Globalscape EFT Reviews

We use it for file transfers. 100% of our customers connect through Globalscape to bring their files to our data center. So, it is a hosted service, but I'll interchange it and call it our private cloud, but it's not really a cloud.

We have several versions. The newest is 8.0.4, and the oldest is 7.4.10. We have six data centers in which Globalscape is deployed. 

The biggest benefit for me is stability. We have a 100% uptime SLA on our SFTP server because it's probably the most important infrastructure piece in our data center. Without the movement of files, we have no business. It has not crashed in two years.

It provides advanced controls, alerting, and reporting for security and compliance, which is very good. We use the ARM Database module daily. It is a fantastic troubleshooting tool. It is a single point to gather information. The advanced controls, alerting, and reporting features are very important because of the volume of traffic and the number of customers. We have Globalscape deployed in a high availability active cluster. We can't monitor all three nodes at the same time, but the ARM Database can. So, it's very important because of the number of people that access the product at the same time.

Its centralized platform is excellent for the management of file transfer operations. It is important because of the volume of customers going to several thousand different servers across different networks. We're talking about 300,000 to 400,000 files daily going to multiple places, so it's better than having hundreds of servers deployed. It makes it streamlined and manageable.

We have several use cases. We use it for exchanging files. We use it as a file or SFTP type of storage for B2B type of exchange with customers. 

We also use a lot of rules to transfer files from internal to external systems or from external to internal systems and archive the files. We use a lot of event rules. Our usage is heavy, and we have around 3,000 to 4,000 rules. We sometimes use it for PGP encryption. We also use it when zipping and unzipping files. These are all part of the rules.

In terms of deployment, it is on-prem. We have multi-region on-prem.

It is our primary managed file transfer capability. On an annual basis, we transfer terabytes of data through this. It has saved a lot of time. It is kind of a self-service, which saves time. Previously, IT involvement was required, which always took more time.

It secures sensitive data inside our internal networks so that only verified users have access. There is a module called the DMZ Gateway module that terminates any external connection so that we don't expose our data to the external network. It doesn't expose any of our data in the backend.

It provides a centralized platform for the management of file transfer operations. The data address is encrypted. So, the storage is only system-accessed. There is no way for people to access that storage. Everything is managed with user-based access and controls. We do have a lot of controls in place, and we have all the details of who is accessing the files.

It enabled us to decommission other solutions. We decommissioned Cyclone for several reasons. The main reasons were that Globalscape was cheaper, and we could cover all the use cases.

It allows us to use automated scripts. This functionality is very important for us because sometimes, we can't do with out-of-the-box functionality, and we need to do some custom scripting. The good thing is that they're allowing VBScript, Powershell, and I think they even allow us to use Amazon CLI.

Our operations have definitely become more efficient because of the automation. We can see a lot of alerting. We can see everything in one place in a dashboard. That has improved operational efficiency a lot. There is still a lot of scope for improvement, but as compared to previously, we have a significant improvement.

It connects to popular ICAP servers to perform antivirus and data loss prevention functions. We have SSL-based, certificate-based management, and we have user-based authentication. We only open the HTTPS port to the outside world. We don't open any other ports. From Globalscape, we connect to the outside or external connection through SFTP or Amazon S3. We have different policies.

It has enabled us to reassign resources who were writing custom file transfer scripts or compiling file transfer audit reports to other tasks. We are definitely able to reuse some bandwidth from this.

It's our managed file transfer platform that we mainly run for the folder monitor event rules. We've got about 3,000 event rules and about 1,000 users.

We have regulatory information that flows through it. From a managed file transfer perspective, we move a lot of files and this is just another file transfer for us. But the reporting around compliance has been good for us to ensure that we're moving things securely.

By going with Globalscape, we have been able to decommission Sterling B2B Integrator, Connect Enterprise, MOVEit, and soon, ExaVault, and that has streamlined and standardized our processes, drastically, and has helped with cost savings.

FIS provides software and network services for financial institutions. We mostly use the solution for fire transfers; internal to FIS and clients, and from clients.

We are not the only FIS group who uses Globalscape Managed File Transfer (EFT). There are two other groups within FIS with totally separate groups and environments from us who also use Globalscape EFT.

It resides on our virtual servers. 

When it comes down to bank and traditional requirements, 90% of our transfers can just utilize Globalscape's plain vanilla options. However, for some of the stuff, we need to get creative using PowerShell scripts and the Advanced Workflow Engine (AWE) Module of Globalscape. You can do massive scripting within the AWE Module. Some of our transfers definitely require this. So, this was something that we evaluated when we were getting Globalscape: Its ability to have an out-of-the-box solution for us to deal with more complex jobs. This solution has allowed us to script more complex transfers, not just plain vanilla ones, from point A to point B.

We use the EFT application for file transmission, and we also use Workspaces, which is within the same EFT environment. We use an unlimited license. On my side, I'm just administering it. 

We did a lot of architectural design work over the last couple of years in making it more secure. We have two DMZ servers for Globalscape that are passing the data or doing the file transmissions in a secure manner. We also have two EFT nodes for replication so that in case the primary node goes down, we have a secondary node that would pick it up.

