The increasing complexity and growth of partner ecosystems are driving demand for tighter collaboration and real-time visibility across business relationships, as well as the need to control and reduce related costs. In addition, the types of data increasingly being exchanged are not accommodated by EDI transactions.

As a result, organizations are challenged in supporting higher file transfer volumes, as well as varying sizes and formats, and more numerous and demanding communication and security protocols.

Today, the infrastructure used to support this typically consists of any number of servers using various tools (e.g., FTP) for file transfers. This approach poses more than just operational problems: It limits an organization’s ability to effectively monitor file transfers with the trading partner community. And failed file transfers can disrupt critical business processes and revenue generating opportunities. Many organizations are challenged with a lack of visibility into potential issues which can quickly escalate into service level issues – or lead to revenue implications.