If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That was New Jersey’s mindset about its systems for years. Many of its older mainframes still relied on COBOL, an old coding language that few know. That wasn’t a problem until the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Suddenly thousands of people needed to apply for unemployment and couldn’t. The systems were broken. With the opportunity to modernize lost, the state government resorted to publicly asking for volunteers to get the systems back online.
The government started caring about integration too late. Employee morale, customer trust and agility dropped significantly before they could turn things around.
Now everyone has a much better understanding of why integration matters, but file transfer integration still isn’t discussed enough. In this blog post, I’ll describe what file transfer integration is and its benefits.
What Is File Transfer Integration?
First, it’s important to clarify what managed file transfer (MFT) solutions are. MFT solutions automate file transfers and provide one place for administrators to create, manage and monitor file workflows.
File transfer integration occurs when MFT software is connected with an integration platform (iPaaS), an application or an endpoint. Integration can be achieved with a pre-built connector or with a custom-built connector using an API.
Benefits of File Transfer Integration
Here are three examples of file transfer integration and their benefits:
1. Connecting with an Integration Platform
Challenge
A retailer recently adopted a new iPaaS to connect its data and applications. The company uses SFTP servers for file transfers. These servers are frustrating for the IT team because they don’t know whether files are delivered. When they realize there’s an issue, they have to dig through logs, which is time-consuming and difficult.
The IT team knows the iPaaS isn’t designed for file transfer. If they phased out their SFTP servers and only used iPaaS, they would have to create point-to-point connections for each partner and code guaranteed delivery into each workflow. They decide to search for a new file transfer solution.
Solution
The IT team picks an MFT solution that integrates with the iPaaS and complements its abilities. By having guaranteed delivery and persistence built in, the MFT solution fits their requirements and improves business agility.
Benefits
- Reduced development time
- Simplified and stable partner configurations
- Improved communication with partners
2. Client/Server Connectivity
Challenge
A manufacturer transfers files to distributors daily with its SFTP servers. Its distributors use a mix of FTPS and SFTP servers and clients. Like the retailer example above, this manufacturer is also struggling with lack of visibility and control. It wants to find a new file transfer solution that won’t require partners to change endpoints.
Solution
The manufacturer chooses an MFT solution that supports multiple protocols and has client/server functionality. Now, the manufacturer has full visibility and control of file transfers without changing how file transfers are executed.
Benefits
- No change to partner experience
- Manufacturer’s business and security requirements are easily met
3. Connecting to Other Applications via APIs
Challenge
A bank uses security information and event management (SIEM) software to display all its applications’ alerts and metrics in one dashboard. However, alerts from its MFT software are still not included in the SIEM dashboard. To track those alerts, emails and phones are manually monitored.
Solution
The bank adopts an MFT solution that provides an API to connect to the SIEM software. The API searches and retrieves alerts from the MFT solution. This information is now included in the centralized dashboard of the SIEM.
Benefits
- Increased visibility of file transfers
- Improved IT team efficiency
Fix Your File Transfer Integrations before They Break
You have two options when it comes to integration:
- Wait until a rare event makes you rush to integrate systems, severely damaging customer trust and efficiency.
- Integrate systems proactively so that when a rare event occurs, you’re prepared for it and can keep being agile.
Why not fix your file transfer integrations before they break?
Thru, our cloud MFT solution, offers a variety of integrations to help you improve efficiency and simplify business processes.
Our certified connectors for Boomi and MuleSoft keep the strengths of iPaaS while providing guaranteed delivery, visibility and any-to-any-capability. Our connectors for Outlook and Salesforce eliminate file size send limits and provide full audit capabilities without disrupting user experience.
Visit our file transfer integration page to learn more about how Thru can help your company achieve an integrated IT ecosystem.
New Jersey needs volunteers who know COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language
Unemployment checks are being held up by a coding language almost nobody knows