We use Workspaces quite often, and we have got rave reviews for that. We have outside consultants. We have legal teams from the outside, and they need to send files securely. Workspaces has been an awesome tool for that.

It secures sensitive data inside our internal network so that only verified users have access. This is very important for us.

It allows us to use automated scripts. It is very important because as IT staff, we do function automation and data integration. It takes the burden away from business and IT support from having to manually do that. So, everything is pretty streamlined, but I don't know exactly how much time it saves. It depends on the user intervention required to do something. We manage 45 to 50 files a day, and for somebody to manually move these files, maybe by using Ipswitch or something like that, it could take about five minutes. It probably saves about four to five hours a day.

It connects to popular ICAP servers to perform antivirus and data loss prevention functions. We use Carbon Black for our servers, and it has been good for our security posture. Its connection to the servers helps in inspecting content for sensitive information. This is very important for us.

It supports all the protocols used for file transmission. It also includes encryption and decryption functionalities. The standout feature of Globalscape is its advanced workflow engine. Using AWE, we can write code to implement additional features beyond the basic functionality of source and destination configuration. This includes scheduling tasks to run on specific days and times. For example, if you have an Excel sheet with ten different tabs and need to create separate files for each tab, AWE can read the Excel sheet, convert each tab into individual files, and then send those files. This flexibility allows users with coding experience to perform many more tasks using AWE.

The most effective feature is its advanced workflow engine. Another feature is the flexibility of the code we use to create tasks. For example, with other tools, you receive only one notification upon completing or failing the task. However, in Globalscape, you can set up step-by-step email notifications. For instance, if you pick up a file from the source location, you can add a condition to send an email notification to a specific address once that step is successful. Conversely, a different notification can be sent to a designated address if the step fails. This allows us to receive notifications for each process step without waiting for the entire task to complete. 

Our company uses the solution to manage integrations and file transfers for our customers. The solution can be integrated with any system such as Salesforce and can perform API calls. 

We keep track of all data via the built-in report option. For example, we can mention a job name and automatically pull records for the last six months. Details such as how many transactions succeeded or failed are included.

User groups are created to provide access levels and permissions. For example, developers are given access to development and testing but not production. We have a total of 25 team members that are split into groups across development, production, and support.  

Our customer had the on-premises solution in place but is now in the process of moving to the AWS cloud. We are part of the migration team so are moving on-premises jobs from the on-premises version and MOVEit to the cloud. 

The GUI base is handy because you don't have to run commands. 

The dual interface accommodates Windows or Linux installations. 

The API call feature is valuable because we can build jobs in the solution but run them via external triggers. Most other products do not allow this type of action. 

The solution is user friendly so anyone can learn it with some background knowledge of managed file transfers, encryption, types of protocols, configuration, and key items for authentication.

The advanced controls for security and compliance are important. Standard protocols are SFTP and FTP but compliance teams will not agree to FTP because any middleman can steal data with a user ID and password.  Banking companies prefer SSH keys with authentication and the solution includes this feature. For example, IBM shares their public key to JP Morgan Chase's system and then IBM uses their private key to make connection. PGP encryption is also used to convert plain text to encrypted data that cannot be hacked without the private PGP key. 

There is an automated process for receiving and processing daily files or regulatory documentation. 

The file synchronization option stands out from competitor products. The advanced workflow engine allows you to write code for file or folder synchronizations. For example, an Excel sheet has 14 tabs and it is saved into the local FSX. The solution reads the tabs, converts each to a separate CSE file, and sends all 14 files to the destination S3 bucket. 

A job skeleton can be used from test to production so you don't have to build jobs from scratch in production. Once created in the test environment, jobs can be exported in the .JSON format and imported to production with minimal changes to the source or definition files. This is a great feature and saves a lot of time. 

We have lots of data coming in from or going to financial institutions like banks, including payments and different types of transactions. Any client can connect to GlobalSCAPE to retrieve their files and data. We also go to their servers and pick data. We have a lot of clients, vendors, and partners that share data for different applications. Most of the data goes through SFTP, which is a protected protocol.

Our main production server is on-prem. The version of Globalscape that we are testing right now, version 8, is on the cloud in Azure.

Our SFTP team uses this as the main platform to do file transfers. As a result, Globalscape helps with operations, maintenance, security, and advanced tasks that we accomplish through the platform.

We have also been able to move a lot of jobs from batch and PowerShell scripts, as well as C++ and some other programming languages. It has helped, to some degree, to remove dependency on other methods. The impact has been positive because things are more centralized and better organized.

The automation of file transfers has increased our efficiency and effectiveness a lot, as they would with any other MFT system. It enables you to automate any processes that you might otherwise have to do manually. That reduces workload. Otherwise, you would have to do things through scripts or manually. There are still some things being done manually by different business teams, but a lot of it has been automated. We also need fewer programming resources now.

We have about 300 jobs and I would estimate that Globalscape saves 40 hours per week, in total.