How to choose a SaaS secure file transfer service for your business

When you decide to adopt a cloud-first strategy for your business file transfer and file sharing workflows, you should consider several critical factors. Your Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) secure file transfer solution must not only align with your organization’s security needs, but it should also support compliance requirements, promote user adoption, simplify IT management, integrate seamlessly with existing systems, and enable business process automation. 

These are just some of the many considerations you need to factor into your buying decision. In the following sections, we’ll explore all of the key aspects to evaluate when choosing a cloud-based secure file transfer service for your enterprise. 

1. Understand your file transfer and file sharing business needs

Different businesses have different file transfer and file sharing requirements. Do you only need to support user-initiated file transfers, or do you also require business-to-business (B2B) data exchanges? If so, do those exchanges need to conform with electronic data interchange (EDI) standards? Should they operate automatically in real-time?

How about secure file sharing? Do your users need to share files as part of business operations? Do these files include sensitive data? Is your business subject to data privacy/data protection laws and regulations?

If you’re looking for an enterprise-level secure file transfer service, chances are your answer to most, if not all, of those questions is a resounding “YES.” Regardless, you must first identify your file transfer needs before choosing a service. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a half-baked solution that has to be augmented by other third-party tools. 

2. Consider compliance requirements

Be aware of your regulatory compliance responsibilities. Identify which data privacy and protection laws and regulations impact your business operations. Once you’ve identified the laws and regulations in question, ensure you thoroughly understand the specific compliance requirements that apply to your organization. 

Some of the laws and regulations that might impact your organization include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Here’s an overview of these four laws/regulations:

JSCAPE SaaS by Redwood offers an extensive array of features that simplify regulatory compliance. For a more detailed explanation on how this advanced MFT SaaS solution can help you meet regulatory requirements for HIPAA, GLBA, PCI DSS, GDPR and other regulations, book a quick demo now. 

3. Identify current gaps and challenges in file transfer and file sharing activities

Conduct a thorough assessment of your current file transfer practices and infrastructure. Identify any existing gaps, such as the lack of encryption or the ability to support automated workflows. Consider how well your current solutions handle various needs, such as real-time transfers, compliance with data protection regulations and scalability to accommodate business growth.

Gather feedback from users and IT staff to uncover the challenges they face in their day-to-day activities. Look for common issues such as difficulties with file access, slow transfer speeds or integration problems with other systems. By understanding these pain points, you’ll get a clearer picture of areas for improvement and what to look for in a new solution.

4. Evaluate security features

Since you’re looking for a secure file transfer service for your business, be more discriminating when evaluating security features. The security requirements for such a service intended for business processes will naturally be more stringent than those for personal use. 

According to the Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, the average cost of a data breach is now USD 4.88M. Since business file transfer solutions can be a treasure trove of sensitive information and, therefore, an attractive target for cybercriminals, you must adopt a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. 

At a minimum, your secure file transfer service must support the following:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA): To verify the identity of the user attempting to access your service and prevent unauthorized access. 2FA is a more stringent method of authentication that consists of two authentication factors, such as password protection (something the user knows) and a time-based one time password (TOTP) generated by a mobile device (something the user has).
• Data-in-transit encryption: To protect your data while it’s being transferred across the network. This is usually implemented through some type of cryptographic protocol for communications, like Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS).
• Data-at-rest encryption: To protect your data while stored on your service’s designated storage system. When the encryption process takes place at the source, and is tightly integrated with data-in-transit encryption, the two security features are collectively known as end-to-end encryption. 
• Access controls: To restrict file access based on various conditions, properties, permissions and roles.
• Data integrity checks: To ensure files haven’t been tampered with during transmission.
• Detailed logging and reporting: To provide trustworthy and auditable information. 
• High availability (HA): To keep the service operating optimally and continuously.  
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP): To prevent sensitive information such credit card data, social security numbers, insurance numbers and so on.
• Antivirus scanning - To detect malware and prevent it from spreading.

Some industries and organizations recommend or even require more stringent security measures. For instance, US federal departments and agencies are required to use Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption for protecting sensitive, unclassified information. So, if your organization falls under this category, you must ensure that your solution meets these requirements. 

Recommended read: Meeting AES 256 encryption requirements for data in transit

5. Review transfer speed and reliability

File transfers often play a critical role in business processes. Thus, they need to be consistently fast and reliable, regardless of, say, the file sizes, cryptographic key lengths, geographical distances or the number of concurrent connections they handle. 

Most secure file transfer solutions use Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)-based protocols like File Transfer Protocol Secure (FTPS), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). While generally fast and reliable, TCP-based protocols are susceptible to speed-impacting network conditions like high latency and packet loss. Thus, when you transfer large files across long distances (e.g. from New York to Tokyo), you’ll encounter substantial delays even if your network bandwidth is supposed to be large enough. 

Even SaaS file transfer solutions, which are hosted in the cloud, can still be subjected to high latency if the origin of the transfer is geographically distant from the destination. 

If your transfers are subjected to these types of network conditions, you might want to see if the solution you’re evaluating supports User Datagram Protocol (UDP)-based alternatives. UDP is less susceptible to network conditions like high latency and packet loss. JSCAPE’s Accelerated File Transfer Protocol, which is a TCP/UDP hybrid, for example, has shown to be 100x faster than purely TCP-based protocols.  

