As the Field CTO for Managed File Transfer (MFT) at Redwood, and with our leadership in workload automation (WLA) through RunMyJobs by Redwood, I see firsthand the opportunities RISE unlocks — and the architectural considerations that follow.

One of the most critical, yet often overlooked, shifts? How file movement is handled in RISE.

The clean core brings new rules for file exchange

Most enterprises adopting RISE are modernizing from highly customized, often decades-old SAP environments. These landscapes typically include:

• Multiple ERPs, CRM and legacy systems of record
• OS-level scripts, direct database writes and mounted network shares
• Hundreds of file-based integrations with internal teams and external partners

These legacy approaches depend heavily on infrastructure-level access. But in a RISE architecture, those access models change. SAP clearly defines this shift:

In the SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud environment, direct server access is unavailable.

SAP Community Blog: Proposed Architecture for File Transfer

In short, file transfers must now align with strict ingress and egress controls, with no OS-level jobs or mounted file systems permitted.

This shift creates architectural friction that legacy models can’t easily resolve. What worked for file movement in the past may not translate to a clean core, cloud-first model — especially in hybrid enterprise environments.

SAP BTP and high-volume file transfers

While SAP’s Integration Suite (part of SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)) can manage file transfers through Cloud Integration flows, it was not designed to serve customers who have a need for a dedicated, large-scale MFT hub. There is a whole industry of MFT solution providers who address this common need for enterprises.

SAP experts acknowledge that files larger than ~400 MB can pose challenges. Streaming, while supported, may still lead to timeouts, memory strain or complex workaround flows in real-world conditions, according to the SAP Community.

Routing thousands of files daily through a multi-tenant integration service can also introduce:

• Latency due to multi-tenant queueing
• High processing costs tied to data volume
• Limits in protocol diversity (e.g., no native AS2 or OFTP2 support)
• Challenges with file-level automation, error handling or audit logging

The bottom line? SAP BTP wasn’t built to be a full-featured MFT platform. For organizations exchanging financial payloads, batch files or high-throughput transactional data, these constraints become increasingly apparent during RISE migration.

RunMyJobs + JSCAPE: Redefining the hybrid automation layer

This is where our customer conversations tend to deepen. File transfers aren’t isolated — they’re tightly woven into broader process automation. That’s why RunMyJobs, the #1 cloud-native WLA platform in SAP’s ecosystem, plays a pivotal role.

Redwood’s customers are using RunMyJobs and JSCAPE by Redwood together to address the demands of modern SAP workloads.

RunMyJobs orchestrates end-to-end processes across SAP and non-SAP systems, offering a wide range of comprehensive connectors and templates for the latest SAP technologies and cloud solutions. These include SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP BTP, SAP Integration Suite, SAP Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud and non-SAP and partner solutions like Databricks, Snowflake and many others. For SAP customers moving their ERP to the cloud via RISE, RunMyJobs is the only WLA solution that’s part of the RISE reference architecture. 

JSCAPE handles the secure, scalable movement of files across protocols, partners, clouds and compliance boundaries.

JSCAPE capabilities that matter in a RISE world

• Multi-protocol Gateway: Supports SFTP, AS2, OFTP2, HTTPS, RESTful APIs, SharePoint, ad hoc, S3, Azure Blob, Google Storage, SMB and more
• Automation integration: Trigger RunMyJobs or REST APIs based on file events
• Security and compliance: Encryption, integrity checks, SIEM streaming, SSO/LDAP
• Scalability: HA clusters and horizontal scale to support global 24/7 operations
• Cloud-ready: Containerized, hybrid and aligned with zero-trust principles

These two platforms are not just compatible — they’re SAP-endorsed, available on the SAP Store and supported by a single vendor: Redwood.

Trusted by SAP, engineered for what’s next

RISE with SAP customers already trust RunMyJobs as the only scheduler that’s part of the RISE reference architecture, and many are extending that trust by integrating file transfers through JSCAPE.

RunMyJobs’ Secure Gateway is a fully supported, SAP-compliant method for enabling secure, outbound automation from within the RISE model, avoiding inbound firewall rules or non-compliant access patterns.

Together, RunMyJobs and JSCAPE provide a unified, secure framework for automating file transfers and workflows across hybrid SAP environments while respecting clean core principles and future-proofing your architecture. 

Where to go from here

If your enterprise is moving to RISE or you’re simply re-evaluating file movement in a modern SAP architecture, Redwood’s experts would welcome the opportunity to talk about your file transfer plans — without assuming your architecture or prescribing a quick fix.

Instead, they’ll share what they’ve learned through years of customer partnerships and how other organizations like yours are rethinking hybrid file flows, automation triggers and compliance boundaries during their cloud transformations.

Let’s define a file movement strategy that supports your business — and your future state. Find out more about JSCAPE.

Yet, many organizations still rely on outdated systems or file transfer protocols, like FTP — a risky approach considering the significant penalties you could face by violating the above or other regional or industry regulations:

• GDPR fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of an organization’s global revenue, whichever is greater.
• HIPAA violations may result in penalties exceeding $2 million per incident.
• PCI DSS non-compliance may lead to fines of up to $500,000 per security incident, plus potential bans from processing credit card transactions.

Managed file transfer (MFT) solutions have emerged as the gold standard because they have built-in data security controls, automation capabilities and compliance-ready features. If you’re still using simple FTP or piecemeal file transfer methods, it’s time to reevaluate.

The risks of using a near-obsolete file transfer solution

Legacy file transfer systems were not designed for today’s regulatory complexities. They often lack encryption, access controls, audit trails and other key security features necessary to meet modern regulatory requirements. 

Using basic FTP, for example, in a regulated industry is like locking the front door while leaving the windows wide open. It creates an illusion of security without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.

• Data breaches and non-compliance: Sensitive information like electronic health records (EHRs) or cardholder details is particularly attractive to cybercriminals. If you transfer data in plain text, you make it easy for attackers to intercept and exploit.
• Inadequate monitoring and visibility: Many file transfer solutions fail to provide the necessary visibility into user access and file activity that’s required for compliance. Without detailed audit logs and real-time monitoring of user access, you could struggle to produce adequate documentation. Especially if you’re subject to regulations like SOX, this can lead to costly penalties or operational shutdowns.
• Operational inefficiencies: Standard file transfer systems are labor-intensive and error-prone and can be even more so when managing large volumes of data or complex workflows. For example, imagine your financial institution needs to transfer daily reports to hundreds of branch offices. Manually managing these transfers via FTP would be incredibly time-consuming and prone to errors. Your operations are bound to slow down — and your likelihood of mistakes will increase — if you rely on them.

B2B and API solutions also aren’t the answer. While B2B and API solutions offer some file transfer capabilities, they often lack the comprehensive security, granular control and robust audit trails that MFT solutions provide. APIs, for example, primarily focus on application-to-application communication and might not offer the same level of file-centric security features, especially for large file transfers or complex workflows. B2B solutions facilitate business partner communication, but they may not offer the fine-grained access controls or detailed audit logging necessary for full regulatory compliance. MFT solutions are designed specifically to address these challenges.

MFT solutions: Positioned for risk mitigation

MFT platforms were purpose-built to address the limitations of outdated file transfer software. Adopting an MFT is a true compliance and risk management strategy, not just a technical upgrade.

End-to-end security

From upload to transfer, MFT solutions protect your sensitive data, encrypting it both in transit and at rest using industry-standard protocols like AES-256. Even if data is intercepted during transfer, it can’t be read or exploited.

Granular access controls

One of the most critical components of regulatory compliance is ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information. MFT platforms allow your IT team to fine-tune access controls, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based permissions and IP whitelisting.

Audit-ready reporting

Regulated industries are frequently subject to audits, whether by government agencies or industry-specific oversight bodies. MFT solutions can automatically generate detailed logs of all file transfer activities, including timestamps, user information and file details. When you have these logs available during an audit, you can provide clear evidence of compliance. As a cost-saving bonus, you’ll spend less time and resources on manual reporting.

Real-world perspectives: MFT as a must-have

If you have yet to switch to MFT, it can be helpful to consider how it’s making a difference in various use cases for regulated industries. Following are some examples of the high-impact potential of the right MFT solution.

Healthcare: Ensuring patient data privacy and HIPAA compliance

• EMR transfers between clinics and hospitals: Imagine a hospital group regularly transfers EMR data between its facilities and third-party specialists. Using FTP, these transfers are unsecured and leave the group at risk of violating HIPAA. With MFT, they could encrypt all EMR data and restrict access to authorized team members only.
• Lab results sent to patients and providers: Say a diagnostic lab processes thousands of patient test results daily. They used to share results via email, which posed a risk of unauthorized access. By transitioning to MFT, the lab can securely transfer results to patients and healthcare providers through encrypted channels.

Finance: Safeguarding payment data and PCI DSS compliance

• Payment data transfers to processors: Consider a financial institution that transfers cardholder data to a third-party payment processor daily. An MFT solution with built-in High Availability and Active-Active architecture ensures these high-volume transfers are secure and reliable, eliminating lag and downtime even during peak processing periods. The institution can scale seamlessly as transaction volumes grow.
• Cross-border financial transactions: Multinational banks must comply with data localization laws while transferring financial data across jurisdictions. MFT enables these institutions to route data transfers through compliant servers, track access to meet audit guidelines and adhere to regional regulations like GDPR without having to sacrifice efficiency.

Retail: Protecting consumer data and meeting GDPR requirements

• Customer data shared with marketing partners: With GDPR, all data needs a paper trail or fines will follow. Let’s say a large e-commerce retailer shares customer names, addresses and purchase history with marketing agencies for targeted campaigns. Using email for these transfers creates significant risks of GDPR non-compliance. Implementing MFT automates and secures these transfers by encrypting customer data and locking down access to authorized marketing personnel only.
• Fraud protection: Appriss Retail protects retailers from fraud and abuse, so the company heavily depends on secure file transfers. They were using a legacy solution that could not be upgraded easily and lacked high availability, which limited scalability and increased the risk of non-compliance with regulations for protecting personally identifiable information (PII). By adopting JSCAPE by Redwood, which offers DMZ streaming, multiple protocol support, and workflow automation in a high-availability environment, Appriss has achieved consistent uptime and the confidence to protect its clients from loss and breaches. Read the full story.

The cost of doing nothing

Failing to replace outdated file transfer systems with an MFT solution exposes your organization to risks and costs — obvious and hidden. Beyond the financial costs of a disastrous breach, operational inefficiencies pile up as tech debt that slowly increases costs by delaying critical workflows, growing labor costs and missed business opportunities.

Upgrading isn’t just about avoiding penalties or breaches; it’s about developing operational resilience in a compliance-driven world using the power of automation fabrics. File transfer technology is evolving, and MFT is a required investment for both security and efficiency. With new regulatory standards coming into effect in 2025 for OT and IT organizations, the need for reliable and secure file transfer solutions is becoming even more critical.

Don’t wait for a crisis to act! Evaluate whether it’s time for a new, more secure file transfer provider using JSCAPE’s free guide.

With years of experience in MFT, I want to share how a proactive, zero-trust security model can help businesses stay ahead of threats and protect what matters most.

The growing risk: Why file transfers are under attack

A single data breach can cost millions, disrupt operations and erode customer trust. File transfers, designed to enable seamless data exchange, are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. 

The question is: Are you reacting to breaches or proactively preventing them?

Recent high-profile cybersecurity incidents show just how vulnerable MFT systems can be. One file transfer provider’s 2024 zero-day vulnerability exposed sensitive data and disrupted business operations for numerous organizations. A more high-profile incident in 2023 resulted in widespread data exfiltration and significant financial losses. Over 60 million customers were impacted. Yet another exploit compromised sensitive data and eroded customer trust for organizations relying on this widely used solution.

Forrester research shows just how much a major security incident matters: Up to 33% of adults would stop doing business with an organization permanently if they found out about a breach that exposed customer data. 

Breaches and their impact on business relationships highlight one undeniable truth: Traditional security measures are no longer enough. A zero-trust approach to file transfers is essential for staying ahead of today’s cyber threats.

What is zero trust?

Zero trust is built on a simple principle: “Never trust; always verify.” It assumes that every user, device, or application — inside or outside the network — poses a potential risk. Instead of reacting to threats, a zero-trust approach focuses on proactive protection by continuously verifying access and activity.

Core principles of zero trust

• Verify explicitly: Authenticate and authorize every access request.
• Least-privilege access: Minimize permissions to reduce attack surfaces.
• Assume breach: Design with the expectation of compromise.
• Encryption everywhere: Protect data at rest and in transit.
• Continuous monitoring: Detect and respond in real time.

Applied to MFT, zero trust transforms security from a reactive defense to an active safeguard.

How to build a zero-trust strategy for file transfers

Imagine your business data is like your home. Traditional security is like locking your front door: Once someone’s inside, they can access everything. With zero trust, you have a security guard at the entrance to every room who checks ID before permitting entry.

If you wouldn’t take unnecessary risks with your home and family, why would you do so with your business and customers?

