HelpSystems Buys GlobalScape, Consolidating the File Transfer Market

What does the new merger of GoAnywhere and Globalscape mean for the managed file transfer market?

HelpSystems LLC who owns the managed file transfer solution, GoAnywhere, signed a deal with Globalscape Inc., in an agreement to buy Globalscape at $9.50 per share, or approximately $217 million. This move is the largest merger and acquisitions (M&A) that the managed file transfer market has seen ever.

Globalscape has been one of the leading managed file transfer solutions on the market for years with its Enhanced File Transfer (EFT) solution. Globalscape customers may be a little worried with the acquisition by Helpsystems. When prospects of an MFT solution are deciding on which solution to implement, they generally find themselves choosing between the big 3 in MFT. The big 3 up to this point have been GoAnywhere by HelpSystems, MOVEit by Progress, and Globalscape EFT. Axway comes in at a distant 4 ^th with regards to MFT functionality and features.

With this M&A, customers may be forced to implement a solution that they had already vetted out with GoAnywhere. Chances are they had already trialed either GoAnywhere or MOVEit before choosing Globalscape as their preferred MFT solution. This raises a number of questions as few organizations have been able to successfully maintain multiple products that compete directly against each other. Usually the products are integrated, or one is abandoned while its customer base gets migrated to the other. Time will tell.

GoAnywhere Vs. Globalscape

If we take a look at the features and functionality of GoAnywhere vs. Globalscape, there should be some indication why HelpSystems decided to buy Globalscape. First, GoAnywhere is much cheaper than Globalscape’s EFT solution, by up to 5 times the cost. Also, GoAnywhere does not provide 24/7 support, while the Premium version of Globalscape does have around-the-clock support. This may be the only big differentiator between the two products. Both products boast SaaS offerings and much of the same functionality which will make it interesting to see how HelpSystems positions them. 

Probably the biggest reason for the M&A of Globalscape is the consolidation of the MFT space. HelpSystems will now have access to a large portion of the MFT market with this acquisition, minus Progress MOVEit and Axway’s market share.

How GoAnywhere and Globalscape will integrate with each other is anyone’s guess for now. However, if customers of Globalscape are reluctant to have their MFT solution under the umbrella of HelpSystems, whether it be from previous trials and comparisons of different MFT solutions on the market, then there is always the option to switch to MOVEit by Progress.

MOVEit’s functionality and feature set speaks for itself and customer loyalty for MOVEit is leagues ahead of both GoAnywhere and Globalscape, based on recent research and surveys done in the MFT space. MOVEit is competitively priced compared to both GoAnywhereand Globalscape, with  simpler licensing than either. MOVEit has the best support and professional services available which speaks volumes when you consider the ROI of an MFT solution and those who choose MOVEit tend to stick with it for a plethora of reasons.

You can to compare it to these  other solutions. Globalscape customers may be looking at making a change soon regardless, so checking out the alternative solutions on the market is probably not a bad idea.