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SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

SEEBURGER Business Integrat...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Business-to-Business Middleware (6th), API Management (20th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (12th)
Sterling Commerce Connect:D...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite is 2.5%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is 6.9%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct6.9%
SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite2.5%
Other90.6%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

Choon Hwa Khoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to configure with no programming skills needed and helpful support
We primarily use the solution for content conversion and file transfers.  There are no programming skills needed. It's easy to configure.  The features are great. They have a lot of them. The solution can scale. It is stable and reliable. We have not had any issues. Technical support has been…
Caio Nascimento - PeerSpot reviewer
Transform encrypted files with enhanced flexibility and very robust
The package that IBM delivers does not come with many premade tools or templates. This means we have to create a lot of things by ourselves, which requires more work. We have a team of four to five people just to develop map-based programs. Additionally, the initial setup could be simpler and better.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It has a lot of basic EDI already established for all the main users. Also, it lets me share setups that I had already set up for my first plant. I was able to use them for my second one which was very helpful. I didn't have to start from scratch for my second facility."
"It used to take half an hour to move one file from one location to another. Now, it takes 10 minutes."
"The solution is flexible when it comes to adding integrations. It is much easier to use than the other tools we have to move the files. Across the board, we can move files in a short amount of time compared to our other existing tools."
"My overall rating for SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite is 10 out of 10."
"For the tool that we used to have, we had specially trained developers who used to do all the development of EDI maps and the configuration. But with SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS) now, we were able to train our EDI analysts, and because the tool has very simple, intuitive mapping capabilities, even our EDI analysts are able to develop all the EDI maps, do all the configurations, and do all the setups for any of the trading partners."
"When orders come in they go into our ERP system directly, so there is integration there."
"We can code in Java, which is really good feature. There is very vast command available, which can be used in mapping."
"It is stable and reliable. We have not had any issues."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides 100% reliability for file transmission. It ensures that files get delivered in a secure manner. When you use Connect:Direct, your file 100% gets delivered to the next delivery location. If the log shows that a file got delivered, it will have all the transmitted data without truncation or other data issues."
"For Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct, my overall rating is ten out of ten."
"The Security Plus feature of this solution is excellent, and allows you to send encrypted files very securely to remote destinations."
"Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is a solution that is on the market for a very long time. There is an integrator that has been developed and evolves every year. On the roadmap, there is always a new integration. For example, it's one of the solutions in the market that out of the box can handle EBICS protocol. The file processing is done very well. By default, there are a lot of configurations that can be customized."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"The solution's file transfer speed is quite high."
"The product has been very stable."
"Offers secure file transfers with a fast and efficient protocol for very large files."
 