Here’s how you can adopt zero-trust principles for your file transfer environments starting today:

1. Encrypt file transfers and data at rest: Secure data in transit with protocols like SFTP, FTPS, HTTPS and AFTP. Use AES-256 encryption for data at rest and PGP for additional layers of protection.
   Actionable step: Enable encryption end to end and at rest within two months to reduce risks of data interception or unauthorized access.
2. Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adds a critical layer of protection by requiring multiple forms of authentication before granting access.
   Actionable step: Deploy MFA across all file transfer systems within the next quarter to prevent unauthorized logins.
3. Implement role-based access control (RBAC): Limit user access to only the files, workflows and systems necessary for their roles.
   Actionable step: Review and refine RBAC policies within the next month to verify you’re aligned with the principle of least privilege.
4. Isolate critical systems with a DMZ gateway: Separate external-facing file transfers from internal networks to prevent lateral movement during a breach.
   Actionable step: Implement a DMZ gateway and micro-segmentation within three months for additional layers of isolation.
5. Enable continuous monitoring and automated threat response: Use tools like SIEM systems to monitor activity in real-time, integrate data loss prevention (DLP) to scan files and automate responses to potential threats.
   Actionable step: Evaluate and deploy monitoring tools and DLP solutions within six months to strengthen detection and response capabilities.

Leveraging cloud-native security to uphold zero trust

Cloud security has matured significantly, offering robust features that complement zero-trust strategies. As organizations transition to the cloud, understanding the shared responsibility model is crucial. 

Cloud providers secure the infrastructure, while customers are responsible for protecting their data and workflow configurations. It’s important to bridge this gap because misconfigurations, inadequate access controls and integration challenges can leave sensitive data vulnerable. This underscores the need to choose a solution to enhance cloud-native capabilities with advanced MFT security features.

Beyond cloud-native capabilities

While cloud-native security features are essential, many organizations require flexibility and advanced capabilities beyond what traditional cloud file transfer solutions (like AWS Transfer Family) provide. 

To avoid vendor lock-in, find an MFT platform that supports multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and gives you the freedom to transfer data seamlessly across platforms without being tied to a single provider.

If you have hybrid use cases, you’ll need a solution that enables secure file transfers across hybrid environments, integrating on-premises systems with cloud storage. For example, you might synchronize files between an on-premises system and AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage using a secure MFT agent.

The flexibility to deploy your MFT solution on-premises, in the cloud or in a container will allow you to choose the environment that best meets your compliance, scalability and operational needs.

Choose a true partner for zero-trust implementation

Threats to file transfer systems are evolving. Therefore, your solutions must evolve. 

JSCAPE’s zero-trust alignment, hybrid capabilities and deployment flexibility make it the ideal choice for modern file transfer security. Its key capabilities include:

• DMZ gateway: A secure buffer zone that eliminates inbound firewall rules and reduces attack surfaces
• Granular access controls: Fine-grained permissions to protect sensitive data
• Cloud integration: Support for secure file transfers across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
• Automated workflows: Consistent security policies with event-based automation

Stop reacting to breaches — start preventing them. Learn more about JSCAPE and how to build a proactive security strategy for protecting the data your customers and partners trust you with.

While security researchers may uncover these weaknesses and notify vendors, malicious actors typically exploit them without warning. The longer a zero-day vulnerability remains undetected, the greater the risk of significant damage. A proactive and resilient managed file transfer (MFT) software vendor is your first line of defense.

But how do you know if the vendor you’re using or evaluating is prepared for a major incident?

Here are five key indicators of their preparedness.

Signs your MFT provider is equipped to handle a zero-day breach

1. Anticipatory vulnerability management

Mitigating zero-day vulnerabilities requires a proactive approach to identifying and addressing potential weaknesses. Leading vendors employ advanced security testing methodologies, such as:

• Penetration testing (PEN): This simulates real-world cyberattacks to uncover potential vulnerabilities. While it cannot directly identify zero-day issues, PEN testing helps highlight exploitable weaknesses.
• Static Application Security Testing (SAST): SAST analyzes source code for vulnerabilities, such as insecure configurations or weak cryptographic practices, reducing the likelihood of exploitable security flaws.
• Software Composition Analysis (SCA): This is intended to evaluate third-party libraries and components to detect vulnerabilities in dependencies, minimizing risks from insecure external code.
• Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): This is for testing live apps for runtime vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that could enable zero-day exploits.

2. Rigorous security certifications

Certifications are a vital benchmark of a vendor’s commitment to security and an indication of compliance with various industry and regional regulations. To achieve these certifications, vendors must implement robust security controls and undergo thorough evaluations. However, not all certifications carry equal weight. Look for those issued by industry-recognized authorities, such as:

• ISO 27001: Issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), this validates comprehensive information security management practices.
• SOC 2: This certification acknowledges security, availability, confidentiality and privacy controls and is issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
• CSA STAR: The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) offers this certification to vendors with security and privacy measures that align with best practices.

These demonstrate that your vendor has met stringent standards and is committed to maintaining a secure file transfer environment.

3. Independent security audits

Even the most diligent vendors benefit from third-party evaluations. Third-party security audits provide an objective assessment of a vendor’s security controls and can identify gaps overlooked in internal reviews. These audits are particularly crucial for maintaining an unbiased view of the vendor’s overall security posture.

Despite stringent measures, no system is entirely immune to zero-day attacks. Therefore, vendors must focus not only on prevention but also on preparedness and response.

4. ‘Round-the-clock technical support

Zero-day threats can strike without warning, often outside regular business hours. Vendors offering 24/7 technical support ensure that any suspicious activity is promptly addressed. 

Their teams can:

• Evaluate unusual behavior to determine whether it’s a threat.
• Escalate confirmed vulnerabilities to cybersecurity specialists for immediate action.
• Notify clients and assist in applying security patches as they become available.

This rapid incident response capability is vital for minimizing downtime and mitigating potential damage.

5. Comprehensive response plans

A robust zero-day response plan is critical for minimizing the impact of an exploit. Leading MFT providers, such as JSCAPE by Redwood, implement well-defined, real-time response strategies that activate as soon as a vulnerability is identified. 

These plans typically include:

• Timely patch deployment for swift development and distribution of software updates.
• Transparent communication to keep clients informed throughout the process.
• Team mobilization to coordinate internal and external resources to address the threat efficiently.

Such measures provide peace of mind and enable businesses to implement protective actions while awaiting a permanent fix.

Confidence is key

Choosing an MFT provider capable of addressing zero-day vulnerabilities is not optional, given the sophistication of threats we see today. You deserve to have confidence that your vendor will act swiftly in a crisis — confidence that their tools and teams will keep your operations running smoothly by acting on threat intelligence right away.

This level of assurance comes from thorough evaluations and transparent partnerships. Ask potential vendors about their track records, request case studies and don’t hesitate to test their support services. Those that take a zero-trust approach and prioritize security through certifications, proactive practices, third-party audits, 24/7 support and comprehensive response plans stand out as reliable partners in safeguarding your sensitive data.
To assess whether it’s time to search for a new MFT provider offering the functionality to protect you from costly data breaches, download this free guide.

Or, at least, that’s what you’re told. For example, Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report states, “If [ransomware actors’] preference for file transfer platforms continues, this should serve as a caution for those vendors to check their code very closely for common vulnerabilities.”

But is the need for heightened security justified? Or is it overhyped?

We’ll delve into the real risks facing file transfer environments, drawing insights from real-world breaches, attack vectors and consequences. We’ll demonstrate why comprehensive security measures are a must — not just marketing fluff.

Tangible costs of file transfer breaches

Every day, enterprises like yours process thousands of files containing valuable and often sensitive data. Cybercriminals are acutely aware of this, and file transfer systems have become frequent targets for attacks. High-profile breaches over the past few years underline the stakes.

For example, one breach compromised hundreds of thousands of individual records, while another saw tens of millions of files leaked. These incidents not only cause financial losses but also trigger regulatory scrutiny, lawsuits and reputational damage.

Financial impact

According to the 2024 Ponemon/IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach has surged to $4.88 million — a 10% increase from last year. Breaches bring immediate costs, such as containment and remediation, as well as long-term expenses like regulatory fines, legal fees and credit monitoring services for affected individuals.

Reputation damage

For industries like healthcare or finance, public disclosure is often mandatory, amplifying the reputational fallout. Customers and partners may lose trust, while businesses scramble to manage the narrative. The ripple effects of a breach can last for years, impacting customer retention and revenue.

Top threats to file transfer environments

Understanding the most prevalent threats is key to implementing effective defenses. Here are three major attack vectors that put file transfers at risk.

1. Zero-day exploits

Zero-day vulnerabilities are software flaws unknown to the vendor that leave systems exposed until a patch is released. Cybercriminals can exploit these gaps to infiltrate file transfer systems, often before the organization is even aware of the threat.

Mitigation tips:

• Choose vendors who conduct regular penetration testing to proactively identify vulnerabilities.
• Ensure your provider has a robust response plan for addressing zero-day threats.

2. Credential theft

Credential theft remains the top initial attack vector, as reported in the aforementioned 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report. Cybercriminals use tactics like phishing, keylogging and social engineering to obtain user credentials, gaining unauthorized access to file transfer systems.

Mitigation tips:

• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add a layer of security.
• Train employees to recognize phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering.
• Enforce regular password rotation policies to minimize risk from stolen credentials.

3. Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks

In a MITM attack, threat actors intercept file transfer connections to steal sensitive data or credentials. Unencrypted file transfer protocols, such as FTP, are particularly vulnerable to these types of attacks.

Mitigation tips:

• Transition to encrypted protocols like secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), file transfer protocol secure (FTPS) or HTTPS.
• Use strong encryption standards to secure file transfers end to end.

MFT security features — Essential, not excessive

Critics may argue that MFT solutions are overengineered for security. However, the data suggests otherwise. Real-world breaches and evolving threats justify the need for advanced security measures. Here are a few features that set robust MFT solutions apart.

• Audit trails and monitoring: Comprehensive logging and monitoring help organizations detect anomalies and maintain compliance with regulations.
• Automated compliance features: Leading MFT solutions offer built-in compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA and PCI-DSS, reducing the burden on IT teams while ensuring legal protection.
• End-to-end encryption: Encryption ensures that files remain secure during transfer and at rest, rendering them useless to unauthorized parties.
• Granular access controls: Role-based permissions restrict access to sensitive data and minimize the risk of internal threats or accidental exposure.

An MFT solution is even more effective when it’s seamlessly integrated with a powerful workload automation platform. Explore the benefits of pairing RunMyJobs by Redwood and JSCAPE by Redwood.

Proactive steps to secure file transfers

Ensuring safe file transfers requires a combination of robust tools and disciplined practices. MFT solutions provide the foundation for secure and efficient data movement, but a proactive strategy is essential for mitigating risks and ensuring long-term data protection. Fortify your file transfer environments while leveraging best practices in automation and security.

Implement automation for data transfer workflows

Manual processes are inherently prone to human error, delays and inconsistencies — especially when sharing large files or managing high-volume data transfer tasks. Automating file transfer workflows eliminates these vulnerabilities by standardizing processes and reducing reliance on manual intervention. Automation ensures consistent use of encryption protocols, scheduled transfers and compliance checks, helping you maintain a secure and streamlined file transfer system.

Automated systems also provide detailed audit logs, making it easier to monitor data transfer activities and detect indicators of a breach. These logs are crucial for both security and compliance, as they provide a transparent view of every file shared, accessed or modified within the system.

Strengthen password protection policies

Credential theft remains a leading attack vector for breaches, making password protection a non-negotiable. A robust password policy should enforce complex password requirements and regular password rotation to minimize exposure to attacks. However, traditional password systems alone are not sufficient. You should integrate multi-factor authentication (MFA) to provide an additional layer of protection so that even if credentials are compromised, you prevent unauthorized access.

Coupled with role-based access controls (RBAC), strong password protection policies limit access to sensitive data, allowing only authorized users to share files or manage data transfers. These measures collectively minimize the risk of unauthorized access to critical systems.

Protect large files with end-to-end encryption

Large files often carry valuable or sensitive information, making them an attractive target for cybercriminals. Encrypting files during transfer and at rest is critical for safeguarding data from interception or unauthorized access. Modern MFT solutions offer end-to-end encryption for all file sizes, ensuring that data remains protected throughout its journey.

Encryption protocols such as SFTP, FTPS and HTTPS provide a secure channel for transferring files, while advanced cryptographic standards.

Safe file transfers require proactive measures

The risks to file transfer systems are real and growing, as evidenced by high-profile breaches and sophisticated attack vectors. Far from being overkill, the robust security features offered by MFT solutions are vital for protecting sensitive data and maintaining business continuity.

To ensure your organization’s file transfers are as secure as possible, invest in an MFT solution that prioritizes encryption, compliance and advanced threat detection. You’ll avoid the devastating consequences of a breach and confidently safeguard your most valuable data.

Learn how to assess your current file transfer risks and select a secure MFT provider: Download JSCAPE’s latest guide.

Getting that data means prioritizing gathering, moving, transforming and analyzing it in real time — and implementing these capabilities quickly and strategically to keep up with your competitors. In a recent report prepared for JSCAPE by Redwood, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) found that 72% of enterprises have already adopted real-time data integration.

Will your organization join them, or are you heading toward data stagnation?

A growing need for real-time data accessibility

To achieve your business goals and stay adaptable, you need to be able to make live decisions. If you can’t find accurate information (or any information) when you need it, you’re not just dealing with inconvenience. You’re facing potentially severe consequences.

Imagine a competitor launches a new product or you learn about a sudden regulatory change that requires an immediate shift. Without real-time data, you’re navigating in the dark, relying on outdated reports or incomplete information. Not only could you risk non-compliance, but your business could be fully ignored in an important moment because you have no answer prepared. Regardless of how good your strategy and team are, a lack of data could tie your hands and make it impossible to react with speed and precision to these types of changes.

Especially in a sector like finance, healthcare or manufacturing, a delayed response at a key decision point could leave you catching up indefinitely.

