Feeling the Pain with an Outdated FTP System?

Get some relief with a modern fast file transfer solution 

Do you wait for hours for your large files to be shared with colleagues? Do you worry the files get where they need to go without file corruption? Are you tired of dropped connections and babysitting your transfers? Are you kind of embarrassed by how old your transfer portals look to your clients? If these pains are familiar, chances are you’re dealing with an outdated FTP system.

Here are 5 reasons to convince your bosses to find a cure for FTP ailments:

1.  It’s Slow: No Engine, No Accelerator

FTP simply is what it is — a file transfer protocol — and nothing more. There is no acceleration technology behind it. It’s not fast. It’s not reliable. It’s not secure and it is certainly not modern. The Signiant Platform provides all these capabilities and more including the ability to uniquely brand your file transfer portal for customers and clients on the receiving end.

2. It’s a Nightmare: Creating and Managing an FTP System

Your business may depend on file sharing but you are likely not in the business of setting up and maintaining a file-sharing system. With FTP, you spend valuable resources to keep the system up and running so that your business is not interrupted and your brand takes a hit.

FTP is a transfer protocol and not a fast file transfer application. It requires a large amount of custom work in order to set up a working FTP-based file transfer application. You will have to invest a number of developers, a lot of time and several machines in order to set up a usable system, running on thousands of lines of scripts that ultimately only one person will understand. If that person leaves or is unavailable, then your file transfer system becomes even more of a nightmare!

3. It’s Risky Business: Fraught With Vulnerabilities

FTP-based systems are inherently risky. The costs associated with any one of these vulnerabilities are immense:

• User credentials are in plain text and user management is a manual or scripted process at best.
• You have little control over who has access to your files. FTP does not have monitoring in place to make sure only the proper individuals have access to your valuable data.
• FTP servers are placed where anyone can get access to your valuable data.
• Tracking files sent using FTP is difficult at best. Once you send a file, there is no automated way to determine if it arrived, if it was picked up and if your SLA will be affected.
• FTP lacks the type of security required by any organization to ensure the protection of its data in movement and at rest.
• No checkpoint restart. If a file transfer fails, FTP does not pick up from the point of failure or even alert you. You must start over. In an era of shrinking delivery windows, this has a big impact on your business.

4. It’s Unlikeable: Far from User Friendly

Anyone who has tried to use FTP to send a file has been forced to use a console or a very outdated UI. Don’t force your clients and partners into having a terrible user experience. In an era of beautiful, branded and responsive web/mobile applications, there is a better, more professional way.

5. It’s Fragile: Doesn’t Work for Extreme File Movement

If you’ve ever tried to send a large file using FTP — common in the media and entertainment industries — then you know that it just can’t be done. FTP servers are not able to handle large files, and as a result, critical transmissions will fail or get corrupted. With Media Shuttle, you not only have the ability to send files without size limits, you will also be able to send those files within minutes, not hours or days.

Signiant is the leader in fast file transfers, with a customer base that includes BBC, NBC, ESPN, Disney, the NFL, NHL, and many others that rely on our software for sending large, valuable assets in a fast, reliable and secure way.