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Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer vs IBM Sterling File Gateway 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

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File ...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Sterling File Gateway
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer is 4.1%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Sterling File Gateway is 11.5%, up from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

PradeepSingh1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure application with efficient features for file transfer management
We use the application to transfer and exchange data files between customers and vendors AMPLIFY has all the essential features for managing file transfer. Sometimes, the application's embedded databases couldn't perform well for a higher volume of data. Thus, legacy licensing for these…
Vinutha Gangadhara - PeerSpot reviewer
Ability to customize on top of the inbuilt processes, user-friendly and well-categorized
I’ve been part of this client for the last seven-plus years. It’s been close to 70 to 80 continuous improvements we have delivered. The priority ones which we always shortlist are the recurring incidents or recurring issues, which came in the initial phase of the year when we took this entire landscape under our maintenance. One such incident I can recollect is with respect to performance tuning. We committed to our users 99.99% and above as the availability metrics for Sterling Integrator. This has acted as a high-availability system, but we treat it as mission-critical. When it comes to the commitment we give to users, we have to ensure the system is kept most stable. So, the majority of the problem was in the communication channels. Whenever we enabled additional logging for the communication channel, the system used to have hiccups. So we worked with the vendor, stating that the visibility channel framework needs to be changed because the moment we enable more logging, it literally brings the system down, or the system doesn’t work as it should. They took our input and delivered a better framework in their next releases, which helped us after upgrading to have that stability intact. As the system grows, we ensure to have performance tuning triggered and optimize the business process wherever required. For example, by default, Sterling Integrator business process will have full logging enabled. We took care of those things. Not all business processes or workflows require full logging enabled. Only a few critical ones require every step logs. For the rest, we categorized and reduced the logging for those workflows. That actually helped us to increase the IO overall from ten milliseconds to six milliseconds. That was a good achievement. Apart from that, in terms of queues, how we maintain the queues, how we defined all file queues across the critical business process is one thing we felt was done better. The threads we assign for the priority queues and the business processes were configured to those priority queues, whatever is critical, so that it gets high priority to allow the threads to process. So that queue thread Sterling was taken under the performance tuning. Apart from that, I think some of the best practices which IBM recommends is what we usually run through every year. We just have the health check done through IBM, and we just ensure that all the best practice recommendations are added in the system.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is an easy-to-use and stable product."
"Axway consolidated all of our communications into one platform, simplifying network and port management. Now, all we have to do is open one port to this application, and we can remove all the firewall rules on that port. It's much more straightforward to manage from a security perspective. We used to rely on an archaic FTP solution, but Axway features SFTP, so it was an improvement security-wise."
"AMPLIFY has all the essential features for managing file transfer."
"The product's initial setup phase is pretty straightforward."
"The product is simple for encrypting data transfer of all the assets in our system."
"It makes a logical link between the inbound/outbound transfer, and makes it clearly visible. This is a very important feature for managing transfer with different environments, and it's very helpful in case of troubleshooting."
"It provides a good amount of storage capacity for a reasonable price and has a good range of connectors."
"It’s very flexible."
"The most valuable aspect is that it has good functionality."
"Scalability is fine."
"What I like best is that the tool is very secure and reliable. We can send huge files, even up to hundreds of GB. The automation depends on the source - it can be through automated processes, manual transfers, shell scripting, or file scripting. Partners can schedule batches according to their needs."
"In IBM Sterling File Gateway, automation primarily involves schedulers, which significantly transfer daily generated claim files to the end user. We ensure that the directory and files are up to date, particularly those placed in specific directories by the source. Processing can stop if someonechanges the directory without updating it in the SFG partner profile. On the destination side, after setting up a partner file, we provide the end user with an MFT link, user ID, password, and a guide on uploading, downloading, and viewing files. Initially, we set up a primary password for them, and they can later change it to a preferred one for viewing their files. This process ensures smooth file handling, but miscommunication regarding directory changes can lead to issues."
"I really like its offer of a system and business process that handles inbound and outbound transactions."
"I like its ability to communicate in B2B scenarios."
"IBM Sterling File Gateway is user-friendly, allowing us to easily monitor and track file data."
"It offers easy utilization of resources for smooth transfers."
 

Cons

"The initial setup was quite complex."
"One area of improvement is troubleshooting. When a transfer fails, they provide little information about the login, which makes troubleshooting difficult. Also, file transfer scheduling is primitive. By that, I mean you can't define a complex schedule, like scheduling a job to run at particular hours multiple times in a day."
"The tool can try to make it a little bit more flexible so that we can easily invoke the APIs, and in such a way, it can be made a little bit better."
"Their monitoring is not up to the mark and needs improvement."
"Improvement in Data Encoding would be very appreciated (I'm thinking of ASCII-EBCDIC, ASCII-ASCII, etc.)."
"Sometimes, the application's embedded databases couldn't perform well for a higher volume of data."
"It is complicated to manage multi-operations, particularly in handling file name changes within file transcripts."
"We only hope that they continue to keep updating the solution and improving the offering. They could always do more updates and releases."
"Too many features; UI is not good."
"Whenever we enabled additional logging for the communication channel, the system used to have hiccups."
"IBM Sterling File Gateway depends on a database, which can be a drawback compared to platforms where system resources are entirely controlled internally."
"The admin console needs some work."
"The solution should provide content or videos explaining to freshers how to configure it and what every field means."
"I faced issues during stress testing."
"The API capabilities could be expanded to make integration more versatile."
"We have issues with the stability of this solution, like server-down issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing and licensing is related to the protocols you choose to support."
"It is quite expensive, and because of that, we get good service from them in return for the price paid."
"AMPLIFY's license is a one-time investment."
"The platform's price aligns with the market."
"It's reasonably priced at $800,000."
"I do know that it's generally considered expensive, but it's also widely used across corporate organizations due to its robust protocol communication, secure file transfer capabilities, and integration features. Although there are other tools on the market, IBM Sterling File Gateway stands out for its unique options and cloud compatibility, which offers future benefits, particularly in avoiding data storage issues."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"There are two types of customer licenses, an annual preview license, and an ELA-based license. I have found the solution is priced well. However, they need to review the pricing model because if you look at any other competitors, such as GlobalSCAPE, they do pricing based on the components and what you select. With this solution you have a monolithic application which you need to buy, there is no component level price discount."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
8%
Financial Services Firm
36%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?
The product is simple for encrypting data transfer of all the assets in our system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?
There's infinite pricing available on their portal, however, it's typically accompanied by a discount. However, detailed pricing information is confidential and was not shared in this call.
What needs improvement with Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?
Their monitoring is not up to the mark and needs improvement. They should have enhanced auto-reconnection capabilities for interrupted file transfers and implement features allowing chunk movement ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The cost-effectiveness of IBM Sterling File Gateway was a major factor in our decision to use it, in comparison to the higher costs associated with DataPower.
What needs improvement with IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The product itself wasn't very easy to comprehend. I required a lot of customization that didn’t meet my needs. I resolved more issues than IBM did. Sterling needs better testing for larger custome...
What is your primary use case for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
I utilized Sterling primarily for SFTP and Connect Direct. I have a complicated system involving ZOS mainframe, data power, and various complex rules as I was trying to replace everything with Ster...
 

Also Known As

SecureTransport, Axway SecureTransport, AMPLIFY MFT
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BNP Paribas Securities Services, Bollor_, E.ON AG Group, BMW Group, IdenTrust, Gassco, International Post Corporation, SNCF, DB Schenker Logistics, Logius, CSCA, La Poste
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer vs. IBM Sterling File Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.