As your organization grows and your data volume increases, the complexity of managing that data also expands. Manual processes and outdated systems can make data more of a burden than an asset.

Elements of data movement maturity

Achieving mature data movement is crucial to ensuring your organization can make real-time decisions based on accurate, accessible and actionable information. Each element below plays a critical role in enabling this maturation.

Real-time data integration

The seamless flow of data between systems gives your stakeholders access to the most up-to-date information. You can streamline decision-making processes, enhance the customer experience (CX) and respond more effectively to market shifts.

This isn’t just about having the right tools in place — it’s about ensuring they can speak to one another well. No matter the quality of your data, if it lives in disconnected systems or tools, it won’t provide the insights you need. Instead, you’ll see gaps in data flow and/or duplicate records. 

How to achieve it? Consolidate the apps and tools you use in your data pipelines and ensure that they support end-to-end data automation across your entire infrastructure via built-in connectors and APIs. 

Consistent data governance and quality

A robust governance framework is a must if you want to remain confident that you’re entering, gathering, storing and maintaining data uniformly. Otherwise, there will always be a chance of errors and discrepancies contaminating your data. Without governance, your data can also become outdated or lost in the shuffle between systems and make it difficult to maintain compliance with industry regulations.

How to achieve it? Establish clear policies and data team roles. Implement cloud-based data solutions that monitor and enforce data consistency and security across all your systems.

Scalability and flexibility

Growth puts pressure on your data. More customer transactions, more complex supply chain data or larger datasets make it harder to process and move data efficiently. Scaling your data infrastructure along with your company size and use cases is critical for maintaining smooth operations into the future. Your data systems should be able to handle higher loads without sacrificing performance or speed.

It’s also necessary to adapt your data architecture over time without complete internal restructuring. Especially as you adopt new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning or advanced business intelligence tools, you may find you need different types of data processing and storage.

How to achieve it? Invest in a powerful combination of integrated workload automation and managed file transfer with modular automation design and scalable data management features.

Evaluate your current data flows

1. Check with key stakeholders. Start by engaging with the people who rely on data to do their jobs. Are they receiving the data they need when they need it? Understanding their pain points can help you identify where your data movement falls short.
2. Look for bottlenecks: Examine your current processes for slowdowns in import/export activities, extract, transform, load (ETL) processes or anywhere else that data moves through your organization. Are there specific people or machines causing delays?
3. Identify gaps in your workflows: Take a step back and map out how your data is supposed to move. Is reality aligned with the map, or are there gaps you need to address?

What does it look like to achieve high data availability?

Appriss Retail was exchanging data with its clients via a legacy application that was not easy to upgrade. As they began requiring large volumes of file transfers, the team needed an efficient solution for handling them while protecting personally identifiable information (PII).

With JSCAPE MFT Server and MFT Gateway, Appriss Retail configured file transfer processes with high availability, plus automated threat mitigation, multiple protocol support and more. Read the full story.

Make your data actionable

Effective data management is more than simply collecting information. Clean, reliable and accessible data can generate a significant competitive advantage in a world where organizations are trying to keep up with new data requirements, rapidly increasing data volume and the arrival of big data.

To dive deeper into how (and why) to mature your data movement processes using an MFT solution with a SaaS option, read Data in Motion, our in-depth report on enterprise data movement. Learn about the impact of multi-cloud environments, workload automation, data volume and complexity when adapting your data movement strategy.

Modern businesses are inundated with data and rely on a complex network of data-intensive applications to achieve crucial operational goals. High-level security is now a fundamental expectation rather than a luxury. Instead of batch processes occurring once daily, there is a demand for real-time, event-driven data flows. Keeping pace with technological advancements requires that legacy systems — and their stewards —evolve and adapt.

Managed file transfer (MFT) technology has become a boardroom topic, with eye-popping fines and lawsuits levied against companies whose MFT solutions failed them. The MIT students who first published these protocols on the eve of the internet couldn’t have imagined the sheer complexity of today’s data landscape — or the increasingly vital role that the file transfer technologies they authored would continue to play in 2024 and beyond.

Security is paramount

Data is the lifeblood of the modern enterprise, and keeping this data secure is more critical than ever. Over the last year, news around data breaches and their vast implications has been hard to miss globally. Thousands of organizations have been impacted, with downstream implications for hundreds of thousands of consumers. It’s likely you’ve received a notice in the mail about being implicated in one of these. Hundreds of class action lawsuits have followed. 

These are not trivial matters. The architectural landscape of file transfer has evolved drastically while cyber threats grow more sophisticated. What was a basic FTP transfer job a few years ago now relies on a complex mix of high-trust and low-trust environments, with sophisticated gateways, gateway agents and reverse proxies standing guard over sensitive information.

Encryption standards are evolving rapidly — Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) remains a staple — while new standards such as FIPS 140-3 and even quantum-resistant encryption are on the horizon. MFT platforms must have off-the-shelf integration with tools like Microsoft Azure Key Vault and others, giving users a seamless way to manage encryption keys. This evolution has led to a shift away from FTP to standardized encryption protocols such as SFTP and FTPS, coupled with authentication using Single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA). The ball is constantly moving, and file transfer vendors must be agile to stay ahead. 

An often forgotten piece of the file transfer landscape is ad-hoc file transfer. Unlike traditional file-sharing methods such as email, which often lack security controls and auditing capabilities, an MFT platform provides a secure, compliant and centralized way to transfer files. This is particularly important for ad hoc sharing, where users need to quickly share files within or outside their organizations’ network walls without compromising data integrity or exposing sensitive information to unauthorized access. MFT platforms offer end-to-end encryption, detailed audit trails and strict access controls, ensuring that even spontaneous and one-off file transfers meet corporate governance and compliance requirements.

Keeping these platforms secure is no small task. Regular pentesting, Static and dynamic code testing and third-party security audits are no longer optional; they’re table stakes. Unfortunately, these practices are non-standard in the industry. Solutions such as JSCAPE by Redwood and Cerberus by Redwood regularly publish results from these tests.

Alongside quality assurance programs, certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC1/SOC2 should be treated as table stakes as well. Platforms like JSCAPE are among the few solutions that are Drummond Certified for AS2 interoperability, a prominent B2B messaging standard that, according to Drummond Group, “safeguards critical business information that represents billions of dollars each year.”

Compliance is equally non-negotiable, with enterprises depending on MFT providers to navigate and maintain compliance in a complex web of regulations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS and SOX, violations of which can threaten a business’s viability and executive tenure.

With significant changes looming in data movement standards across healthcare, financial services and other sectors, staying ahead of the curve in secure file transfer is not just about safeguarding data — it’s about future-proofing your entire business operation against a fast-growing fabric of data regulations.

Reliability: A multi–billion-dollar topic

Enterprise system reliability is paramount to a business’s operations, and CrowdStrike’s recent update, which caused millions of IT systems to fail, was a stark reminder of the duty enterprise software vendors have to their customers.

According to Axios, one in four Fortune 500 companies experienced a service disruption and likely lost a combined $5.4 billion. This makes it abundantly clear that quality assurance (QA) isn’t just a checkbox — it’s the first line of defense against zero-day events and breaches, which put entire enterprise ecosystems at risk. Shockingly, a recent NBER study of 150,000 organizations in the United States disclosed that there is “widespread usage of server software with known vulnerabilities, with 57% of organizations using software with severe security vulnerabilities even when secure versions were available.” 

While it’s easy to think that following CrowdStrike, you should “wait and see” as patch builds release from your vendors, we view this as an untenable risk for our customers in the file transfer space. The very nature of the data moving through these platforms demands vigilance. External threat actors are knocking at the door, and the risks to internal network access far outweigh any risk to production service stability you assume by upgrading (especially where rollbacks are easy). Redwood Software invests massive resources in QA and engineering for our JSCAPE platform to ensure new builds are up to par, and we strongly advise swift adaptation of new releases. 

As the offices of the CISO, CFO, CTO and others responsible for enterprise file transfer continue to drive cloud and SaaS transformation initiatives, deployment flexibility has never been more critical. High availability (HA) with auto-scaling — whether on-premises or in the cloud — ensures systems stay resilient and responsive as payloads scale.

Amidst mass data sprawl and the rise of large language models (LLMs), integrating file transfer systems (MFT) with and working alongside other messaging platforms such as iPaaS creates a future-proof ecosystem for data pipelines. Doing this across SaaS, on-prem or hybrid environments requires flexibility not generally seen in legacy file transfer technologies. 

Furthermore, monitoring and integration with logging tools are a must. They provide the transparency and real-time insights required to maintain compliance in a data-centric landscape. It’s imperative to track every file transfer to identify anomalies and escalate them before they become major issues. An MFT solution with audit trails and performance metrics mitigates the risk of the all-too-common, far-too-costly breach.

You don’t get these modern architectures and flexibility of deployment from vendors who have acquired decades-old file transfer brands, which sat on a shelf collecting dust. Redwood is proud to have grown our product and engineering teams, who focus on file transfer, by more than 300% over the last year, enabling us to tackle not only internal innovation across our products but to ensure that the customers we serve have a voice in an active roadmap that improves every quarter. That is unique in the industry, and it’s reflected in our JSCAPE customer reviews on G2. 

Enabling accessible file transfer automation

As automation initiatives flow through organizations well beyond the halls of IT, it’s critical that MFT platforms cater to the growing number of business users who will not use the command line interface (CLI) to interact.

Drag-and-drop builders are paramount to HR being able to automate sending encrypted payroll information to an external payroll provider, for analysts to automate order intake across the supply chain or for a finance team to create a set of automated report flows to external auditors. When you democratize MFT, it can unlock freedom amongst teams to focus on the things that really matter.

That’s not to say that the CLI is not critical, especially as MFT and iPaaS work seamlessly via APIs to serve broad use cases within enterprises. However, this is no longer the only way to drive file transfer, a fact that opens up broad possibilities for new efficiencies across organizations.

Looking ahead to 2025

File transfer is rapidly changing, but a half-century’s worth of roots will keep MFT firmly planted as a critical piece of the enterprise software technology stack for decades to come.

Not all file sharing services will survive and thrive in these rapidly changing times. Vendors in this space, who notoriously feature lackluster support organizations and product roadmaps that originated in the pre-cloud era, will be left behind. Companies need vendors for MFT that they can trust to keep them secure, available and relevant in the technology ecosystems of today.

In 2025, AI will go from a thematic talking point of the industry, as it is in 2024, to a material driver of optimization across enterprise file transfer systems, helping predict and spread workload throughout peak usage and monitor pattern anomalies for real-time security alerts.

SaaS will move from innovative to table-stakes status, even in regulated enterprise environments, and vendors who do not take this seriously will be left behind.

Security threats will evolve, requiring MFT platform teams to work closely with internal and external security groups to proactively counter these threats. 

Know your MFT vendor

Back in 2010, Eric Schmidt, then CEO of Google, proclaimed to an audience in beautiful Lake Tahoe that “Every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. That’s something like five exabytes of data.”

In the nearly 15 years since, the ecosystems around enterprise data have continued to grow on a relatively unimaginable scale. Cloud computing has become the standard, data warehouse platforms like Snowflake and Databricks have become household names and the proliferation of AI is making the analysis of these massive datasets more accessible than ever.

One thing that has not changed: Companies need to move massive data sets from point A to point B securely and reliably. While the ecosystem and endpoints have evolved, the DNA remains.

MFT is here to stay and must evolve with the times. We’re very proud of what we’re doing here at Redwood. To see the latest and greatest of JSCAPE and JSCAPE SaaS, book a demo.

It’s limited in its automation, scalability, security and integration, making it increasingly inadequate for modern data transfer requirements.

Why SFTP can’t keep up

Managing file transfers is about more than just moving data from point A to point B. Maintaining control over that data while staying compliant with your industry regulations is difficult with SFTP’s basic logging features and limited visibility into the transfer process.

Security constraints

SFTP offers some protection for sensitive data, but it’s far from comprehensive. While it does encrypt data during transfer, it doesn’t provide built-in security for data at rest. So, once your files reach their destination, they’re left unprotected unless you manually integrate additional encryption tools. Such a setup introduces complexity to your security infrastructure and can increase vulnerabilities. 

Furthermore, SFTP lacks modern security features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and advanced access controls, both of which are essential in cybersecurity today. Regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA or PCI DSS may place an even greater burden on your business to maintain end-to-end security.

Difficulty automating

Automation is a cornerstone of today’s data-driven businesses, yet SFTP lacks native tools to handle it efficiently. Implementing automation with SFTP often requires extensive manual scripting. The results are complicated, error-prone processes that are difficult to manage as operations scale. You introduce significant bottlenecks when trying to automate without native automation tools.

Integration woes

Modern data transfer often involves interactions between various systems — cloud platforms, CRMs and ERPs, namely. SFTP was not built for this level of integration and can require manual workarounds to connect with other systems. Connecting SFTP to other business systems typically requires additional scripts, APIs or manual configurations. This adds unnecessary complexity and risk to your workflows.

Every time an update or change occurs in your integrated systems, your SFTP scripts may need to be rewritten or adjusted, which consumes valuable IT resources. Ad-hoc integration can cause you to miss file transfers, inadvertently create data silos and interrupt workflows.

Lack of cloud-readiness

As businesses increasingly shift to cloud-based and hybrid models, the limitations of SFTP become more pronounced. SFTP was designed for traditional, on-premises environments and lacks the flexibility to operate smoothly in cloud or hybrid environments. Reliance on a fixed infrastructure means SFTP struggles to accommodate the on-demand scaling that cloud environments offer. If you handle large data volumes or transfer files across geographically dispersed locations, you’re likely to encounter major issues.

