Managed File Transfer vs. SOA: Round 2

Part 2: The convergence of Managed File Transfer-as-a-Service and SOA for multi-enterprise integrations

In Part 1 of this post I discussed why managed file transfer thrives as an integration pattern in today’s highly regulated, multi-enterprise world, despite the growing use of transactional integration technologies like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)/Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), service-oriented architecture (SOA) and enterprise service bus (ESB). Now I want to explore how companies are leveraging Managed File Transfer-as-a-Service as middleware in a range of emerging multi-enterprise use cases.

Recall from my Part 1 post that 60% of transactional data continues to be transferred in batch files, for reasons of cost and reliability—only 40% are individual transactions. This is the primary driver behind the trend towards integrating MFTaaS with transactional (low-latency) integration hubs and SaaS/PaaS applications, especially in scenarios where both systems and people are involved.

The following requirements characterize many of these converged/hybrid use cases:

• The need to simplify and accelerate development, deployment and maintenance
• The need to support large, batch and/or unstructured data types
• The need to work across data formats and network protocols
• The need for secure, guaranteed delivery of data on a scheduled, on-demand and/or event-driven basis

Partner/community integration with MFTaaS

MFTaaS integration is particularly advantageous where data is exchanged between a network or community of recipients outside the company. Existing infrastructure and protocols can be leveraged with no development required.

For example, a large healthcare information exchange (HIE) service provider uses MOVEit to enable its clients to securely transfer files within its healthcare PaaS solution. Another MOVEit customer is a large insurance company that exchanges data with its partners using secure, standards-based SFTP/HTTPs instead of web services.

Enterprise-wide management and control

The common denominator in all these cases is reduced complexity—and thus reduced cost—plus greater reliability of key processes. Leveraging MFTaaS where service-based solutions are in place can provide significant benefits at low cost, with rapid time-to-value.