MFT servers explained: Why your business needs one now

Increased IT complexity, regulatory compliance obligations and senior management demands for greater efficiency are rapidly rendering general-purpose file transfer solutions incapable of meeting current business needs. To address these challenges, proactive businesses have been shifting from traditional solutions to managed file transfer (MFT) servers. 

A brief introduction to managed file transfer

MFT servers belong to a class of advanced solutions known as managed file transfer. We already gave a detailed explanation about MFT and the pain points it addresses in the article “What is managed file transfer?”, but here’s what it is in a nutshell. MFT solutions help organizations streamline and secure business processes through the following key functionality: 

• Centralized management of file sharing and file transfer operations
• Multi-layered data security
• File transfer workflow automation 
• Multi-protocol support

By leveraging these capabilities, you can use a single solution (i.e., MFT) to:

• Manage all your file transfer workflows
• Build automated workflows that operate through batch or real-time processing
• Meet multiple regulatory compliance requirements
• Interoperate with various trading partners regardless of protocol preferences

MFT solutions are typically offered through two deployment models: on-premises and cloud. Solutions that use the on-premises deployment model usually come in the form of MFT servers. On the other hand, cloud-based MFT solutions are currently delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and are known as MFTaaS. We already covered MFTaaS in detail, so we’ll be focusing on MFT servers here. 

What is MFT server?

An MFT server is a software application that you typically install in your office or data center, i.e., on-premises. One example is JSCAPE MFT Server by Redwood, which we’ll discuss a bit in more detail later. That said, some MFT server software, JSCAPE MFT Server included, can also be installed on cloud-based virtual machines. Being server applications, you would normally install MFT servers on server operating systems like Microsoft Windows Server, Linux or UNIX. 

How to access MFT server

You can access an MFT server by using file transfer clients that support any of the protocols enabled on the server. For instance, you can use clients that support File Transfer Protocol (FTP), File Transfer Protocol Secure (FTPS) and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). And if the MFT server supports Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), you may also access your server from any major web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari. 

For protocols like Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) or Odette File Transfer Protocol (OFTP), which are designed for automated business-to-business (B2B) data exchanges, you would typically pre-configure a connection with your trading partner endpoint.

Why MFT is crucial for businesses 

Business landscapes have evolved in ways that make MFT-powered file transfer workflows essential. Here are some key reasons why you should seriously consider managing all your file transfer workflows through an MFT software solution, whether it’s an MFT server or an MFTaaS service.

Reduces IT complexity

In a survey of large enterprises around the world, 82% of respondents said that IT complexity is hampering success. If large enterprises, which are backed by sizable IT budgets and dedicated IT departments, are already finding it hard to overcome IT complexity, how much more for small and medium-sized companies with tighter budgetary constraints and smaller IT teams? 

The centralized nature of MFT solutions and their ability to consolidate all file transfer processes into a single platform can substantially reduce that complexity. By eliminating the need to deploy, manage and maintain multiple file transfer-related software, you’ll make it easy for your IT staff to redirect time and energy to more strategic endeavors. 

Simplifies cybersecurity and regulatory compliance initiatives

As you’ll see from the comparison matrix shown below, MFT servers are packed with a considerably wider array of security controls. Encryption, secure protocols, auditing tools and granular user access permissions are just some of the many security features found in most MFT solutions. 

A wider selection of security controls can simplify the process of meeting corporate security policies and complying with laws and regulations that protect sensitive data. Some of these laws and regulations include:

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
• Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act 
• Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2

By leveraging the built-in security functions of an MFT solution, you won’t have to employ additional security tools to meet different requirements. 

Recommended read: Laws that could impact your choice of file transfer software

Streamlines business processes

Senior management, members of the board and other major stakeholders constantly call for higher efficiency and lower costs. Through built-in automation tools, MFT solutions enable organizations to streamline areas in their business processes that involve data movement. Timely B2B data exchanges and data transfers that respond to pre-defined triggers in real time can significantly improve operational efficiency while bringing down human errors and the costs associated with them.    