Trying to use SFTP in modern use cases

Below are just a few examples of what SFTP’s shortcomings look like in the real world.

• Real-time data transfers between cloud services: A global retail enterprise uses multiple cloud platforms to manage its supply chain, inventory and customer data. Exchanging data between its cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) and CRM in real time is essential for making sure inventory levels show up accurately when customers make purchases online.
  
  Using SFTP, these real-time data transfers would be a struggle. The lack of built-in cloud compatibility would require extensive manual setup and complex scripting to manage integrations and lead to frequent delays or transfer failures.
  
  On the other hand, MFT’s cloud-native architecture would allow the data to flow effortlessly between the WMS and CRM without delay. Low-code automation features would make it easy to configure and edit workflows and save the IT team lots of time.
• Large-scale data exchanges across global locations: A multinational financial services company manages large volumes of transactions across offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Timely and secure data transfers are critical to its operations, especially in daily closing periods when numbers need to be reconciled across regions. 
  
  With SFTP, the firm would face slow transfer speeds due to inconsistent performance, and end-of-day reporting could be slow.
  
  MFT’s dynamic scaling capabilities would enable simultaneous transfers across multiple time zones, and its built-in performance optimization would ensure that data moves quickly, even during peak periods.
• Compliance-heavy industries that need advanced security protocols: A healthcare organization must comply with HIPAA regulations, which require strict data security measures during both transfer and storage. 
  
  Relying on SFTP would mean having no native protection for data at rest, so the organization would need to implement additional security tools. SFTP would also fall short in the detailed logging and monitoring required for HIPAA auditing.
  
  Switching to MFT would make it effortless to encrypt data end to end. Advanced logging and audit features would help generate the detailed reports necessary to prove compliance.

READ NEXT: Beyond your four walls: A managed file transfer story

The future of data transfer

While SFTP might have sufficed in the past, it’s truly ill-suited for the present and future landscape of data transfer. Seamless automation, advanced security and scalable performance are simply impossible to achieve using SFTP without significant effort.

MFT is made for the challenges of today and tomorrow. It’s a reliable, flexible and secure way to move data and sensitive information internally and externally.

In addition to selecting a secure, reliable MFT solution like JSCAPE by Redwood, consider how you can evolve your entire IT landscape with advanced workload automation to bring all your data exchanges together across end-to-end processes.

Book a demo to learn how JSCAPE seamlessly integrates with RunMyJobs by Redwood to take your file transfer protocols and much more into the future.

Yet, data volumes are skyrocketing, and the need for real-time data processing is more pressing than ever. The business intelligence that fuels your next move depends on it, and your customers expect quick and reliable service.

Safeguarding your assets, reputation and future, therefore, means prioritizing data pipeline management and, in turn, the files you transfer in your data processes.

Why automate data pipelines?

The concept of a data pipeline may be simple — it’s the system or process you develop to move your data from various sources to destinations. But, establishing and maintaining steady and precise data movement requires constant attention. 

As the amount of data created, consumed and stored continues to expand dramatically and workflows increase in complexity, the pressure exceeds what a typical business can maintain with manual methods. Timely processing and error mitigation are not guaranteed when trying to piece together the capabilities of disparate tools.

Furthermore, delivering a superior customer experience (CX) in any industry depends on real-time data availability.

Scaling data pipelines to meet demands and stay competitive becomes impossible without automation.

Benefits of data pipeline automation

1. Increase efficiency and productivity

Automation eliminates repetitive manual processes, allowing you to better utilize human resources for your most important strategic tasks. A simple shift in how you apply your workforce can drive innovation and greatly enhance your service delivery. 

When someone who once dedicated a significant portion of their time to data entry, validation and transfer gets to focus on more creative work, for example, you could develop fresh solutions to internal and customer-facing issues while accelerating project timelines.

In action: A manufacturing company reduces data processing time by 40% by automating data management tasks, enabling data engineers to focus on product innovation instead of time-consuming data handling tasks like manual data ingestion and validation.

2. Improve reliability and reduce errors

When you automate data pipelines, you mitigate mistakes. The best data orchestration and workflow management solutions have built-in error detection and correction mechanisms to improve data quality and consistency. They monitor data flows around the clock to identify anomalies and correct issues in real time.

As a result, your teams can achieve accurate reporting and maintain regulatory compliance in the decision-making process. Reliability ultimately translates into trust — in both your datasets and your systems.

In action: A financial institution achieves 99.9% data accuracy by automating its data pipelines. Its leaders can produce reliable reports and stick to important industry standards around data security.

3. Enhance scalability and performance

As you implement automation with powerful job orchestration tools, you’ll find managing big data spikes and variations in data loads is no longer stressful. Optimizing resource usage improves your overall system performance and can reduce costs.

If, for example, your business experiences a surge in customer transactions during a major sales event, it could be risky to try to handle the increase in data volume without a snafu. Automation helps you maintain a smooth and efficient CX and generates accurate numbers on the back end.

In action: A hotel chain scales its data pipeline to accommodate a 200% increase in booking data during peak seasons.

4. Provide visibility and monitoring

Automated data pipelines offer comprehensive data flow and system performance tracking. The best platforms offer clear, accessible insights into your pipeline operations so you can preempt issues. Visibility is key for operational integrity.

Especially with real-time dashboards and detailed analytics, you get a transparent view of your entire data pipeline, including where you may have bottlenecks before they escalate. The same level of business insights isn’t attainable in a manually-driven pipeline. 

Proactive monitoring is also invaluable for the health of your data infrastructure.

In action: A utility company uses dashboards for real-time monitoring and reduces system downtime by 30% to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.

5. Simplify workflow management, scheduling and dependency handling

Automation simplifies complex workflows and scheduling, so it’s easier to coordinate data-related tasks, file transfers and other key actions across your entire organization. By facilitating the integration of various data sources into a central data warehouse, automation also encourages consolidation and removes data silos.

With automated scheduling, you can ensure your data gets processed and delivered at the right time for every stakeholder. Managing dependencies between different data processes becomes more straightforward in automated workflows. These simplified IT and operations tasks make it possible to interweave various business processes with less effort.

In action: A food processing company improves workflow efficiency by 50% through automated scheduling of production and distribution data, resulting in more timely deliveries.

6. Enhance fault tolerance with built-in detection and recovery

Your pipelines will always be at risk without fault detection and recovery plans. Data pipeline automation tools are made to minimize downtime and data loss. They offer automated alerts and notifications to minimize response time.

Resilience is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted service delivery and protecting the integrity of your data.  Fault tolerance keeps your data secure in the face of unexpected events.

In action: A retail company reduces system downtime by 25% with automated fault tolerance in its data pipeline. The outcome? Consistent customer service and operations.

Steps to effectively manage data pipelines with automation

Achieving the benefits of data pipeline automation requires a strategic and thorough approach.

The first step is to assess your current data movement processes. Are some of your data transfers reliable while others are inconsistent? An initial assessment can give you a clear picture of where your data practices stand and help you identify areas for improvement.

Once you have a comprehensive understanding of your current state, the next step is to identify your goals. Your objective is to ensure you can support all business functions with secure and consistent data movement protocols. 

This involves defining specific targets such as:

• Reducing error rates
• Improving data processing speeds
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements

Having clear goals can help you formulate a precise action plan and tangibly measure your success.

Finally, transitioning fully to an automated data pipeline system means investing in workload automation (WLA) software with integrated managed file transfer (MFT). MFT can ensure all file transfers are secure and compliant. Whether you’ve been engaging in data streaming or store-and-forward methods of file transfer, a tool with integrated MFT can add a layer of reliability to your use cases.

➡️ Consider that a WLA solution can often be used to automate extract, transform, load (ETL) processes. These are fundamental for proper data integration, which keeps your data up to date across all systems.

The future of data movement

As multi-cloud environments become more prevalent, increasing data volume and complexity will drive an even greater need for easy-to-implement low-code or no-code WLA as a proactive approach. Your data pipelines are some of your most valuable assets and, managed well, they can pave the way for sustained growth, increased customer satisfaction and other positive business outcomes.

To dive deeper into what intentional data pipeline management with MFT solutions could look like for your organization, read Data in Motion, our in-depth report on enterprise data movement. Learn about the impact of multi-cloud environments, workload automation, data volume and complexity and more on IT leaders’ data movement strategies.

Explore the transition from FTP to managed file transfer (MFT) solutions and the benefits of MFT for building best practices for secure and efficient data exchanges as your organization evolves.

The limitations of FTP in modern IT environments

While FTP has served businesses for decades, it’s now widely recognized as inadequate for meeting the data security and efficiency needs of modern enterprises. This simple method for moving files can’t keep up with the intricate needs of large organizations in various industries that are forced to adapt to today’s global markets and digital ways of conducting business. 

FTP lacks encryption, leaving data vulnerable to interception and unauthorized access during transit. Its limited authentication mechanisms fail to provide the robust security necessary to protect sensitive information in an era of sophisticated cyber threats.

The protocol’s inability to handle large file sizes efficiently and its lack of integration with modern IT systems make it a common bottleneck in digital operations. As your business scales, the inefficiencies of FTP become more pronounced and can lead to delayed processes, increased operational costs and heightened security risks.

How other file transfer protocols fall short

FTP isn’t the only option, of course. Many businesses rely on secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), FTP Secure (FTPS) and HTTPS.

SFTP, built on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, offers a significant improvement over traditional FTP. It encrypts both the data being transferred and the commands sent between the client and server. While it adds a layer of security over traditional FTP, SFTP is challenging to manage in complex IT environments, particularly when handling large volumes of data or integrating with other systems.

File transfer protocol secure (FTPS), another upgrade over FTP, uses SSL/TLS encryption to secure data during transfer. Like SFTP, FTPS enhances security by encrypting the file transfer process, but it also shares similar challenges in terms of scalability, integration and management in large-scale environments. 

Both SFTP and FTPS lack the centralized management, automation and comprehensive visibility that are essential for maintaining adequate security and compliance.

HTTPS, commonly used for secure web communication, is sometimes employed for file transfers as well. While HTTPS provides strong encryption, it’s not specifically designed for large-scale file transfers and lacks the specialized features businesses require for managing and automating complex data exchanges.

Why transition to MFT?

It’s clear that the shift from FTP (the most limited method) to MFT (the most robust protocol) is non-negotiable for those engaged in many file transfers across departments and with third parties — especially in a highly regulated industry.

MFT solutions address the shortcomings of FTP and the other protocols because they offer security, automation and visibility features that are non-negotiable in today’s IT ecosystems.

Security and compliance

One of the most compelling reasons to transition to MFT is the increased security it provides. Industry-standard encryption methods such as AS2 for data at rest and SSL/TLS for data in motion are built in, giving you the peace of mind that your sensitive information will stay protected throughout the entire transfer process. MFT solutions offer additional authentication methods like multi-factor authentication (MFA).

MFT also wins when it comes to compliance. With comprehensive audit trails and detailed reporting, MFT tools make it easier to meet regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, PCI DSS and GDPR. The insights they provide can also help you improve your security policies over time.

Efficiency and automation

MFT consolidates your file transfer activities into a single, centralized platform. Features like no-code/low-code automation, triggers and pre-built templates make it easy to configure and schedule file transfers so you can streamline operations and reduce errors. Increasing the speed and reliability of your file transfers can help you maintain strong relationships with third parties, too. 

Visibility and control

The same centralization that makes your transfers more efficient also makes them easier to track and manage. Monitoring and logging your file transfer activities allows your IT team to identify potential issues before they escalate, make adjustments to optimize performance, and ensure all data exchanges comply with internal policies and external regulations.

Increased visibility also means more informed decision-making for IT leadership.

The future of secure file transfers

If you haven’t felt tremendous negative effects of outdated file transfer protocols yet, you’re bound to in the near future. Secure, efficient and compliant data transfer is only going to become more critical. To future-proof your IT environment, adopting MFT is a strategic move that will pay significant dividends.

The powerful combination of an end-to-end workload automation solution like RunMyJobs by Redwood and a reliable MFT solution like JSCAPE by Redwood can drive efficient, automated and secure processes across your entire enterprise — for file transfers and beyond.

Book a demo to see how JSCAPE’s security features can expand the vast workload automation features of RunMyJobs and strengthen your file transfer practices.

But securing data isn’t about sealing it off from the outside world. In an interconnected business environment, data must flow freely across borders and between teams, vendors and platforms. With such openness comes the challenge of ensuring data transfers don’t compromise security.

In this article, we’ll explore 13 practical methods to safeguard your data during file transfers and share tips for finding the right data security solution for MFT. 

The state of cybersecurity today

A wide range of threats can jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your data. These threats can be external, such as cyberattacks like malware, phishing and DDoS, or internal, where human error or malicious insiders can expose critical information.

Third parties and internal threats are equally concerning. Understanding and being prepared to handle both is the best way to prepare for an attack by a bad actor. A comprehensive enterprise security strategy protects digital assets regardless of the source of a threat.

13 effective data security strategies

Use the following methods and tools to build a strong security framework and enhance your data protection across various platforms.

1. Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Unauthorized access presents a major risk. By requiring users to provide multiple forms of verification (not just a username and password), you can consistently confirm their identities and rest assured that the people gaining access to your sensitive data are allowed to do so.

MFA requires providing two or more credentials, including a password, biometric data like a fingerprint, a security token or a code sent to the user’s phone. For example, a managed file transfer (MFT) solution might require a password plus a fingerprint scan to log in. Not only is this best practice, but it reinforces a culture of security awareness within your organization.

