Streamlining Compliance: How Consolidating Your Solutions into an MFT System Enhances Security and Efficiency

A fragmented approach to file transfer is a compliance nightmare. Managed file transfer software can improve security and efficiency, all while supporting your organization’s compliance efforts.

Non-compliance is expensive. Fines, legal fees, operational disruptions, reputational damage—the costs of failing to meet information security and privacy regulations can add up quickly. And yet, many companies still struggle with compliance, held back by an assortment of disconnected file transfer solutions cobbled together over time.

This mishmash of homegrown scripts, legacy systems and consumer-grade file transfer apps creates dangerous gaps in visibility and control. IT loses track of where sensitive data resides and how it’s being shared. Workflows fragment across incompatible tools. Audits become fire drills as admins scramble to piece together records from multiple sources. It’s a recipe for breaches, failed audits and stressful workdays.

The solution lies in consolidation. By bringing file transfers together under the centralized management of an enterprise-class managed file transfer (MFT) system, organizations can dramatically streamline compliance protocols while improving productivity and reducing costs. Let’s explore how.

The Risks and Inefficiencies of Disparate File Transfer Solutions

Imagine this scenario: Over in accounting, Jenny is emailing spreadsheets of financial data to an outside auditor. Meanwhile, the sales team is using a cloud-based file transfer app to exchange contracts with clients. In IT, Joe has a bunch of custom scripts that move daily transaction files to and from partners over SFTP. And dozens of other ad-hoc transfers are happening through whatever tools employees can get their hands on.

This kind of ungoverned, siloed file transfer activity is all too common—and it’s a compliance disaster waiting to happen. Here’s why:

• Lack of visibility and control: When file transfers take place across a fragmented set of tools, IT has no centralized way to see what data is moving where or to enforce consistent policies. Sensitive information can easily be leaked or stolen without detection.
• Inconsistent security: Each file transfer tool has its own security model and settings, which may not align with the organization’s compliance requirements. Consumer-grade solutions rarely offer the robust access controls, encryption and auditing features needed to safeguard regulated data.
• Manual, error-prone processes: With disconnected tools, there’s no easy way to automate file transfer workflows end-to-end. Employees waste time on repetitive, manual steps and custom scripting. Mistakes are inevitable, leading to delays and faulty data.
• Cumbersome auditing and reporting: Piecing together audit trails from multiple systems is hugely time-consuming. Admins spend days sifting through logs whenever an auditor or regulator comes calling. The lack of consolidated reporting makes it difficult to proactively identify and remediate compliance risks.
• Higher costs: Operating a jumble of file transfer solutions, many with overlapping functionality, is needlessly expensive. Consolidating to a single MFT platform can significantly lower licensing, infrastructure, development and support costs.

Ultimately, relying on disparate file transfer tools is a losing proposition in today’s regulatory environment. Modern compliance mandates are simply too complex and consequential to handle with a non-integrated approach. Organizations that fail to modernize are setting themselves up for failed audits, fines and worse.

The Path to Streamlined Compliance with Managed File Transfer

Forward-thinking companies are leaving file transfer silos behind and embracing MFT as their unified platform for more secure data sharing. An enterprise-grade MFT solution acts as a central hub for file transfer activity, supporting your efforts to achieve and prove compliance at scale.

Here are some of the key compliance benefits of consolidating on MFT:

1. Centralized visibility and control: MFT provides a single pane of glass for monitoring and managing all file transfers, across all users and partners. Granular, role-based access controls allow authorized individuals to view or modify sensitive data. Real-time alerts and dashboards help admins quickly spot and respond to any unusual activity.
2. Consistent, comprehensive security: With MFT, data is better protected at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption protocols. Secure protocols like SFTP, FTPS and HTTPS are used for transmissions. Integrations with anti-virus and data loss prevention (DLP) tools add further safeguards against malware and exfiltration attempts. Multifactor authentication and single sign-on bolster access security.
3. Streamlined, automated workflows: MFT solutions include powerful workflow automation capabilities that reduce the need for custom scripting and manual steps. Secure file transfers can be easily configured to run on a scheduled basis or triggered by specific events. Processes from initial data pickup to final delivery and confirmation are more seamlessly handled.
4. Tamper-evident audit trails: File transfers handled by the MFT system are automatically logged in a centralized audit trail. Detailed records of who sent what files to whom, when and how are captured and securely stored for easy retrieval.
5. Reliability and integration: Enterprise MFT solutions are built to handle network events and potential disruption to business operations. High availability configurations increase the reliability and scalability of file transfer processes by eliminating single points of failure. Robust APIs enable integration with existing business applications, allowing the MFT platform to orchestrate more secure data exchanges with ERP systems, cloud services and more.

By consolidating on an MFT solution with these compliance-focused capabilities, organizations can bring much needed simplicity and control to their file transfer operations.

Instead of wasting time chasing down issues across multiple disjointed tools, IT can govern data exchanges from a unified platform. End users, meanwhile, can continue to share files productively using intuitive MFT interfaces and plug-ins for email and web browsers.

MOVEit: Simplify Compliance with a Leading MFT Solution

Progress MOVEit software is a proven MFT solution that helps organizations streamline compliance and lock down sensitive data transfers. Trusted by thousands of enterprises worldwide, MOVEit MFT combines robust security controls with user-friendly automation and integration features. With MOVEit software, companies can:

• Consolidate file transfers on a single, secure platform
• Gain broader visibility and control over data movement
• Automate critical transfer workflows without scripting
• Enforce consistent policies across all users and partners
• Generate detailed audit trails to support compliance efforts
• Optimize performance and reliability of file transfer operations
• Integrate easily with existing business and IT systems

Whether deployed on-premises or in the cloud, MOVEit provides a comprehensive, enterprise-grade MFT environment that helps organizations meet compliance requirements, including PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA. With support for secure protocols, encryption, granular access controls and real-time monitoring, MOVEit helps organizations achieve a continuous state of compliance readiness.

Concluding Thoughts

For any organization that’s still mired in file transfer silos, the writing is on the wall: Continuing with a fragmented approach to data-sharing is a one-way ticket to compliance failures and unacceptable business risk. On the other hand, those that seize the opportunity to consolidate on a centralized MFT platform will better position themselves for success in an era of mounting regulatory demands and cyberthreats.

The efficiency gains alone make the case for MFT consolidation compelling. Eliminating redundant solutions, automating manual processes and tapping economies of scale can lead to dramatic cost savings. Compliance and security teams can refocus their efforts from constant firefighting to high-value, proactive risk management. In a business landscape where data-sharing is both essential and heavily regulated, MFT offers a clear path forward.

Ready to try MOVEit MFT? Request your free trial today.