Cons

"We are a little locked in with understanding the errors that we receive. We are working with their support to prevent these issues when they come into the database. We use a SQL database and believe they can do better when it comes working with large databases. We have had few instances where the system is hanging, which are most likely from the database. We are working with their support to find out the problem and fix their system. We have tried to use their notification system to prevent these issues, but they need to improve their monitoring system."
"They made improvements to the email error alerts that go out, for the EDI technical. Those typically go straight out to the partners. Those messages are significantly clearer and easy to read. The same messages in the front end are not nearly as clear. It's supposed to be the same error, but the message that goes out for EDI is really easy for anybody to read and understand, but you have to be really solution-savvy to understand the message in the system itself."
"API connectivity needs improvement as well as the GUI. The GUI hasn't changed that much in 10 years, but of course, that's already been updated. I would say I'm excited about the screenshots but that's about it."
"We occasionally get ZIP files. Sometimes the ZIP file has one file inside of it, and sometimes the ZIP file might have 30 files inside of it. We have been working with SEEBURGER to enhance their PKUNZIP process to be able to unzip multiple files in a single workflow instead of just one file. This is still something that is in process."
"The product is not integrated very well with different cloud providers. We did work with the vendor to build a solution for Amazon, but there is no solution for other cloud providers like Google or Azure. The vendor needs to create adapters so that if we have a requirement to transfer data from our data center to another cloud, outside of Amazon, we would be delighted with that."
"Java is very old technology and they should move away from it, to anything that's better."
"On the server side, there are a lot of administration and configuration files that you need to go in and do maintenance on. You have to find them in a certain folder so it's very error-prone and it can be a little time consuming unless it's documented. They could pull some of those individual configuration files into the product itself where there's a better user interface for that."
"When we got SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS), it was clear that it was going to take more of a technical person. It does take a technically-rooted individual to operate it. It's not something for your everyday guy to do. For what it's doing for us, a dedicated resource is required."
"They have File Agent, which is an additional utility and a component of Connect:Direct, for automated file transmission. In that utility, there is some issue with the file name. There is a limitation on the file name, and that is being fixed by IBM."
"Sometimes we face issues and can't figure out the cause of failures."
"I do not have any notes for improvement."
"Technical support is the number one concern."
"User interface is not user friendly."
"The resources required for this tool are costly and not easily available in the market."
"The initial setup could be simpler and better."
"Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct could improve by adding some of the functionality that some other vendors have. For example, GoAnywhere has call agents, which are small clients that can be installed on the endpoints and can be handled by the central point on the server. If I want to do this with the IBM solution, I have to sell a lot of account addresses. The price could be unprofitable for the customer. There is some small functionality that could be implemented and could be easily done to improve this solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I had a problem at one time with their invoicing. I told them, then we worked on the process and improved it. They installed the connection between SAP and SEEBURGER BIS in Europe first. This was awhile ago. When I came along, I became involved in the project and started working with them. Every time that I made a request, the work was done well, but I was not receiving my invoices. I knew I had to pay for the work and was trying to find someone to send me the invoices or a report of what was being done. From that end, it was really not working. After a few years, I was complaining and not happy. At the end of the year, they would come with a long list of invoices to pay, which was really bad. So, I asked for a change. We worked on the process, and since five years ago, I have worked with SEEBURGER based in North America. Now, when I have a question, I know who to contact. They send me a report with invoices every month. They really reacted to my concern, and we improved the process. Since then, I have had no problem."
"Sometimes it seems a little pricey, especially when some of the stuff is available through freeware, like SFTP communications... It costs a lot more money to buy this stuff from SEEBURGER but I think it's worth it in the long run."
"We have additional ad hoc development costs, but those vary depending on if we're bringing on another third-party into our systems via the EDI integration. So, that's highly variable."
"The cost-based model is slightly different now in SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite (BIS). They changed the licensing, based on adapters and other things. In the old style of licensing, the whole suite was one license..."
"We pay for a maximum number of setups, then we pay per customer map, and we pay maintenance on each one of those. BIS provides the flexibility to pay as you grow. The price of each customer map is €200 and the hourly rate for maintenance is fairly reasonable."
"We pay per message we use. We spend about £19,000 a year with them."
"Pricing has always seemed fair."
"The pricing is cheap. In fact, when I saw the pricing, I thought, "Really? What's the catch?" But the functionality that we get out of it, for the price we pay, is great value."
"Annual licensing fee."
"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."
"The solution's licensing cost is too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
37%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Media Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite?
SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite is a highly stable solution that offers rich features for our B2B integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite?
Regarding the pricing of SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite, I would rate it as 7 out of 10.
What needs improvement with SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite?
Regarding areas of improvement for SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite, the cloud functionality needs enhancement. The cloud interface is currently too cluttered, especially when creating new tran...
What needs improvement with Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
Based on experience, the one area IBM can improve for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is the support mechanism. While support is available 24/7 whenever required, the solution time during American...
What is your primary use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
The majority use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is for file transfer, specifically secure file transfer.
 

Also Known As

SEEBURGER BIS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Altis, Autoliv, Cebi, Cofresco, MoneyGram International, Samsonite Europe, VSP Global, BMW Group, OSRAM, Magna, Lavazza
HZMO, Bank of Communications
Find out what your peers are saying about SEEBURGER Business Integration Suite vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
871,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.