Ditch Your File Transfer Scripts

More and more companies across the Asia-Pacific region are realising they have a pressing need to eliminate their use of outdated file transfer scripts.

A Key Vulnerability

A recent survey found that our region is on the frontline, subject to more cyber attacks than any other. 72% of local organisations experienced four or more cybersecurity incidents in the past year - 20% more than the global average.

Manual scripts – often written by employees to reduce the repetitive burden of manually transferring files – are a key vulnerability.  Not only are file transfer scripts risky, they’re also inefficient and prone to failure.

MFT: safer, more efficient

Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a powerful technology which comprehensively addresses the risks and challenges of moving information, both within an organisation, and with external suppliers, partners and customers. It simplifies and secures data transfer by providing centralised control, encryption, enhanced security protocols and auditing.

Unsurprising then that more and more IT departments are using MFT to replace their outdated manual file transfer scripts.

Reasons to Ditch Scripts

1. Scripts don’t play well with new tech.

   
   

   For example, cloud-based computing environments require file transfers to be integrated with cloud-based solutions, and platforms such as Azure and AWS.

2. Scripts lack advanced features.

   
   

   For example, automating file transfers – say, with FTP - requires you to add a second solution, which is time-consuming and complex.  Scripts are also challenged to detect and implement automatic “re-try” features in the event of failure, or prevent employees mishandling sensitive data.

3. Scripts are time consuming.

   
   

   Developing, maintaining, and troubleshooting scripts takes time, distracting valuable IT staff from more important tasks.  Worse, if the author of a script isn’t available when it fails, bottlenecks can occur in your workflow.

4. Scripts don’t offer built-in reporting.

   
   

   Logging needs to be manually added to scripts.  Accessing those logs – say, when you need to prove audit compliance, or meet other regulatory reporting requirements – is time consuming and difficult, requiring an effective filter and search tools.

5. Scripts aren’t secure.

   
   

   As explained above, scripts don’t offer the security features necessary to keep cyber thieves at bay.  User credentials aren’t encrypted, there’s no in-built key management, no access controls, and they’re unlikely to use up-to-date security protocols.

   
   

Why MFT is Better than Scripts

As well as increasing the security of your file transfers, ditching scripts offers your organisation many other compelling advantages.

1. Centralised Control.

   
   

   Instead of using multiple different tools, programs, and scripts to encrypt, send, and automate your file transfers, MFT can enable all of these from a single interface. That significantly streamlines day-to-day operations and reduces wasted tool maintenance time.

2. Automate.

   
   

   No matter the volume of files to be transferred across your business and supply chain, the best MFTs enable your team to spend time focusing on other things.

3. Save Money.

   
   

   Clients are often surprised how many employee-hours they’re spending creating, maintaining and resolving problems with file transfer scripts.  These ongoing hidden costs can really mount up.  (And that’s without considering the potentially catastrophic cost to your business of a data breach enabled by an insecure script!)

4. Flexible Scalability.

   
   

   The best MFTs scale fluidly – horizontally and vertically - as file transfer loads increase.  They make redundant tedious and uncertain processes of buying, deploying and understanding gateways, load balancers and other expensive network devices and hardware. Cloud-friendly MFT tools also exploit new cloud and virtualisation capabilities to scale up quickly to meet demand. They can even be “failed over” to a DR site in the event of an outage.

5. Regulatory Compliance.

   
   

   By logging file transfers and access across your organisation, the best MFTs ensure your compliance with legal requirements, such as data privacy and encryption.  Logs are also readily accessible if you’re called on to demonstrate your compliance during an audit or need to conduct forensics after an internal security breach.

The Best MFT

Independent analysts agree that that GoAnywhere MFT is the industry’s leading Managed File Transfer solution.  GoAnywhere not only enables your data to be moved securely - both internally and externally – it also enhances your team’s productivity. 

Asia-Pacific’s MFT Experts

No-one better understands local MFT needs and best practices than Generic Systems Australia. Our local team has decades of experience helping businesses replace outdated and risky scripts with the world’s leading MFT solution, and our Migration Service makes the transition easy.

If you’d like a no-cost, no-obligation discussion about how we could help you simply and affordably transition from risky scripts to an advanced MFT solution, please feel welcome to get in touch.