2. File encryption and virtual paths 

Encryption converts data into unreadable code, preventing unauthorized access even if your data is intercepted. An extra layer of defense is to require a decryption key for accessibility after compromise. The most secure MFT solutions can feature triggers that automatically encrypt data upon upload or by securing entire virtual paths. 

Triggers are a targeted encryption approach that enables selective data security measures based on predefined criteria such as filename and file type. Virtual paths in a file system enable you to map user access to specific physical paths within your domain, streamlining user management and permission settings and allowing for centralized control without needing to manage permissions at the operating system level. 

3. Role-based access management 

Granular access controls give your employees access to only the data that’s necessary for their roles. Reviewing and updating access permissions on a regular basis minimizes the risk of privilege escalation — when users gain unauthorized access to sensitive information over time.

Role-based management allows you to define specific permissions, such as restricting access to certain domains or limiting the visibility of user data. You could create a role that permits an administrator to manage triggers only within a specified domain or restrict their visibility to users in a specific location. 

4. Real-time threat detection

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) monitor and respond to threats in real time. With notifications and alerts, stakeholders in any file exchange can stay informed about suspicious activity and be prepared for immediate action.

Incorporating AI-driven threat detection can further enhance your ability to identify and respond to emerging threats that could bypass traditional security measures.

5. Frequent security audits

Regular security audits are vital for identifying vulnerabilities in your systems and ensuring compliance with industry standards. They help you maintain a strong security posture by highlighting areas for improvement and enforcing consistent security practices.

Surprise audits can be particularly effective in revealing weaknesses that may not be evident during scheduled assessments.

6. Data loss prevention (DLP)

DLP strategies are designed to identify and protect sensitive information. With DLP rules, you can prevent the unauthorized distribution of critical data like credit card or personal identification numbers (PINs). Implementing it across all communication channels, including email and cloud services, gives you comprehensive protection.

Integrating a DLP processor into your MFT server (or using a solution with a built-in processor) can help you enforce data protection policies and reduce the risk of data leaks.

7. Advanced network security 

Advanced firewalls play a crucial role in defending your network by enforcing security policies between internal systems and external networks. Integrating analytics tools with your firewall solutions can help you prevent sophisticated attacks.

Network segmentation, combined with continuous monitoring, prevents unauthorized access and isolates sensitive data to minimize the impact of a potential breach. 

8. Secure cloud environments

In SaaS architectures, customer environments should be isolated within dedicated zones. You should secure access using HTTPS/TLS. Regular updates and patches to your cloud security protocols can help you keep up with evolving threats. 

MFT platforms that leverage cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) add additional security layers to ensure your data transfers are protected in compliance with best practices and regulatory standards, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS.

9. Third-party risk management 

Effective risk management requires a thorough assessment of third-party vendors and supply chains. Regular audits and strict security protocols can give you reassurance that third-party services meet your organization’s security standards. Collaborating with your third-party vendors can present opportunities to align security practices.

Conduct regular security audits of vendors. You may choose to only offer access to your environment using a firewall or via DMZ streaming. 

10. Data backup and disaster recovery 

Robust data backup and disaster recovery procedures maintain data integrity and business continuity. 

One of the best tools for this is a failover server, which assumes the responsibilities of a production server if it becomes unavailable. Most file transfer solutions don’t have built-in failover and require integration with supplemental data security solutions.

See why its failover mechanisms make JSCAPE by Redwood stand out in the MFT space.

11. Automated trigger management 

Managing triggers related to file transfers is essential to prevent unintended data transfers. 

By setting up event-based triggers to execute only upon actions by a particular user, time frame, event type and more, you can prevent file transfer automation from inadvertently moving malicious data into your organization.

12. Policy enforcement

Developing and enforcing comprehensive privacy policies will help your organization comply with data protection laws and regulations. Because security best practices are constantly evolving, it’s important to choose an MFT provider that continuously updates its solutions and stays ahead of evolving security challenges.

Embed privacy by design into your policies to ensure that data protection is a priority at every stage of your operations.

13. Security posture assessments

Regular security posture assessments are non-negotiable. Your IT experts not only need to protect your organization; they also should understand your level of risk of becoming a victim of a breach or attack.

Third-party assessments can also be helpful in giving you an unbiased view of your security posture.

Selecting the right data security solutions for file transfer

Because your organization handles a unique set of data and may face industry-specific regulatory requirements, you’ll want to carefully evaluate MFT providers, platforms with integrated MFT and supporting data security solutions. 

Use these six key steps in the vetting process.

1. Understand your data: Begin by taking inventory of the types of data your enterprise manages. Are you transferring financial data, personal data, intellectual property or other forms of sensitive data? The classification will help you identify the level and type of protection you require. 
2. Evaluate regulatory compliance: Adhering to regulations, such as SOX for financial reporting and GDPR for data protection in the European Union, is essential. Your choice of data security solutions should support and simplify the compliance process, ensuring you meet privacy regulations.
3. Consider scalability: As your business expands, your security requirements will also increase. Choose scalable solutions to handle growing data volumes and adapt to evolving security threats across all your operational environments. 
4. Assess existing infrastructure: Carefully evaluate your current IT environment to ensure compatibility with your existing infrastructure. Thoroughly review endpoints, data centers and multi-cloud setups to guarantee that security tools integrate smoothly across all platforms.
5. Establish budget constraints: Be realistic about what you can afford, but also recognize that skimping on data security can lead to the most costly breaches or velocity-reducing tech debt. Many companies find out the hard way that investing in advanced threat detection systems and secure data platforms is worth it.
6. Research potential providers’ reputations: Look for strong customer service, quality technical support and a clear roadmap for features and innovation.

5 signs of a first-rate security vendor 

When evaluating security vendors with MFT in mind, look for key indicators that demonstrate their reliability and effectiveness in safeguarding data.

A proven track record

The most reliable providers have a solid history in the industry, particularly in areas such as encryption key management, DLP and Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems. Those with industry certifications and plentiful customer testimonials can prove their commitment to high security standards.

Flexibility

Select security solutions that enable you to tailor protocols: the ability to modify access controls, encrypt data and enforce policies to align precisely with your security requirements. A wide range of connectors and API-driven integration options can also ensure compatibility and scalability with your future tech stack.

Layered defense strategies

Opt for solutions that provide a layered approach to security to reduce the likelihood of a single point of failure. Combining several tactics, such as firewalls, access management and multi-factor authentication, can generate a more robust defense. Integrated solutions also help create a resilient security posture against various cyberattacks, including malware, ransomware and phishing.

User-friendliness

User-friendly interfaces and features such as low-code automation can significantly reduce the chance of human error. Solutions with minimal training time and educational resources for new users can help you drive widespread adoption and, therefore, consistency.

Zero-trust architecture

Unlike traditional “defense-in-depth” approaches that operate under a trust model, zero-trust architecture (ZTA) operates under the assumption that all network traffic is potentially hostile. Designed to incorporate security deeply within a network’s DNA, adhering to principles that require secure access for all resources, strict access controls based on necessity, verification over trust, thorough inspection of all incoming log traffic for malicious activity and network design that starts from the inside out.

Opt for workload automation with integrated MFT

Maintaining a secure and resilient digital environment means choosing software providers that can support you in implementing the above 13 methods. Selecting a vendor that offers integrated workload automation and MFT capabilities gives you full visibility into data transfers and aligns them with your broader operational goals.

Find out how the power combination of RunMyJobs by Redwood and JSCAPE by Redwood can drive efficient, automated and secure processes across your entire enterprise — for file transfers and beyond.

Book a demo to see how JSCAPE’s security features can expand the vast workload automation features of RunMyJobs and strengthen the defenses of your IT infrastructure. 

It’s no different at work. Checking revenue, checking budgets, checking business strategy — we need to know these are safe and secure as well. 

Thankfully, we no longer have to focus on hunting prey or finding shelter in the modern world, but that desire to check and feel safe is intrinsic to being human.

When it comes to transferring files and data, both internally and externally, the anxiety can be constant. Technology makes this more manageable, and automation goes a step further by removing that mental load from our minds completely. 

However, checking every sent and received file isn’t feasible, especially when you need to do so for hundreds or thousands of files a day. Sheer overwhelm at the volume means there could be thousands of file transfer processes occurring within your organization without regular oversight. You might receive an alert when something goes wrong, but the fact remains that sending and receiving files is a constant vulnerability, akin to a castle letting down a drawbridge.

What if you didn’t need to view file transfer as a liability to be resolved? What if these files were built into your daily processes and automations? 

Managed file transfer (MFT) does just that. MFT is a file transfer management solution adept at keeping your “castle” safe while improving file transfer security and process efficiency. 

Here, I’ll tell you the story of the impact of seamless file transfer and encourage you to write your own.

Chapter 1: Why the file transfer journey matters

Savvy businesses leverage automation to get more work done with fewer resources. Prime targets for automation using workload automation (WLA) tools tend to be internal processes like reporting, ticket management, CRM updates and more. 

However, file transfer processes don’t only take place within your organization. It becomes challenging to easily automate, see and control external tasks like paying vendors, receiving invoices from suppliers and orchestrating other touchpoints in a supply chain. 

Bridging the automation gap between internal and external using an MFT solution not only improves efficiency but also affords your organization other valuable benefits. 

• Easier compliance: If compliance is a major concern in your industry, you’ll benefit tremendously from an MFT solution with built-in features to help you comply with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and SOX. You’ll be able to confidently provide secure data handling, audit trails and more in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Long-term expansion: Communicate securely with a wider variety of external entities regardless of the file sharing protocol they prefer or require. As you scale, you can easily integrate file transfers into existing workflows without the need for reconfiguration.
• Reliable logging and comprehensive reporting: A solution with detailed activity logs provides insights into the performance and efficiency of your file transfer operations. Reports can help you monitor usage patterns and optimize workflows to maximize efficiency. 
• Robust data encryption: Encryption, both in transit and at rest, protects sensitive data from unauthorized access. When you’re transferring files externally, it minimizes the risk of data breaches and ensures that information remains confidential.

What would daily processes look like using integrated WLA and MFT, and how can they help you achieve full end-to-end business automation?

To envision what’s possible, we’ll look at two examples of how businesses use these solutions as part of their tech stack to automate file exchange and protect essential data.

Chapter 2: The purchase order story

In this scenario, let’s imagine a manufacturer called Acme Scooters. They have a contract to fulfill a massive order of scooters for a new school district’s physical education program. Acme Scooters works with their supplier, Wheels Limited, to ensure they have the parts they need to deliver completed scooters on time. 

To keep themselves organized, Wheels Limited uses three integrated and automated software solutions: JSCAPE by Redwood for MFT, RunMyJobs by Redwood for WLA and SAP for enterprise resource planning (ERP).

We begin our journey at Wheels Limited, which just received a purchase order (PO) from Acme Scooters via one of JSCAPE’s protocols. This File Upload event triggers an automation for JSCAPE to send the PO to RunMyJobs.

RunMyJobs processes the PO and sends its data into Wheels Limited’s SAP instance. The data is processed, and SAP generates a purchase order acknowledgment (POA). SAP then forwards the POA to RunMyJobs, which passes it back to JSCAPE. The POA is returned to Acme Scooters via JSCAPE, confirming the order has been received. 

Wheels Limited gets to work building the custom wheels needed for the new scooters. Once they’re produced, RunMyJobs generates a shipping document stating that the parts are ready to be shipped. JSCAPE shares the shipping document file with Acme Scooters while RunMyJobs works with SAP to automate the invoice creation. RunMyJobs receives the invoice from SAP via its integration and leverages JSCAPE to share it with Acme Scooters. 

At every step, automations escort the files where they need to go, with JSCAPE’s event-based triggers facilitating the file transfer across all the software solutions, enabling easy internal file-sharing automation and secure file transfers to external partners. 

Chapter 3: The order-to-cash story

As Wheels Limited and Acme Scooters aim to continue working together, they decide to share a Dropbox account to store and retrieve business-related files easily. 

Acme Scooters, now the premier provider of scooters for K–12 schools, uploads an order to Dropbox. Due to an event-based trigger, JSCAPE recognizes the File Upload event and ferries the order directly into RunMyJobs. RunMyJobs extracts the data in the order, including customer information, and checks it against their ERP solution, SAP. 

The data matches, which allows the automated order process to continue and enables an invoice to be sent back to Acme Scooters. RunMyJobs retrieves a generated invoice from SAP, then passes it to JSCAPE. As the file transfer solution, JSCAPE automatically moves the invoice file into the shared Dropbox for Acme Scooters to pick up and pay later. 

As you can see, the cross-functional integration of an MFT solution with a WLA solution kicks off processes after they’re triggered by external partners without requiring human involvement. Existing tools, such as Dropbox, fully integrate into the automated flow.

Chapter 4: Peace of mind beyond your four walls

Acme Scooters and Wheels Limited may be fictional businesses, but the challenges and complexity they face are very real. Enterprise organizations like these — and yours — are responsible for protecting vast and sensitive data transfers every day. By automating these vulnerable processes, both companies in the above examples could focus on other work and reduce the mental load and resource expenditure they would otherwise dedicate to monitoring file-heavy processes. 

The reason this worked out so well for this partnership is because the MFT solution went beyond automating simple tasks. Acme Scooters and Wheels Limited got full visibility into all file transfer processes, including comprehensive logging and reporting. Not only was it easier for their employees to check that a file transfer went through, but the integration with a WLA solution made tracking and reporting simple, from intake to storage. 

Your business transactions aren’t only taking place within your four walls. When you engage with external partners, you must meet compliance requirements, provide technical support when necessary and, most importantly, have peace of mind that all processes are working as intended. 

