Three Reasons to Upskill Your Team with CFTP

In a recent report from Forbes, 93% of businesses agreed with the statement that the IT skills gap in the UK had an impact on their operational capacity. There were a number of reasons which were attributed to this, however the second most commonly cited reason was training and development issues.

Particularly in the case of niche solutions and technologies – such as Managed File Transfer (MFT) - small and medium sized businesses can find it troublesome to ensure that their teams are sufficiently skilled to provide support to their business. File transfer skills are not commonplace and the materials that exist to learn these skills tend to be solution specific or fragmented across a number of materials online.

Since 2007, The Certified File Transfer Programme (CFTP) has existed to provide an online self-paced training course for those seeking file transfer skills – agnostic to vendor solutions. Since its initial creation, the programme has evolved to become three courses and now includes modernised topics such as cloud storage, secure architecture and data protection.

This all sounds like the benefits are clear, right? Well if not, let’s look at the top three reasons why you should be considering CFTP for your team.

#1 – Improve In-House Skill

This may be obvious given the introduction above, but is worth pointing out on its own merit. File transfer skills are not only hard to come by, but they are expensive to maintain given there is a relatively strong requirement in the job market. In addition to this, for most small and medium-sized businesses, this is not a dedicated role and competes for attention from team members who may be specialised in other areas.

This can lead to file transfer suffering from a lack of focus. Skills are learned on the fly – sought out via online materials - to resolve specific challenges rather than used proactively to improve its application. It's impractical to suggest that all businesses need a dedicated file transfer expert, however it is reasonable to recommend that anyone working with a file transfer solution be sufficiently trained for the benefit of the business.

#2 - Reduce the Number of Support Tickets

In a similar vein, those who are trained in file transfer tend to raise fewer tickets for support. Again, this may seem obvious on the face of it. But, consider the impact on a business which has to wait for a third-party support provider or vendor to diagnose and then rectify issues while the solution is not operating and full capacity, or worse – in an offline state.

Ensuring your team are skilled to resolve even a percentage of support incidents will reduce the time for resolution and reliance on external parties. Given that many of our customers make use of file transfer software for business-critical purposes, this reduction in resolution time contributes to ensuring maximum business efficiency.

#3 - Get a Greater Understanding of what is Possible

While reasons one and two probably come as no surprise, reason number three is sometimes overlooked. What we often encounter with existing customers is a cumulative issue of not knowing what possibilities exist, stemming from a lack of file transfer skills and a file transfer solution which has been purchased for a singular purpose.

By getting a broader level of understanding about file transfer technologies, your team will be better placed to not just understand its current application, but also how it can be applied to other areas of your business or requirements which arise.

Too often have we been spoken with customers who are looking or new solutions where file transfer could be applied – who are simply unaware.

Get CFTP Certified Today

File transfer is a continually evolving landscape of new compliance requirements, changing security standards and enhanced product features. It’s also notoriously difficult to prove your knowledge to current or future employers. CFTP is the only vendor-independent file transfer training programme that will enhance and certify your knowledge and getting started with your certification is simple.

You have the flexibility to work through the course materials at your own pace and take the open book exam when you’re ready, allowing you to fit your studies around your work schedule, making it ideal for busy IT professionals wanting to learn more and develop their skills in the world of secure file transfer.

CFTP is available for purchase through the CFTP Certification website and comes in three distinct levels: Associate, Professional, and Expert.

Associate: Ideal for newcomers to the world of file transfer; those wanting to hone their skills or get a better understanding of some of the fundamentals.
Professional: Ideal for those who have been working with file transfer in their current or previous job roles; those wanting to hone their skills or get a better understanding of some of the mechanics of file transfer.
Expert: This highest level is for those who have extensive experience in file transfer.

Enrol now to start your journey toward CFTP Certification today!

Enrol in CFTP Today