FTP: Over the Hill but Still Moving
Posted by Rosie on April 18, 2011
In case you missed the big news over the weekend, the tech world celebrated a major milestone. Well, at least those of us in the file transfer and integration business thought it was a big deal!
Forty years ago today, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) was first proposed by Abhay Bhushan of MIT as a way to transfer large files between systems on the early Internet. FTP has had a good run and continues to be used broadly today, but over the years, as the Internet has evolved and grown, FTP has fallen short in some key areas such as security, lack of visibility and the ability to audit file transfers. Some businesses also face challenges using FTP due to a lack of robustness and varying implementations depending on platforms.
We can learn from the success and relative longevity of FTP given everything that has changed dramatically since its inception forty years ago. The basis for FTP’s wide deployment (and continued use despite some obvious shortcomings) is largely due to the very characteristics that are needed for any solution that wants to enjoy such a high level of acceptance.
- Be available when you need it and work in a consistent way each time it’s used.
- Deliver fast time to value.
- Make sure users know how to use the tool.
While new and more secure protocols have emerged, the initial challenge FTP addressed of moving files from one place to another, is still a challenging area for many organizations. Today, however, users have many choices in replacing FTP or managing file transfer as part of broader B2B integration solution. Cloud-based file transfer solutions, delivered either in a self-service or managed service way, provide an additional layer of ease of use and cost-effectiveness.
FTP sort of reminds me of EDI — they are both alive and well, even though there are often better ways to approach the challenge they are solving. And, frankly, cloud-based B2B integration not only solves the issue but does so with minimal IT or business pain.
So, here’s a shout out to FTP. Thanks for all the file transfers you’ve successfully delivered since 1971.
Tags: Cloud Integration, EDI, File Transfer Protocol, FTP, SFTP
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