To be continued: What will your file transfer story look like?

If you’ve done the hard work of automating your organization’s essential tasks via a WLA platform, the next logical chapter in your journey is about bringing file transfers under the automation umbrella. 

Technology has come so far in the file transfer space, and a robust MFT solution like JSCAPE not only shepherds your files securely inside and outside your business but also helps you implement efficiencies in even the most complex job processes. 

If you aspire for your business to live and breathe in the cloud — a worthy and necessary aspiration in today’s landscape — modern WLA and MFT solutions should be at the top of your tech stack wish list. Redwood Software is the only provider offering SaaS for both. 

It’s time to automate your business inside and out. To avoid the negative impact of common assumptions in the process, download our list of 10 surprising but critical success factors for implementing end-to-end automation.

As the former CEO of one of the enterprise software leaders in analytics, I had a front-row seat to this “data fabric” revolution.  While it was easy to get caught up in the marketing hype around new terms like “big data” and “predictive analytics,” the reality was that the most competitive companies in the world were increasingly differentiating their ability to serve their customers based on how well they collected, managed and utilized their data.  By eliminating data silos, these leaders were able to consolidate and organize data from multiple sources and capture a unified view of the customer across all touchpoints.  

The inevitable domino effect

Today, the use cases and benefits of a modern data fabric architecture are apparent. And now, this revolutionary interwoven approach is happening in the automation industry. The result of this will be a requirement for every modern enterprise to build “automation fabrics” in order to effectively compete and profitably grow.  

An automation fabric is a cohesive and integrated framework that seamlessly connects various automation tools, processes and data sources. It acts as a central nervous system, enabling seamless communication and collaboration among disparate business activities, applications and environments, driving mission-critical business processes across any tech stack. Think things like procure-to-pay, just-in-time delivery, record-to-report.  

The core market change driving this revolution and the need for automation fabrics isn’t rocket science. It’s simply a number of market shifts that we have all been investing in for some time. For starters, IT is no longer relegated to being a simple enabler of the back office. Lines of business leaders expect their technology investments to drive core business outcomes, with delivering a superior customer and employee experience being the new competitive battleground. For example, how do I close the books in record time? How do I translate an online order into cash collections without error? Or, how do I massively improve the resilience of my supply chain? Each of these business outcomes starts with some kind of end-to-end business process transformation.

However, achieving that end-to-end business process transformation is now quite complicated. As best-of-breed products replaced business suites for more superior, targeted functionality, the number of applications that house these business processes, and their underlying transaction data, has absolutely exploded over the last two decades. 

The good news is these highly specialized, process-oriented applications have made many individual tasks easier and more forgettable. But the bad news is they’ve created an endless sea of silos that do everything incredibly efficiently alone but do virtually nothing together. Today, almost no business outcome — including mission-critical ones — is accomplished with just one application. Furthermore, most mission-critical business outcomes still require working with established transaction systems of record, like your ERP system. As a result, the transaction data and business processes needed to come together to drive these business outcomes require coordination across multiple applications — cloud, on-premises or hybrid — working in an orchestrated fashion.

To make things more complex, all these bespoke applications and systems often run on tech infrastructure that is constantly changing. Enterprise modernization efforts are no longer just considering a simple lift and shift from on-premises to the cloud. Instead, leaders are conducting a careful reassessment and refactoring of their entire tech stack, as they are on a mission to tear down monolithic systems and refactor their vast tech stacks to microservices architectures while putting everything into containers, including modernizing their CI/CD and DevOps pipelines for faster delivery.  

When companies start refactoring their entire tech stack into microservices and containers spinning up and down on this massive a scale, you need an immense amount of automation because human beings cannot handle this manually — it’s an n-dimensional problem. This great replatforming has created a real problem for enterprises, as their legacy automation platforms simply do not have the ability to automate business processes end to end across this full stack of mission-critical applications and underlying, ever-changing tech infrastructure. This n-dimensional complexity requires a new approach to automation. One that’s purpose-built for a best-of-breed application world but also provides the flexibility to work across any IT infrastructure you may encounter. It’s why automation will become the pervasive operation system fabric powering today’s modern enterprises. 

Choose your partner wisely

In the same way data fabrics revolutionized our ability to make more informed decisions for our companies, customers and employees, automation fabrics will now revolutionize our ability to deliver superior customer and employee experiences. Like building data fabrics, building your automation fabric requires making critical decisions around your automation platform and software partner. After all, your automation fabric will be the pervasive operation system driving your entire company. So, it’s an important decision! Some points you may want to consider in choosing your automation partner include:

• Connecting applications and systems: Can I connect deeply to all the applications and systems I need to connect to ensure seamless, end-to-end business process automation? Does this include connections to my ERP system and my SaaS and legacy applications?

• Composability: Can I create new automations quickly and at scale without extensive programming resources? Can I easily create a new automation with a drag-and-drop approach and pre-built components rather than creating code? 
  
• Monitoring and control: Can I monitor and control the myriad of processes in real time and have confidence that the processes will run to completion? Can I predict, manage and take action on SLA performance? 
  
• Confidence: How confident am I in the platform’s ability to scale its performance in a highly secure manner? Does it come with global 24/7 support?  

Harness the power of automation

You will hear a lot of buzz around enterprise businesses turning their attention to the automation fabric. But in its essence, it’s simply about tying every mission-critical business process together into a seamlessly orchestrated effort. And at its core, it’s about freeing up the time and mind space for you and your team to focus on the bigger picture and more strategic initiatives that will drive your business forward. You just need the time and space to see the forest! Your automation fabric will help you do just that.  

We’d like to suggest you consider JSCAPE by Redwood, a managed file transfer (MFT) solution that natively integrates with RunMyJobs.

JSCAPE enables highly secure, reliable and compliant file transfers for intra-organizational and B2B file exchanges. With JSCAPE, you can easily integrate those file exchanges with your RunMyJobs workflows to achieve highly secure and verifiable end-to-end process automation. 

Here, we’ll cover the key benefits of combining these two solutions and explain why it’s a big step in driving your organization’s automation maturity.

1. Improved efficiency

One of the biggest benefits of combining RunMyJobs with JSCAPE is and increase in efficiency. Let’s say you run a chain of retail stores across the country, and you want to update the process of pulling in sales data from store outlets, updating inventory and sending out purchase orders for stock replenishments.

You can use JSCAPE to transfer files containing sales data from all your store outlets into a central location and then upload those files to a folder in your internal network. JSCAPE can perform these tasks on a regular schedule, say every Friday at 8 PM, or in response to specific events, like once the files have been updated at their respective outlets.

At the same time, you can use RunMyJobs to integrate this process with your inventory system so your inventory data automatically updates based on the sales data collected by JSCAPE. You can even use RunMyJobs to integrate these further with your ERP system, which initiates purchase orders for stock replenishment based on inventory levels. 

While you can perform all these tasks manually, automating the entire process from start to finish can eliminate human errors and significantly reduce completion time. Also, even if you can assemble a similar system using RunMyJobs and other file transfer solutions, they won’t be as trouble-free as a RunMyJobs-and-JSCAPE environment.

2. Minimized workarounds and custom code for integrations 

To incorporate file transfers with RunMyJobs-enhanced business processes, some organizations integrate RunMyJobs with a third-party MFT solution or even multiple disparate file transfer solutions. Some teams believe they must use multiple disparate solutions because different trading partners may have different file transfer protocol preferences.

To carry out integrations with different file transfer solutions, you’ll have to employ workarounds and custom coding for every single solution — a method that’s not only time-consuming but also prone to incompatibilities and process errors. Even if you only need to integrate with a single MFT solution that supports multiple file transfer protocols, that integration will still require workarounds and custom code and, hence, is still susceptible to incompatibility and process error risks.

The sheer complexity of non-native integrations can be a major challenge from a development standpoint. Non-native integrations are more expensive to develop and can take a substantially longer time to deploy. Furthermore, these integrations are difficult to document and maintain. If you want to implement changes later on but the person who built those workarounds or wrote the customized code is no longer with your organization, you might have to start all over again. 

RunMyJobs and JSCAPE, on the other hand, integrate with each other natively. That means linking all these different tasks and systems is more akin to just plugging them in instead of stitching them together.

3. Easy-to-maintain compliance with built-in security 

For businesses operating in highly regulated industries like healthcare, financial services and payment processing, using RunMyJobs in conjunction with JSCAPE can greatly simplify compliance initiatives. RunMyJobs and JSCAPE, as a powerful duo, provide end-to-end security and visibility. 

For example, in healthcare, which is governed by the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), many healthcare providers already use RunMyJobs to automate several compliance-related tasks such as:

• Encrypting and decrypting electronic protected health information (ePHI)
• Generating workflow-related audit trails for future HIPAA compliance audits  
• Integrating with security tools and kicking off security-related tasks such as vulnerability scans, incident response and data loss prevention (DLP)

These healthcare providers can integrate RunMyJobs with JSCAPE and use the latter for file transfer-related tasks such as:

• Running scheduled file transfers involving electronic health records (EHRs) between hospitals and clinics or between healthcare providers and insurance companies
• Facilitating large file transfers involving medical images (e.g., X-rays and MRIs)
• Transferring sensitive patient data from an EHR system located in one building to a billing system located in another building

For the two non-scheduling examples outlined above, RunMyJobs can be used to trigger events that would fire off the JSCAPE file transfers. For example, RunMyJobs can monitor the imaging system and then prompt JSCAPE as soon as an image is produced. 

JSCAPE is also equipped with a host of security features that ensure covered entities meet HIPAA compliance requirements during file transfers. 

4. Reduced issue resolution time 

Finally, another advantage of using both RunMyJobs and JSCAPE is that they come from the same vendor — Redwood Software. That means you gain the convenience of having practically one solution and one point of contact for customer support. A single point of contact for support can also significantly reduce resolution times should a problem arise.

This setup can be particularly valuable if you don’t have a dedicated IT department and have to rely on a vendor’s tech support team for every problem. With a single point of contact, you can avoid the hassle of coordinating with multiple vendors and support teams, which can lead to business-impacting delays due to bouts of finger-pointing. 

Envision your full automation tech stack

Using RunMyJobs with JSCAPE is a big step in improving your process automation initiatives. By integrating these two solutions, you can boost efficiency, minimize the risk of process failure, further ensure regulatory compliance and cut down issue resolution times. 

If you’re already a RunMyJobs customer, we invite you to schedule a demo so we can show you exactly why the addition of JSCAPE will build the strongest combination for process automation.

Advanced security methods like managed file transfer and secure shell are used for secure network connections and data transfer, but MFT and SSH are different in their design.

Both play a key role in handling each file transfer workflow, but it’s important to first understand how MFT and SSH work and how they are best implemented.

What is secure shell (SSH)? 

SSH stands for secure shell and refers to a network protocol that provides secure remote access and communication over unsecured networks. SSH enables encrypted communications between a client and a server so users can securely manage and access network systems and devices remotely. 

When using SSH file transfer protocol, public key cryptography is used for remote system authentication to establish a secure connection. SSH ships by default with every Unix, Linux and Mac server.

SSH tunneling can be used to open a secure tunnel between local and remote hosts. Because SSH tunnels can penetrate an enterprise firewall undetected, they can be both powerful and risky. 

SSH encryption algorithms 

There are several encryption algorithms supported by SSH that protect the integrity and security of file sharing. Some of the most used SSH algorithms include: 

• Hash functions 
• Diffie-Hellman key exchange 
• Public key encryption
• Symmetric key encryption algorithm
• Asymmetric key encryption algorithm

Hash functions used to ensure message integrity and key authentication include SHA-1, SHA-2 and MD5. The Diffie-Hellman SSH algorithm is used to establish a shared secret SSH key.

Symmetric key encryption algorithms supported by SSH include AES, 3DES, Blowfish and Twofish. The asymmetric key encryption algorithms include RSA and DSA, which are used for SSH key exchange and authentication. Another public key algorithm is Elliptic Curve Cryptography, but it offers better security and performance than RSA or DSA.

What is MFT? 

MFT stands for managed file transfer: a secure file transfer process for data exchange between multiple systems. Companies use the MFT protocol to transfer large amounts of sensitive data because this process guarantees delivery and enhanced security. Managed file transfer also offers auditing and automation capabilities.

MFT protocols 

Managed file transfer supports various protocols for secure data exchange: 

• FTP
• SFTP
• FTPS
• HTTPS
• AS2
• OFTP
• MQ
• REST
  

File transfer protocol (FTP) is a standard protocol for online file sharing, and secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) is a more secure version of FTP that uses SSH for authentication. 

FTPS refers to FTP of SSL or TLS and is also a more secure FTP protocol. FTPS uses SSL or TLS encryption for secure data transfer. HTTPS also uses SSL or TLS to provide secure communication. 

Understanding the differences between MFT vs. SSH

While both secure protocols, SSH and MFT were designed for different use cases. Managed file transfer is an advanced tool specifically for file transfer management and security, while SSH is used primarily for secure communication between two machines.

SSH is a secure file transfer protocol that enables remote access to a computer’s system through the command line and supports various encryption algorithms like 3DES and AES. SSH can also be used for ad hoc file sharing to provide safe authentication and tunneling applications.

Managed file transfer is more robust in terms of data transfer functionality. It provides centralized management of file sharing activities between a client and MFT server and supports multiple file sharing protocols, including FTP, SFTP, HTTPS and AS2. 

