially.

Speed in general is just one of the many benefits that FTP brings to the table in terms of employee productivity. When you consider the administrative functionality, the security and compliance features and even factors like branding opportunities for business, it's easy to see why FTP is still one of the premiere ways for users to share files in today's modern age.