Life throws a lot of really tough decisions at us, but choosing a file transfer technology shouldn’t be one of them. File transfer expert Don Jones offers a checklist of requirements, and today I'd like to share his top 6 that company should consider: 

1. Security Requirements: Begin by determining what level of encryption you’ll require, keeping in mind any compliance requirements or industry data legislature. Be sure to consider anti-malware solutions that do well to complement your existing set-up.
2. High-Availability Requirements: High-availability requires careful research for determining how to go about providing it. In determining that high-availability is a necessary requirement for your organization, the method you employ will greatly influence the type of server set-up you’ll need.
3. Workflow Requirements: Aside from security, workflow should be your biggest consideration in choosing a transfer system. If your file transfer doesn’t sync with your workflow, it won’t be efficient. More importantly, it won’t be used. Most systems will offer ways to customize your workflow. As you review these, look for ease of customization, limits on number of tasks, canned scripts and macros.
4. Programmability Requirements: Programmability options offer different levels of integration with external programming. To determine the customizability of your business solutions, take a look at the Application Programming Interface (API) of your managed file transfer system. Understanding the breadth of API languages they support and the complexity of their API will help you to determine if your team has the necessary skills to create an integration—or if you’ll require a custom solution be created for you.
5. Protocol Requirements: Look for a solution that not only works with the protocols you currently require, but also the proper selection of protocols that you may require as your company scales.  It can also be beneficial to look for file transfer options that offer email as a transport mechanism. While email isn’t the most secure transfer option, it will always be widely used. Having SMTP and POP3 available will keep your company more secure.
6. Operational Requirements: Audit logging and reporting should be a main concern for organizations deciphering their abilities to handle their own file transfers.  Determine what types of logging are required and evaluate each of the tools on whether or not they’ll be able to meet you own specific needs.  Additionally, be sure you’ll be able to easily monitor and maintain your file transfer solution.

When evaluating which solutions best serve your company, be mindful of their interoperability with existing systems and with each other.  Furthermore, be sure your investments are best suited to serve your organization both now and in the future.

Want to learn more about how to craft a detailed file transfer checklist for your organization?  Download the free Ipswitch File Transfer whitepaper: Investigation Underway: How to Evaluate File Transfer Vendors Who Promise to Solve Your Complex Compliance and Productivity Challenges.