<s>
Managed	B-Application
file	I-Application
transfer	I-Application
(	O
MFT	O
)	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
technology	O
that	O
provides	O
the	O
secure	B-General_Concept
transfer	I-General_Concept
of	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
in	O
an	O
efficient	O
and	O
reliable	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MFT	O
software	O
is	O
marketed	O
to	O
companies	O
as	O
a	O
more	O
secure	O
alternative	O
to	O
using	O
insecure	O
protocols	O
like	O
FTP	B-Protocol
(	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
)	O
and	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
to	O
transfer	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
its	O
inception	O
,	O
FTP	B-Protocol
has	O
made	O
moving	O
large	O
volumes	O
of	O
bulk	O
data	O
between	O
any	O
two	O
entities	O
—	O
including	O
file	O
servers	O
,	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
trading	O
partners	O
—	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
FTP	B-Protocol
(	O
and	O
other	O
communication	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
and	O
SMTP	B-Protocol
)	O
do	O
not	O
,	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
,	O
provide	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
secure	O
or	O
manage	O
file	O
transfers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regardless	O
of	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
security	B-General_Concept
and	O
management	O
capabilities	O
,	O
many	O
companies	O
have	O
continued	O
to	O
transport	O
large	O
batches	O
of	O
structured	O
and	O
unstructured	B-Application
data	I-Application
using	O
these	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MFT	O
has	O
also	O
found	O
a	O
foothold	O
among	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
protocols	I-Protocol
and	O
solutions	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
focus	O
on	O
facilitating	O
the	O
"	O
transfer	O
of	O
large	O
file	O
sizes	O
and	O
volume.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Managed	B-Application
File	I-Application
Transfer	I-Application
always	O
covers	O
the	O
same	O
features	O
—	O
reporting	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
notification	O
of	O
successful	O
and	O
unsuccessful	O
file	O
transfers	O
)	O
,	O
non-repudiation	O
,	O
audit	O
trails	O
,	O
global	O
visibility	O
,	O
automation	O
of	O
file	O
transfer-related	O
activities	O
and	O
processes	O
,	O
end-to-end	B-Application
security	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
performance	O
metrics/monitoring	O
—	O
the	O
way	O
it	O
is	O
used	O
has	O
a	O
major	O
impact	O
on	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
appropriate	O
solution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
MFT	O
software	O
offers	O
reporting	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
notification	O
of	O
successful	O
file	O
transfers	O
)	O
,	O
non-repudiation	O
,	O
audit	O
trails	O
,	O
global	O
visibility	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
automate	O
file	O
transfer-related	O
activities	O
and	O
processes	O
,	O
end-to-end	B-Application
security	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
performance	O
metrics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MFT	O
applications	O
are	O
available	O
as	O
both	O
on-premises	O
licensed	O
software	O
packages	O
and	O
software-as-a-service	B-Architecture
(	O
"	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
"	O
)	O
solutions	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
often	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
hybrid	O
cloud	O
setups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
multiple	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
protocols	I-Protocol
including	O
PeSIT	B-Protocol
,	O
FTP/S	B-Protocol
,	O
OFTP	B-Protocol
,	O
SFTP	B-Protocol
,	O
SCP	B-Protocol
,	O
AS2	B-Protocol
and	O
HTTP/S	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Securely	O
transfer	O
files	O
over	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
networks	O
using	O
encrypted	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
protocols	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Authenticate	O
users	O
against	O
existing	O
user	O
repositories	O
such	O
as	O
LDAP	B-Protocol
and	O
Active	B-Protocol
Directory	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Integrate	O
to	O
existing	O
applications	O
using	O
documented	O
APIs	B-Application
(	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
vendor	O
in	O
the	O
description	O
of	O
their	O
product	O
identifies	O
six	O
issues	O
with	O
commercial	O
use	O
of	O
FTP	B-Protocol
and	O
even	O
SFTP	B-Protocol
that	O
Managed	B-Application
File	I-Application
Transfer	I-Application
seeks	O
to	O
address	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
issues	O
revolve	O
around	O
security	B-General_Concept
weaknesses	O
of	O
traditional	O
FTP	B-Protocol
in	O
an	O
increasing	O
cyber	O
threat	O
environment	O
and	O
meeting	O
increasing	O
stringent	O
regulatory	O
compliance	O
for	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