Using managed file transfer solutions

MFT solutions can be used to optimize file sharing workflows and streamline operations. Teams can manage critical and sensitive data transfers internally and externally with ease using JSCAPE by Redwood’s managed file transfer automation.

This managed file transfer solution enables reliable and high-volume data exchange through automated file sharing workflows and allows teams to track and log all data transfer activity. Guaranteed delivery is made possible with automatic resume or retry if file sharing fails because of network issues or timeouts.

Automation functionality enables accelerated delivery across enterprises. JSCAPE allows teams the ability to create, import and export SSH keys and SSL certificates and assign SSH private keys to users. 

Find out more about JSCAPE by booking a demo.

Thankfully, there are several methods teams can use to encourage secure data transfer across online environments, including managed file transfer (MFT) and secure file transfer protocol (SFTP). Both of these strategies are useful, but there are differences to consider when comparing MFT vs. SFTP for your team and business needs.

What is managed file transfer? 

Managed file transfer is a service for securely and reliably sharing files between multiple systems and organizations while providing auditing capabilities. Teams use MFT to move a high volume of unstructured data and maintain file integrity, automation, end-to-end security, guaranteed delivery, reporting and more. 

The MFT protocol is essential for security exchanging a large quantity of sensitive data between systems, especially when transferring between external partners and vendors. 

What is secure file transfer protocol? 

Secure file transfer protocol provides an encrypted channel for secure data transfer between systems over a network.  SFTP encrypts both the commands and data sent between the client and SFTP server to protect sensitive data during transport.

SFTP runs over the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol and supports the full security and authentication capabilities of SSH. Also known as secure FTP, SFTP provides numerous security features that make it preferable to file transfer protocol, or FTP, when transferring sensitive data. FTP transfers files in clear text that can be intercepted by malicious actors.

SFTP, on the other hand, offers authentication functionality to ensure authorized access only for data transfer and file sharing. SFTP supports several user access authentication processes, such as User IDs, username/password combos and public key authentication.

Teams use SFTP for file transfer initiatives between trading partners, to back up servers and to automate file transfer activity through batch workflows.  

Pros and cons of MFT vs. SFTP

MFT and SFTP are both methods for file sharing and secure data exchange, but there are a number of differences to consider when deciding which protocol to use. 

Feature set

When comparing the feature set of MFT vs SFTP, managed file transfer offers a range of additional features lacking in secure file transfer protocol. MFT offers workflow automation, monitoring, scheduling and auditing, while SFTP is only used for secure data transfer. 

Security

Managed file transfer also offers more robust security-related features, including end-user authentication, audit trails and user access controls. While also a secure option for file transfer activity, SFTP only offers encryption for data in transit. 

Ease of use

Because of the additional features and security capabilities, MFT solutions can be more complicated to manage and take longer to learn because they require additional configuration. SFTP is easy to use and set up but limited in other areas. 

Scalability

Because SFT is easy to use and set up, it can be limited in performance and scalability. Managed file transfer is designed to manage the exchange of large files between multiple systems and end-users. 

Ability to integrate

Both SFTP and MFT can be integrated with other systems and workflows, but MFT solutions are more equipped to integrate with enterprise systems and complex end-to-end workflows. This makes managed file transfer a better option for automating file transfer activity and enhancing business processes. 

Use cases for managed file transfer

While managed file transfer is used across industries and companies focused on securing sensitive data, there are some specialized use cases, including complex compliance requirements.

Healthcare

Managed file transfer is used often in the healthcare industry, with providers using MFT solutions to secure sensitive patient information like medical records and test results. MFT also enables healthcare providers to stay within HIPAA compliance regulations.

MFT can be used for file sharing between Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) and Health Information Exchange (HIE) systems that store patient data and can secure medical imaging files like X-rays, MRIs and CT scans in transit. Research institutions also use MFT to protect file transfer activity involving clinical trials and ensure compliance.  

Banking and finance

Banking and finance is another industry involving the storage and transfer of extremely sensitive and valuable information, such as financial records, bank statements and personal customer data. Financial institutions rely on MFT for secure file transfer activity between banks, third-party vendors and trading partners. 

By encrypting the data and transferring it securely, banks can protect unauthorized user access. And if attacks do happen, managed file transfer can be employed to help with disaster recovery. MFT solutions provide data backup and recovery functionality so data can be restored in the event of a disaster.

Managed file transfer can also help financial institutions streamline business processes through the automation of data exchange and give them confidence they’re following compliance regulations for PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR and SOX. 

Why automate file transfers?

Automated file transfer workflows enable secure file transfer for better data security. When you can track and log all file transfer processes from anywhere to any location thanks to a centralized workload automation (WLA) solution, you improve electronic data interchange (EDI) service levels and increase the overall functionality of your MFT platform. 

With a sophisticated WLA tool, you can also automate end-to-end data pipelines while syncing file transfers with their related business processes. Triggers can stop and start MFT workflows when an upload, download or failure occurs. Plus, you get guaranteed delivery with automatic resume or restart if transfers fail because of network downtime issues.

Redwood’s managed file transfer solution allows teams to pass custom variables between workflows, segment large files or use compression for faster download. Teams can easily coordinate sensitive data exchange between internal and external partners while adhering to strict compliance regulations.

Managed file transfer with Redwood handles secure file transfer protocols including SFTP, FTPS, SCP, FTP over SSH, and more to ensure secure end-to-end connections. Create, import and export SSL certificates and SSH keys, and assign SSH keys to users.

Top automation and MFT solutions

Enterprise teams can confidently manage critical and sensitive data transfers to internal and external parties with ease using managed file transfer automation with Redwood’s workload automation solutions: RunMyJobs by Redwood and ActiveBatch by Redwood. 

RunMyJobs by Redwood

RunMyJobs is an enterprise workload automation solution that can handle file transfers in any environment — it enables teams to manage and monitor process automation across traditional, hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Customers can choose between RunMyJobs Cloud, a managed SaaS offering, and self-hosting on-premises or in their cloud environments.

RunMyJobs Cloud is built on cloud-native architecture, providing transparent resiliency and scalability. The solution comes with multiple environments and disaster recovery as standard.

The platform provides powerful workflow automation with a low-code graphical workflow design studio and an extensive library of templates and wizards.

Features

• Agentless application and service connectivity via a customer-hosted, secure gateway with featherweight agents for direct system control
• Built-in SLA monitoring controls based on machine learning-powered predictive analytics using custom SLA window rules
• Centralized workflow scheduling and monitoring engine with dynamic rule-based scheduling
• Dynamic workload balancing to distribute workloads evenly across RunMyJobs and remote systems, optimizing performance and preventing server overload
• Fully integrated MFT with direct integrations for SAP, other ERP platforms and business productivity apps
• Intuitive, drag-and-drop user interface accessible from any browser without installation
• Native API integrations, pre-built connectors and a REST API connector wizard to integrate any system or app without coding, scripting or hardware
• Workflow versioning, change and rollback and comprehensive auditing for complete lifecycle management

Book a demo of RunMyJobs.

ActiveBatch by Redwood

ActiveBatch is an extensible enterprise job scheduler that enables users to orchestrate IT and business processes, including MFT, data warehousing/ETL, ERP, CRM and much more.

ActiveBatch connects to virtually any endpoint through its Job Steps Library or Service Library. It provides dozens of out-of-the-box features and capabilities for automating and orchestrating across functions, including a Super REST API Adapter for creating job steps without custom scripting.

Features

• Custom alerting on numerous conditions for faster response times

• Event-based automation for real-time processes and accurate data
• Extensive reporting and analytics for auditing, troubleshooting and more
• Granular date/time- and interval-based scheduling with support for business calendars and time zones
• Health Service that proactively monitors system performance and sends optimizations through the Action Center
• Seamlessly integrated MFT and hundreds of pre-built integrations for common actions across common platforms and systems

• Super REST API Adapter to connect to any endpoint in your tech stack
• Workflow constraints and dependencies to improve reliability

Book a demo of ActiveBatch.

Integrating seamlessly with the above WLA solutions, JSCAPE by Redwood is a comprehensive MFT solution.

JSCAPE by Redwood

JSCAPE powers secure file transfer automation and ad-hoc file operations across the modern enterprise ecosystem. It allows you to have visibility over all your file transfer processes from a single pane of glass.

JSCAPE supports any operating system, environment and protocol, including FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP/S, OFTP2, TFTP, WebDAV, AFTP (UDP) and AS2.

Features

• Automated load balancing for enhanced performance
• Built-in end-to-end encryption for both data in transit and at rest
• Built-in integrations for cloud storage services, including Amazon S3, Box, Dropbox, Google Cloud Storage, Google Drive, Microsoft SharePoint and more
• Comprehensive logs of all file transfer, user and administrative activity
• High availability (HA) server redundancy to ensure reliability for high-volume connections
• No-code/low-code workflow automation with a built-in library of templates and actions
• REST APIs to connect to any platform and automate file transfer and application configuration operations
• Web-based interface for business users and trading partners eliminates the need to install and configure file transfer client software

Book a demo of JSCAPE.

Managed file transfers play a crucial role in facilitating business processes. As such, they have to be carried out with a high degree of security, reliability and adherence to regulatory compliance. JSCAPE MFT excels in that regard. In this post, let’s engage in a more in-depth discussion about the various security, reliability and compliance capabilities of JSCAPE by Redwood. 

Gain confidence with multi-layered security

Business file transfers, especially those that involve mission-critical processes and/or sensitive data, have to be protected at all times. Many of these file transfers go through the Internet, which is known to be teeming with cyber threats. To minimize the risk posed by cyber threats, JSCAPE is equipped with multiple layers of security. In this section, we’ll briefly go over some of the cybersecurity capabilities built-into this managed file transfer solution.

Data-at-rest and data-in-motion encryption

Many business file transfers involve sensitive data like login credentials, personal identifiable information (PII), payment card data, intellectual property and so on. To preserve the confidentiality of your data during these activities, JSCAPE offers several file transfer protocols that support data-in-motion encryption, which renders man-in-the-middle attacks and other network-based threats ineffective. Even if an attacker manages to intercept an encrypted connection, that attacker won’t be able to retrieve any useful information.

In addition, JSCAPE also comes with data-at-rest encryption, which provides the same kind of protection to stored data. So, even if an attacker manages to infiltrate your network and even steal the storage devices that hold JSCAPE user files, that attacker will likewise be unable to retrieve anything usable. 

Access control measures

Access control measures prevent threat actors from gaining unauthorized access to your systems. This, in turn, prevents files from being stolen, sabotaged or tampered with. JSCAPE is stacked with a robust selection of access control mechanisms that include multiple authentication options (e.g., password, public key, LDAP, RADIUS and more.), IP-based access, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on and many others.

This robust selection gives you enough flexibility to enforce the level of access control suitable for your organization. You can even apply different levels of access control to different groups of users. Moreover, JSCAPE enables you to implement access control best practices such as role-based access control and the principle of least privileges.

Data integrity checks

In order for your business transactions to be 100% reliable at all times, every piece of data sent and received must be accurate and devoid of any tampering. JSCAPE MFT supports several file transfer protocols that have built-in mechanisms for preserving data integrity, from checksum validations to full-blown electronic receipts. 

Virus scans

Files that arrive at your JSCAPE solution can come from practically anywhere — including malware-infested systems. To minimize the risk of a malware outbreak in your IT infrastructure due an uploaded file, JSCAPE provides options that allow you to set up automated virus scans for your file uploads. 

Data loss prevention (DLP)

When you handle a lot of sensitive data, the chances of data loss — due to accidental or deliberate circumstances — can be quite high. To minimize the risk of data loss or, worse, a full-blown data breach, JSCAPE is equipped with a customizable DLP tool that you can enable on pre-defined folders and incorporate into your automated file transfers. The DLP module can then automatically deny a file transfer and/or notify you if a potential data leak is detected. 

Reverse proxy

Internal networks hold a sizable portion (if not 100%) of business-critical systems and data. To prevent internet-based threat actors from reaching their internal networks, some organizations that need to provide public-facing network services for internet-based users set up a demilitarized zone (DMZ) and deploy copies of their networks services there. In effect, these organizations have two copies of their network services — one in their internal network for their internal users and another in their DMZ for their internet-based users.

It’s worth noting that whereas the firewall on the right can be configured to block all inbound traffic, the firewall on the left has to have some open ports to give users access to the network services deployed on the DMZ. 

While this setup works, it has two major issues:

1. It’s expensive and difficult to maintain since you need to have two deployments for each server application.
2. The DMZ-based servers are accessible to the internet and, hence, exposed to internet-based threats. Any passwords and data stored on those servers can be compromised. This vulnerability is the reason why the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) prohibits devices that store payment card data from being deployed on the DMZ.

JSCAPE eliminates these issues by providing a reverse proxy, which you can deploy in your DMZ and enable secure access to internally deployed servers. The reverse proxy supports DMZ streaming, a feature that allows you to serve internet-based users without storing any data at the DMZ and without opening inbound ports on your internal firewall (the firewall on the right). Moreover, since the reverse proxy supports any TCP/IP protocol it allows you to eliminate the need to deploy several network services in your DMZ.

For more information, please read these blog posts:

• sHow to secure a network service with a reverse proxy
• 8 reasons why you should use a reverse proxy in your DMZ

Comprehensive visibility

You can’t secure what you can’t see. It’s therefore important to have complete visibility of your entire managed file transfer infrastructure. JSCAPE provides comprehensive visibility, starting from a graphical dashboard that displays key health and performance metrics (e.g., system resource utilization, connections, uploads, downloads, logins and many others) at a glance. In addition, JSCAPE comes with a wide range of logging options that allow you to track as little or as much information about your file transfer sessions and JSCAPE environment as you need. It even supports syslog and SIEM logging.  

