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Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution

Vendor Evaluation

  • Nearly 80% of business-to-business traffic consists of files. Therefore, the right controls and mechanisms need to be in place to ensure file transfers are reliable and secure.
  • Many organizations are looking at managed file transfer (MFT) vendors to meet regulatory compliance, increase security, and automate file transfers.
  • Vendors tout advanced capabilities, but depending on use case, a simpler or more complex solution will be warranted.
  • This blueprint isolates key differentiators amongst vendors and provides resources to help accelerate your selection process.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Conduct upfront planning. Application implementation failures are often accredited to a lack of upfront planning and requirements gathering. Ensure the business needs and IT environment is well understood before selecting a solution.
  • Leverage use cases. Base your vendor selection on your requirements and use case, not on overall performance.
  • Understand the need for compliance and security. Compliance and security fuel market growth. File transfer protocol (FTP) is no longer seen as a viable option to manage file transfer securely inside and outside the enterprise. MFT has filled that role and is seeing rapid adoption as compliance standards extend their reach.
  • Assess deployment flexibility. When it comes to the cloud, vendors recognize the demand for deployment flexibility; however, buyers are still wary of potential security issues revolving around compliance.

Impact and Result

  • Understand what’s new in the managed file transfer market.
  • Evaluate MFT vendors and products for your enterprise needs.
  • Determine which products are most appropriate for your particular use case and scenario.
  • Learn about best practices for implementing an MFT solution.
  • Avoid common challenges and barriers that will hinder the success of the implementation.

Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should select and implement a managed file transfer solution, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution – Executive Brief
Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution – Phases 1-3

3. Implement the MFT solution

Create the procurement and implementation strategy for the MFT solution.

Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution – Phase 3: Implement the MFT Solution

Workshop: Select and Implement a Managed File Transfer Solution

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Launch Your MFT Selection Project

The Purpose

  • Identify the scope and objectives of the workshop.
  • Discuss the benefits and opportunities related to a MFT investment.
  • Gain a high level understanding of MFT and the MFT market definitions and details.
  • Outline a project plan and identify the resourcing requirements for the project.
  • Gather MFT requirements from the business and IT.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Determine workshop scope.
  • Identify the business drivers and benefits behind a MFT investment.
  • Outline the project plan for the organization’s MFT selection project.
  • Determine project resourcing.
  • Identify/perform the steps to launch the organization’s selection project.
  • Understand the requirements of the business and the IT capabilities .

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Identify business drivers and motivations for adopting MFT.

  • Launched MFT selection project.
1.2

Identify the scope and purpose of your MFT selection.

1.3

Select the staff resourcing for your MFT selection team.

1.4

Identify baseline metrics.

1.5

Complete a project charter.

  • Completion of a MFT project charter.
1.6

Interview MFT stakeholders.

  • Completed stakeholder interviews.
1.7

Create level 1 data flow diagrams.

1.8

Document volume patterning.

  • Completed requirements gathering.

Module 2: Select Your MFT Solution

The Purpose

  • Identify the organization’s alignment to the Vendor Landscape use-case scenarios.
  • Shortlist MFT vendors.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Identified use-case scenarios for the future MFT solution.
  • The strengths and weaknesses of the vendors in the market.
  • Take a structured approach to submitting RFPs, shortlisting the vendors, and selecting the solution.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Identify use case scenario alignment.

2.2

Review Info-Tech’s MFT Vendor Landscape results.

2.3

Investigate additional vendors in the marketplace.

2.4

Create custom shortlist.

  • Shortlist of MFT vendors
2.5

Edit the RFP template to submit to vendors.

  • Completed RFP template.

Module 3: Implement Your MFT solution

The Purpose

  • Identify the steps for the organization’s implementation process.
  • Avoid common mistakes that occur during implementation.
  • Measure the value of your implementation.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Ensure the smooth roll-out of your MFT solution.
  • Keep track of and quantify MFT success.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Brainstorm the implementation activities.

3.2

Assign ownership for activities and create a project timeline.

  • A successful MFT implementation.
3.3

Track metrics.

  • A method for calculating value of the project.
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About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

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Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 6 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Launch the MFT selection project
  • Call 1: Identify the value of MFT and create a procurement project plan.
  • Call 2: Understand your current integration environment and start collecting requirements for your MFT solution.

Guided Implementation 2: Select an MFT solution
  • Call 1: Determine vendor shortlist.
  • Call 2: Discuss use-case fit assessment results.
  • Call 3: Discuss MFT solution.

Guided Implementation 3: Implement the MFT solution
  • Call 1: Create the procurement strategy

Author

Jenna Schroeder

Related Content: Enterprise Integration

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