Benefits of an on-premises MFT solution over a cloud-based one

MFTaaS and even other cloud-based SaaS-type file transfer services also provide data movement capability while delivering valuable business benefits like zero upfront costs, reduced administrative overhead and increased scalability. However, there are still several reasons why you might want an on-premises MFT solution. 

Greater control

Since an MFT server is typically installed on-premises, you have full control over what operating system, hypervisor or physical server/storage device it’s installed on. Consequently, you also know exactly where the application and your user files reside. You know the specific room, rack and physical server/storage device. More importantly, you have full control over who has access to those devices.

Greater alignment with data privacy and data sovereignty requirements

As an offshoot of strict data privacy mandates, some regulatory requirements and corporate security policies bar you from entrusting your data to a third party. Thus, if you’re covered by these requirements or policies, a locally installed MFT server is your only choice. 

Tighter integration with locally-installed applications

In automation-enabled IT environments, MFT servers normally operate in conjunction with other business applications. If you want to incorporate your MFT solution into your business process automation initiatives, you’ll want it running in close proximity with other business applications to minimize latency and exposure to public network-based threats. To meet that requirement, you’ll want to deploy a locally-installed MFT server. 

No ongoing subscription costs

While the pricing model used by SaaS-type file transfer solutions enable greater flexibility and nearly-zero upfront costs, ongoing subscriptions tend to be more expensive in the long run. If you can afford the upfront costs of an MFT server and have the technical talent to deploy, manage and maintain it, you might want to seriously consider choosing an MFT server over an MFTaaS solution. 

FTP vs SFTP vs MFT: File transfer server comparison matrix

Prior to the emergence of MFT servers, businesses used general-purpose file transfer servers for their file transfer workflows. Most of these servers were powered by the following protocols:

• FTP: An old protocol that has been in use since the early days of the Internet. Capable of transferring large files and supporting multiple concurrent connections, FTP was the de facto file transfer protocol for several decades. However, because of its lack of security features like encryption and strong authentication, businesses gradually replaced their FTP servers with more secure alternatives like FTPS and SFTP. 
• FTPS: The secure version of FTP, FTPS, derives security functionality such as encryption, authentication and data integrity from Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). 
• SFTP: A subset of Secure Shell (SSH), SFTP has similar security capabilities as FTPS, but is more compatible with firewalls. 

Here’s a comparison matrix that gives you an overview of the key differences between an MFT server and file transfer servers that use those three protocols mentioned above. 

If you want a more detailed comparison between FTP, FTPS and SFTP, we invite you to read the post “Understanding Key Differences Between FTP, FTPS And SFTP”. You may also read our post about active and passive mode FTP to understand the firewall challenges that accompany FTPS deployments and how to tackle them. 

What is JSCAPE MFT Server?

JSCAPE MFT Server by Redwood is a highly secure, platform-independent on-premises MFT solution. It installs on all major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, UNIX, Solaris, AIX and macOS. This deployment flexibility allows you to easily incorporate JSCAPE MFT Server into your existing IT infrastructure. 

While you can run JSCAPE MFT Server on its own, you can also integrate it with JSCAPE MFT Gateway by Redwood to achieve greater degrees of scalability and high availability. Moreover, when you deploy it on your DMZ, JSCAPE MFT Gateway can act as a reverse proxy that hides MFT server instances in your internal network, which reduces your attack surface and greatly improves the overall security of your IT infrastructure.

JSCAPE MFT Server comes with an extensive range of easy-to-use integration options that allow you to effortlessly integrate it with various on-premise and cloud-based applications and services. Some of these applications and services include:

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory
• RADIUS authentication service
• SMB file share
• Amazon S3
• Google Cloud Storage
• Microsoft Azure Blob
• CyberArk
• ActiveBatch by Redwood
• SMTP service
• And many others

In addition, JSCAPE MFT Server also comes with a robust API that allows developers to programmatically interact with your MFT server and further enhance its capabilities. 

Try JSCAPE MFT Server

See how easy it is to use JSCAPE MFT Server for managing and monitoring your file transfer workflows. Book a quick demo today.