File Transfer Solutions Emerge as a Key Technology for the Age of Collaboration

We live and work in an era with more collaboration than ever before. Organizational structures are flatter, the world is smaller, and it is commonplace to work together with colleagues, partners, customers, suppliers, and many other stakeholders on a wide variety of projects.

Furthermore, technology has emerged that makes such collaboration easy. It is as straightforward to work on a PowerPoint presentation with a consultant on the other side of the world as it is to do so with someone that works a few desks along from you.

Yet the past few months have been a huge test in how we collaborate and of the systems and tools we use for that collaboration. With an overwhelming majority of the global workforce encouraged to work from home to help slow the spread of Covid-19, people have been emailing and sharing documents for others to work on more than they ever have.

This does raise a number of cybersecurity questions however, which is why the past few months have seen secure file transfer solutions emerge as a key technology for these times.

Cybersecurity Challenges Around Collaboration

Data leaks and breaches have become a damaging and too-familiar occurrence for many enterprises, and it would be interesting to examine exactly how many of these have resulted from unsecured file transfer. The sharing of files outside of an organization can undoubtedly leave it vulnerable to data loss and ransomware, with cyber criminals quick to pounce on any weaknesses in the system.

There are many solutions to address this, although many of them block the collaboration at source. While this is secure, it is also highly restrictive in terms of day-to-day operations. Waiting for an important file to arrive is hugely frustrating and can lead to missed deadlines and opportunities.

With so many people working from home right now, these cybersecurity concerns have only grown. Employees are more tempted to get files to colleagues quicker and are more likely to cut corners. With collaboration taking place inside and outside an organization as a matter of course, this has seen entire supply chains potentially exposed to increased cyber-attack during the lockdown.

The Role of Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT

Fortra and Clearswift came together in December 2019 and this has created a powerful proposition in terms of secure file transfer technology.

The GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer (MFT) platform was already a highly established way of sharing large files, quickly and securely. But the addition of Clearswift’s Secure ICAP Gateway has made this even stronger.

With its Deep Content Inspection (DCI) engine and Adaptive Redaction technology, enterprises can share their most important files with confidence that they are protected from data loss and cyber threats. The information shared inside and outside the organization is only accessed by authorized parties, adding a fresh layer of security that is so important during this time of increased collaboration.

GoAnywhere MFT has become an integral part of cybersecurity for many organizations around the world. Information must be secured all along the supply chain and using an MFT platform such as this is a highly effective approach. It is quicker, more flexible, costs less and above all, is highly secure. Collaboration is a positive evolution in business, and no-one wants to put restrictions on that, during the current lockdown or at any time in the future.