AFTP runs on MFTaaS. To see MFTaaS and AFTP in action, request a quick demo now. 

6. Analyze ease of use and management

When evaluating secure file transfer and file sharing services, it’s important to take into account the solution’s usability from both an end-user and an administrative standpoint. A user-friendly application can accelerate user on-boarding and adoption. At the same time, an administrative user interface that simplifies management tasks can boost your IT team’s efficiency and productivity. Both qualities, in turn, translate to a good return on investment (ROI).

For instance, when evaluating a prospective solution, you can check how easy it is to upload, download and share files. If possible, users should be given the flexibility to accomplish these tasks from different client applications, including dedicated file transfer clients like FileZilla or WinSCP, email clients like MS Outlook and even web browsers. You can also check how easy it is to enable and manage various security controls and artifacts, such as data-at-rest encryption, DLP, virus scanning and cryptographic keys. 

7. Assess integration and automation functionality

In business environments, file transfer workflows are not always user-initiated. Other workflows are part of automated business processes. In order for your file transfer service to contribute to business process automation initiatives, it must possess automation features itself. 

For example, you might want it to have the ability to detect files added to a folder via a prior business process and then send those files automatically to Microsoft Azure. Or, you might want it to sync a remote Windows folder with an AWS S3 bucket. Ideally, you’ll want a solution that comes with a built-in low-code/no-code automation tool, which can greatly simplify the process of building automated workflows.  

Moreover, if you deal with these types of workflows, look for a file transfer service that easily integrates with other applications and solutions. A solution with a wide range of connectors for various third-party solutions and an application programming interface (API) is a good candidate for this purpose. This functionality will help you avoid compatibility issues and streamline automation undertakings. 

8. Review interoperability capabilities

When it comes to businesses that perform B2B data exchanges with multiple trading partners, it’s important to consider interoperability capabilities. Different organizations may have different file transfer protocol preferences. For instance, some of your trading partners might prefer to transact via SFTP, while others might want to use FTPS. Others, still, might prefer to exchange electronic documents using Applicability Statement 2 (AS2). 

For maximum interoperability, look for a solution that supports multiple secure file transfer protocols. For a rundown on the major file transfer protocols, check out our post entitled “12 File Transfer Protocols for Businesses”. 

9. Test and trial before making a decision

Every SaaS secure file transfer service provider will always give you a positive overview of their solution, highlighting their strengths and benefits. They’ll rarely ever mention their weaknesses. So, the only way to make a truly informed buying decision is by experiencing the service firsthand. Request a trial or a demo and see if the service you’re evaluating meets your specific needs and use cases. 

For more objective comparisons on speed and reliability, you might want to employ a tool like JSCAPE MFT Monitor by Redwood, which allows you to check the performance and reliability of file transfer services even under heavy load. You can use this tool to run performance tests against the secure file transfer solution you’re evaluating using, say, small and large files, varying degrees of concurrent connections and so on. 

Why choose a managed file transfer (MFT) SaaS solution

MFT solutions are already known for certain key attributes. When you use an established managed file transfer software, you can expect to see:

• Broad support for practically any type of file transfer or file sharing use case.
• An extensive array of security features that simplify regulatory compliance.
• Multi-protocol support (e.g. FTPS, SFTP, AS2 and many others) that enable maximum interoperability.
• A low code/no-code automation tool or platform for building automated workflows with ease.
• A centralized administrative interface that gives you full control and visibility over all data transfer and file sharing workflows. 
• Wide-ranging integration capabilities.

Thus, when you choose a SaaS MFT solution for your secure file transfer service, you can expect all those capabilities combined with the benefits of cloud computing. That means, in addition, you’ll also get minimal CAPEX, flexible pricing, scalability, global reach, high availability and so on. 

When it comes to attributes like file transfer speeds, reliability and ease of use, nothing beats first hand experience. It’s best if you could test those attributes out yourself. Would you like to see and experience the capabilities of JSCAPE SaaS? 

Schedule a JSCAPE SaaS demo now. 

FAQs

Why choose a SaaS MFT service over an on-premises MFT server?

A SaaS MFT service has all the benefits of a cloud-based service. For instance, you can avoid costs associated with hardware, hypervisors and operating systems. You can also avoid the administrative overhead that accompanies those IT assets. You no longer have to manage, maintain and troubleshoot those assets. With a SaaS MFT solution, you only have to manage the solution itself and leave the rest of the underlying IT infrastructure to your provider. In addition, you can also enjoy greater scalability, global reach and reliability. 

When should you choose an on-premises MFT solution over SaaS MFT?

An on-premises MFT solution would be a better choice in the following scenarios:

• You need the solution to be in close proximity with your other on-premises software applications for tighter integration.
• You prefer to have full control over your entire MFT environment — from the MFT solution, down to the underlying infrastructure itself.
• You want to avoid ongoing subscription costs, which, in certain cases, can be more expensive in the long run than an upfront investment.
• You require a higher level of customization than what a SaaS solution can offer.
• You’re subject to more stringent data privacy and data sovereignty requirements that can only be met using an on-premises solution.

If you prefer an on-premises MFT solution, check out JSCAPE MFT Server by Redwood. 

Schedule a quick JSCAPE MFT Server demo now.