Originally published by Axway.

Written by Emmanuel Vergé, Senior Product & Solutions Marketing Director, Axway.

I get it. You’re probably thinking, “Cloud file transfer? We already have an MFT solution and it’s checking all our boxes. Why rock the boat now?”

Large organizations that rely on MFT have mature, dedicated teams. They’ve invested time and resources into building a well-oiled process – and they really don’t want to change it.

On the other hand, the complexity of MFT operations is growing, as is the sheer volume of transfers. You might be embarking on a risky journey without even knowing it. Here’s why a managed cloud file transfer solution is likely the best answer to enterprise requirements surrounding modernization, security, compliance, and resilience.

We’re all in a forced march to the cloud

You may soon have little choice on cloud adoption. You might be facing an EOS/EOL announcement, or fast-changing security standards. It may seem a bit odd to talk about cloud modernization in 2024, as it’s virtually a given by now.

But for MFT, this is a substantial shift: you don’t move the plumbing in a house overnight, and that’s what MFT is. MFT is the foundation of all the pipes of data transfer that have been inside enterprises for decades, and to disrupt that and modernize by leveraging cloud technology is no small task.

At the same time, in 2024, businesses see cloud migration not just as a cost-saving measure but as a crucial catalyst for innovation, agility, and success across industries. Other drivers and benefits to cloud adoption include:

AI-as-a-Service: In the race to leverage AI, Cloud services offer a fast ramp – a very fast and very available playground for your teams to engage and innovate on.

Increased adoption and benefits of serverless computing: it is still in its very early stages for the file transfer space, but it is a growing topic of conversation. Serverless computing helps reduce the burden in managing infrastructure, which is significant.

Sustainable Cloud Computing: we are seeing great improvements by providers around net zero commitments, allowing enterprises to better leverage the cloud to meet their sustainability goals.

It’s not just about lifting and shifting your MFT to the cloud. It’s about using this opportunity to modernize and clean up your integrations. We see this significant focus in our customer base in the following ways:

• Organizational disruption, with cloud-enthusiastic leadership changes at the most senior levels
• Aggressive cloud initiatives with timelines that require monumental change and disruption in 2-4 years (these are accompanied by many cloud feature requests)
• Re-skilling, requiring heavy investment in upskilling teams to support cloud tech
• New competition from cloud native hyperscalers that are being considered as a viable replacement

Finally, we’ve now reached a tipping point where cloud spend is starting to outgrow traditional, non-cloud spend and we’re in a trajectory that’s expected to grow aggressively in the next couple of years.

Cloud modernization requires ongoing expert support

It’s only a matter of time before you’ll find yourself backed into a corner as business applications move their operations to the cloud.

The good news is, it’s not a black-and-white proposition. Large, mature organizations are best served by an enterprise-grade, dedicated, and high-end solution in the cloud. But the cloud has many colors.

Today’s emerging reality is that enterprises need solutions that work in a hybrid cloud model. They have a mix of legacy systems that continue to run on-premises, which need to interconnect with the cloud, whether it’s single- or multi-tenant, and regardless of the vendor.

4 out of 5 companies today use multiple IaaS or PaaS providers, making hybrid cloud a standard necessity.

In most large enterprises, nobody wants to get married to one vendor, so being able to operate within multi-cloud scenarios is becoming the normal architectural pattern – especially with considerations like SecNumCloud or sovereign cloud in specific regions.

Do you really want to be in the business of risk management?

The volume of transactions is exploding to serve new digital experiences your customers have come to expect. Meanwhile, cybersecurity threats come to light almost daily as you deal with stricter regulatory compliance, and more pressing IT governance, cloud sovereignty, and SLA concerns.

Oh, and there are also IT talent shortages to contend with. Can you afford to spend time and resources doing all of this? Do you really want to continue to internalize resources and skills to manage all this complexity?

The truth is, there’s never been a more secure cloud. All major providers have invested heavily to build better security and resiliency capabilities to win more confidence and trust.

Especially with evolutions around quantum safe cloud computing coming into effect in 2024, it’s becoming more and more viable for enterprises to consider the cloud as a place that they could leverage and use safely with their data.

With an MFT solution that’s operated for you in the cloud, you don’t need to worry about having the skills and expertise in-house to manage these complex operations.

Managed services like cloud MFT are starting to make a lot of sense

Ernst & Young analysts note that adopting managed services can be a faster, more effective route to transformation:

“Businesses that are ready to let managed services take on those functions that are board-critical but not business-differentiating can free leaders to focus on the innovation that will drive recovery.”

MFT needs to be an integral part of your overall digital transformation process, and you can’t have digital transformation without the cloud. The world is moving to adopt a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, which is why I believe tomorrow’s MFT will be an outsourced cloud MFT, managed by an expert vendor on behalf of their customers.

About the Author

Passionate about technology, data-driven, and obsessed with customer experience. With 20+ years of experience in the tech world, Emmanuel Vergé has helped many companies in various roles with direct sales, product management, marketing management, and DevOps. Emmanuel currently helps organizations with their digital transformation at Axway.