New challenges and new opportunities have arisen due to big data, which is altering the nature of file transfer technology.
The Good News
Big data is leading to new file sharing technology, which is making it easier to solve certain big data file transfer problems. On the other hand, it is increasing the bandwidth requirements companies face, including structuring systems to adhere to compliance requirements, cloud data security, and more.
The state of file transfers is changing due to big data, especially when it comes to cloud storage. Brands need to appreciate these changes and invest in the right big data file transfer tools.
The Threat of Data Breaches and File Transfer Security
File transfer security has become a major concern for many organizations thanks to increased cybersecurity threats, skyrocketing costs associated with data breaches, as well as more compliance standards and privacy requirements (e.g., HIPAA, PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach- Bliley).
COVID-19 and a Distributed Workforce
Due to COVID-19, the number of employees working remotely has exploded. This creates a cyber threat with employees sharing potentially sensitive data from their home offices. As such, they need a file transfer solution that can handle the movement of big files around the world and comply with various security standards without putting a strain on their IT resources.
Related Reading: 5 Ways to Strengthen Cybersecurity Working from Home
Legacy File Transfer Protocols
Meanwhile, companies are realizing that their legacy file transfer solutions, such as FTP, lack the capacity and security measures they need to stay compliant and competitive. These basic file transfer tools don’t have the flexibility to handle multiple sources and targets, nor can they support business-to-business interactions among partners, vendors, and suppliers.
Also, these legacy systems often don’t include provisions for data encryption. Sensitive data is easily exposed in transit, making it a prime target for cybercriminals.
To stay competitive in today’s global business environment, you need a file transfer strategy that can scale up with your business without adding substantial costs.
11 Big Data File Transfer Solution Features to Consider
Here are 11 key considerations when you’re designing a big data file transfer strategy and selecting file transfer solutions for your organization:
- Automate the movement of files between internal systems and partners or customers to minimize errors, delays, and bottlenecks.
- Use a solution that can reliably deliver files without manual checks. It should also minimize the need for extensive scripting to handle errors, file verification, and file transfer retries.
- Consolidate your organization’s file transfer, file sharing, and automation needs onto a single interface that can support a variety of transfer clients and protocols, such as browsers via HTTPS, e-mail attachments, and FTP/SFTP clients.
- Choose a flexible solution that can simplify, secure, and audit batch server-to-server file transfers, user-to-system ad-hoc file transfers, and person-to-person file collaboration.
- Look for automation features that can run workflows with multi-step processes when you need to move, process and encrypt data. The software should also allow you to schedule transfers, as well as monitor every folder to see when a new file is added and process it immediately.
- Integrate your file transfer tool with as many numerous different applications as possible to streamline workflows and increase efficiency.
- Use a file transfer solution that can create reports to facilitate regulatory compliance by consolidating audit details on file transfers across multiple systems.
- Achieve the highest level of security by using a solution designed to meet federal standards and encrypt files both at rest and in motion.
- Encrypt and decrypt files using the Open PGP standard while protecting file transmissions with SFTP, SCP, FTPS, AS2, and HTTPS protocols.
- Enhance data movement and exchange by using a file transfer solution that can connect to various types of servers. These include secure FTP servers that use SFTP, SCP, or FTPS protocols, AS2 or HTTP(S) servers, standard FTP or email servers, as well as local file systems.
- Integrate your file transfer software with the cloud applications you use daily, such as Box, Google Drive, and SharePoint for seamless workflows.
Managed File Transfer Solution: The Foundation of an Effective File Transfer Strategy
To ensure effective and secure file transfer, more companies are including (MFT) software as part of their file transfer strategies.
What is MFT?
A robust MFT solution enables you to streamline files management by using industry-standard network protocols and encryption methods. It allows you to automate data transfer across the organization’s networks and systems, applications, trading partners, and cloud computing platforms through a centralized interface.
It can meet the criteria of today’s file transfer best practices while helping you reduce costs, improve the reliability of data transmissions, and stay compliant with security standards such as PCI DSS, the GDPR, and HIPAA.
When choosing an MFT software, look for one that’s compliant with internal and external security mandates, highly reliable, and set up for detailed auditing of all transfer activity. This will help ensure your file transfer strategy supports your organization’s communication framework so you can scale up and accelerate growth without adding security risks.
File Sharing Must Evolve with Big Data
Big data technology is changing the way files are processed and transferred. Every organization needs to understand these changes and adapt the latest big data file transferring technology.
