COVID-19 has changed the business landscape, and IT teams have been rapidly adapting their technology and processes to support a changing workplace. Some of the UK’s biggest organisations are still enforcing a work-from-home policy, while others are promoting a hybrid working environment.
Businesses are investing in new technology or extending existing solutions to support secure remote working, handle higher volumes of transfers, deliver automation to reduce manual processing and leverage the benefits of the cloud.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) is a powerful business enabler. It allows transfers to take place in a centralised, controlled, secure fashion – inside and outside an organisation – between systems and / or users. Files are transferred more quickly and securely, enhancing productivity and providing visibility, with minimal human interaction.
It’s a critical component in enabling digital workforces, and this article provides just a few examples.
Secure remote working
Sensitive data is no longer within the safety of the company’s firewall. MFT secures data, no matter where staff work from. It’s accessible too, giving remote employees the tools they need to ensure critical files get where they need to be. Benefits include:
- Protected files in motion and at rest
- Guaranteed delivery
- Access control and authentication
- Single-pane-of-glass visibility for IT, to maintain compliance (PCI, SOX, GDPR, ISO)
- Accelerated transfers of large files between remote employees or locations
- User friendly web-based interface and mobile application
- Optional high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR)
Automation
Automated workflows can replace some manual processes that are suffering, due to staff absence during the pandemic. For example, batch processing of any repetitive process or secure data capture, to remove paper processing.
Automated file transfer also delivers file-based system to system transfers, either inside an organisation or between trading partners. Plus integration with other applications, both on-premise or in the cloud, e.g SharePoint, Amazon & Azure.
There are many benefits to workflow automation, including:
- Reduced operational costs
- Increased productivity
- Increased reliability, by reducing human error
- Optimised performance
- Supporting a high availability infrastructure
Cloud MFT
Pre-COVID, the majority of the organisations we worked with considered cloud MFT offerings, but still opted for an on premises deployment. That’s changed drastically post-COVID and there’s an urgency for organisations to move to the cloud.
Benefits include:
- No server set up and maintenance costs
- Easily scalable as requirement change
- Reduced on site infrastructure
- High availability
- The latest innovation in infrastructure and security
- Improved connectivity speeds
- Secure and reliable hosted environment
Getting started with MFT
If you don’t have MFT, this is a great time to invest. You will quickly see a return on investment. The Managed File Transfer Buyer’s Guide is a great starting point for your research.
If you already use MFT, considering adding functionality to support the ‘new normal’ in a COVID-19 society:
- Secure email
- Secure folders
- Secure forms
- Cloud connectors
- Mobile app
- Advanced workflow automation
- Auditing and reporting
- Cloud MFT options
You can find more information about additional modules and functionality in the the Managed File Transfer Buyer’s Guide. Or, just pick up the phone. Pro2col experts will be happy to talk through your requirements. Call us on 0333 123 1240 or contact us online.