Have peace of mind with highly reliable file transfers

With several business processes — some mission-critical — going through your file transfer system on a daily basis, you want to keep that system running optimally at all times. You also want to keep downtimes to a minimum or, if possible, even non-existent. A drop in performance or, worse, an extended downtime, can impact thousands of users and multiple processes down the line. JSCAPE maintains highly performant and highly available file transfer services through the following features and capabilities.

Active-Active High-Availability (HA) configuration

JSCAPE can be configured in such a way wherein you have a load balancer in front and a cluster of two or more JSCAPE instances behind it. However, this configuration is transparent to file transfer clients. From the point of view of each file transfer client, the load balancer appears as a single instance of JSCAPE. They have no way of knowing that there are actually multiple instances behind that load balancer, nor do they have to determine which instance they should connect to.

As file transfer requests come in, that load balancer will distribute the workload across the cluster. In doing so, the load balancer significantly reduces the workload of each individual JSCAPE instance and prevents it from reaching maximum capacity. This ensures every instance maintains a high level of performance. JSCAPE already comes with its own load balancer, so you don’t have to purchase a separate product. 

For more information, read the post: Active-Active vs. Active-Passive High-Availability Clustering

Although the load balancer is quite effective at distributing workloads and, in turn, preventing each JSCAPE instance from reaching maximum capacity, your file transfer demand will likely grow over time. There will come a time when your cluster will eventually reach maximum capacity. How will you meet that growth? Well, you can simply add more instances< AKA nodes, to the cluster. This is easily done if you leverage JSCAPE’s centralized global datastore.

Centralized global datastore

JSCAPE comes with a centralized global datastore that makes it possible for you to just “plug in” additional instances whenever the need arises. JSCAPE’s centralized global datastore is a database that contains configuration settings of all your JSCAPE instances in a cluster. Basically, all instances in a cluster share the same configuration settings and those settings are stored in the global datastore. 

This is important because, in order to set up an active-active HA configuration, all nodes in the HA cluster must have exactly the same settings. The global datastore eliminates the need for manually configuring each JSCAPE instance and making sure all settings match.

For more information, read the post: Setting up a MFT server HA cluster with a shared RDBMS as global datastore

Network and cloud storage

Another JSCAPE capability that can come in handy in active-active HA configurations is the ability to utilize network storage devices and cloud storage services as shared storage systems. This is important because, in an active-active HA cluster, you’ll never know which JSCAPE instance the load balancer will direct a particular user. With a shared storage setup, each shared storage (e.g., a network-attached storage or NAS) will appear as a user folder regardless which JSCAPE instance the user is directed to.

You can choose from a wide range of shared storage options, including NAS storage, public cloud storage services (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Files Storage, Google Storage, etc.), and even other network services (e.g., FTPS servers, SFTP servers, etc.)

For more information, you may read these posts:

• Setting up a NAS shared storage for your file transfer servers
• How to connect and upload files to Azure storage
• How to use Amazon S3 as storage for your MFT server
• How to use Google storage as the file storage system of your MFT server

Active-Passive High Availability configuration

If you have no need for, can’t afford or simply prefer not to deploy a JSCAPE cluster but still want to achieve an acceptable level of high availability, you can deploy JSCAPE in an active-passive HA configuration instead. In this configuration, one JSCAPE instance actively processes file transfer tasks while another instance serves as a backup. In case the active instance fails (e.g., due to a physical server crash, power outage, network disconnection, etc.), the passive instance can immediately take its place, thereby minimizing downtime.

Simplify regulatory compliance efforts

All these built-in security and reliability capabilities greatly simplify tasks in fulfilling data privacy/protection regulatory compliance mandates, such as:

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
• Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX)
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• And many others. 

Here are a few specific examples that demonstrate how JSCAPE MFT can help you achieve regulatory compliance. 

HIPAA compliance

HIPAA-covered entities, which include healthcare plans like Medicare/Medicaid and Veterans Health Plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers like physicians, clinics pharmacies and nursing homes, are required to adhere to certain standards specified under the Technical Safeguards of HIPAA’s Security Rule. 

These requirements pertain to security measures such as access control, integrity and transmission security, among others. In addition, HIPAA also includes provisions that call for the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) in health care transactions. 

JSCAPE can help HIPAA-covered entities meet the EDI as well as several security-related requirements using a single solution. In addition to the comprehensive selection of security features mentioned earlier, JSCAPE also supports Applicability Statement 2 (AS2), a highly secure file transfer protocol and one of the most widely accepted protocols used for facilitating EDI transactions. 

For more information, you may read these posts:

• Guide to HIPAA-compliant file transfers – Part 1
• Guide to HIPAA-compliant file transfers – Part 2
• Guide to HIPAA-compliant file transfers – Part 3
• Securing HIPAA EDI transactions with AS2

PCI DSS compliance

PCI DSS is a set of standards that apply to any organization dealing with payment card (credit card or debit card) data. It consists of 12 general security requirements, which consist of several sub-requirements. While we won’t be discussing every single requirement that affects file transfers, we’d like to share with you three of them as well as how JSCAPE can help you meet those requirements.

Those are just three examples. There are several other file transfer-related PCI DSS requirements and sub-requirements that can be met using JSCAPE. 

Final thoughts

In this post, we covered the key security, reliability and compliance capabilities of JSCAPE. These attributes are essential to any business process that involves data exchanges across unsecured networks like the Internet. By leveraging these capabilities, you can significantly reduce the risk of a data leak, a full-blown data breach or a compliance violation, as well as the costly penalties and fines that accompany them.

If you need to exchange data or files, you should explore JSCAPE by Redwood, a highly secure and reliable managed file transfer (MFT) solution in the Redwood Software family that lets your securely transfer outside your organization and seamlessly integrates with RunMyJobs.

What is JSCAPE by Redwood?

At its core, JSCAPE is an MFT solution. It’s mainly used by organizations that need to conduct secure, reliable, automated and compliant data exchanges with other organizations. While you can also use JSCAPE for intra-organizational file transfers, most organizations use it to transfer files to/from external entities.

Why exactly would you use JSCAPE instead of other file transfer solutions? In a nutshell, JSCAPE delivers the following key benefits for your managed file transfers: 

1. Highly flexible 
2. Comprehensive visibility and data control
3. Streamlined workflows
4. Reliable performance and uptime

Let’s walk you through those benefits in more detail.

1. Highly flexible

Managed file transfer environments can be very complex, and that’s because many file transfer solutions are just too rigid, you’re often constrained by several deployment and operational limitations. As a result, you’re forced to implement workarounds that make the entire solution so difficult and costly to deploy, manage, maintain and use. 

JSCAPE eliminates these challenges by enabling flexibility in several areas. 

Multi-protocol support

Different trading partners may require different file transfer protocols. So, for example, one partner may require an FTPS service, another SFTP service, yet another AS2 and so on. If you want to satisfy each trading partner, you have to deploy, manage and maintain a separate file transfer server for each required protocol. You can avoid all that with JSCAPE. You can simply activate any popular file transfer protocol from within JSCAPE without having to manage and maintain separate file transfer servers for each protocol.

Platform-independent

Some file transfer solutions only run on certain operating systems. So, if all your current servers run on Windows and your desired file transfer solution only runs on Linux, you’ll have to deploy a Linux server just to support that solution. With JSCAPE, you’re not limited to a single platform. You can install it on any major OS, be it Windows, Linux, Solaris or Mac OS X, to mention a few. You can even install it in a Docker container. 

Deployment flexibility

Some organizations prefer to deploy their file transfer solution on premises. Others want it on a private cloud or a hybrid of these two. Some may even want their solution to be hosted and managed in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) environment.

The great news is JSCAPE supports all four of these environment types: on-premises, private cloud, a hybrid of these or SaaS (JSCAPE MFTaaS). You can even deploy it on premises and store user files in a public cloud like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure. Alternatively, you can also deploy JSCAPE on AWS and store user files on GCP and Azure. These are just some of the many deployment configurations you can use with JSCAPE.

Prefer to have a SaaS solution? JSCAPE MFTaaS is fully hosted and managed by Redwood, saving you from the upfront infrastructure costs typically associated with setting up an MFT solution. These are just some of the many deployment configurations you can use with JSCAPE.

Installation-free file transfer client

When you use a traditional file transfer solution, your IT department has to install an accompanying client application at each end-user device. Not only that, but you also have to ensure those client applications are managed and patched to minimize the risk of a security breach. These tasks get even more complicated in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) or remote work environments, where you may have to deal with a smorgasbord of operating systems and devices with different technical requirements. You can do away with all these hassles by using JSCAPE’s installation-free, web-based client, which you can easily load from any modern web browser on any device. 

2. Comprehensive visibility and data control

As you facilitate data transfers between members of your organization and trading partners, you want to be sure you’re able to preserve the confidentiality and integrity of those exchanges at all times. JSCAPE equips you with all the capabilities needed to establish highly secure data transfers in one solution. 

Visibility

A big part of ensuring file transfer security is having complete visibility of your entire data transfer environment. You want to know whether everything is going smoothly. More importantly, you want to know if something is wrong and why. JSCAPE provides a wide range of functions that can keep you on top of things — from a graphical dashboard that shows you health and performance information at a glance, through customizable reports containing actionable information to detailed logs that enable fast troubleshooting and problem resolution.

Data integrity and accuracy

When you exchange business data with trading partners, you’ll want to know with a high degree of certainty whether they received it. You’ll also want to know if everything was intact and no data was corrupted or tampered along the way. JSCAPE gives you the option to use certain file transfer protocols, like AS2 and OFTP, that are capable of preserving and checking the integrity and accuracy of transmitted data — a critical requirement of every B2B transaction. If the data arrives intact and in order, the recipient will automatically confirm by sending back an electronic receipt. 

Multi-layered security

We all know the internet is teeming with network-based threats. JSCAPE is equipped with multiple layers of security that protect data-in-transit, internal networks, authentication mechanisms and stored data. Secure file transfer protocols equipped with encryption and data integrity checks protect your file transfers from man-in-the-middle attacks. Reverse proxy functionality prevents external threats from probing your internal networks. Multi-factor authentication and password policies thwart brute force and social engineering attacks, plus data-at-rest encryption and streaming encryption renders stored data unreadable to intruders.

Regulatory compliance

By virtue of the industry, state or region you operate in, you and your trading partners may be subject to legislative and regulatory mandates requiring stronger data protection controls, such as GDPR, SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS and more. That can be a serious problem if your file transfer infrastructure isn’t inherently secure, as you’ll be forced to slap on multiple disparate security solutions to achieve compliance. By contrast, JSCAPE’s comprehensive collection of built-in security features make compliance smooth and easy. In most cases, you just have to activate certain controls to comply with regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

3. Streamlined workflows

In this day and age, every business process that can be automated should be automated. Automation ensures every business process is always accurate, efficient and fast. JSCAPE offers several options that allow you not only to automate data transfers but also to integrate those automated data transfers with other aspects of your business processes. 

Low-code and no-code options

Some organizations prefer low-code or no-code options to implement automation. Maybe you lack in-house IT staff who know how to write automation scripts, or perhaps you just want something quick and easy. JSCAPE offers low-code and no-code automation-building features that enable you to set up automated data transfer workflows with just a few clicks. 

Extend built-in libraries

While those low-code/no-code options can help you meet the majority of your data transfer automation needs, there will be some instances when you’ll want to leverage the power and flexibility of written code. With JSCAPE, you have that option as well. You can extend built-in JSCAPE libraries with your own reusable, custom workflow actions with code written in Java.

REST APIs

File transfer processes rarely operate in isolation. In most cases, you’ll be using them as part of some overarching business process. That means you’ll want to integrate them with other applications. JSCAPE enables you to implement those integrations through REST APIs. By leveraging the REST APIs within JSCAPE, your IT professionals can add code to a separate application that forwards data and prompts JSCAPE to execute a file transfer as soon as that application completes a certain process. Conversely, JSCAPE can also use the REST API of a workload automation solution to kick off a process as soon as a certain JSCAPE task (e.g., a file upload) completes.  

4. Reliable performance and uptime

A file transfer system that supports mission-critical business processes is highly sensitive to downtime and delays. If that system fails or experiences performance issues, all those processes will suffer. JSCAPE is equipped with high-availability (HA) capabilities that minimize the risk of downtime and performance loss. 

Active-Active HA configuration

In a managed file transfer environment, a single file transfer session can kick off multiple automated tasks that could take up a considerable amount of computing resources. The moment you have a large number of sessions occurring simultaneously, your file transfer solution will naturally suffer performance loss. To address this issue, multiple JSCAPE instances can be configured into what is known as an active-active high-availability (HA) cluster. Incoming traffic can then be received by JSCAPE’s load balancer and then distributed to members of the cluster. By distributing the load, you can minimize performance loss.

Active-Passive HA configuration

JSCAPE can also be arranged in an active-passive HA configuration wherein one JSCAPE instance actively processes file transfer tasks while another instance serves as a backup. In case the active instance fails (e.g., due to a physical server crash, power outage, network disconnection, etc.), the passive instance can immediately take its place, thereby minimizing downtime.

Watch this JSCAPE video to learn more.

Where do we go from here?

When you need to perform B2B file transfers on a regular basis, you have to put more emphasis on qualities like security, compliance and reliability. The built-in security, compliance and reliability capabilities of JSCAPE are among the biggest reasons why customers use it for their B2B file transfers. 

To learn more about JSCAPE, visit jscape.com.