Why File Transfer Automation Matters Now More Than Ever
In a business landscape defined by speed, complexity and scale, automation has become more than a technology trend—it’s a strategic imperative:
- Automation is key to I&O delivering greater value, efficiency and agility:
By 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities, an increase from under 10% in mid-2023, according to Gartner, Inc. - Self-service is the new standard:
Self-service IT automation is becoming prevalent, with 88% of IT pros providing it to end-users and prioritizing self-service features in new tool purchases, according to Stonebranch. - Single platform to manage integration and automation:
94% of business professionals at enterprise organizations say they would rather use a unified platform integrating their applications and building workflow automations than rely on several systems, according to TechValidate survey by Workato.
These trends highlight a clear mandate for IT organizations: Adopt automation platforms that are scalable, user-friendly and deeply integrated. When applied to file transfers, which are among the most common and critical data movement tasks, automation delivers measurable business value. Below are the most impactful benefits of automating your file transfers.
Five Key Benefits of Automating File Transfers
1. Simplified Usability for Rapid Onboarding
Modern MFT platforms are designed with usability in mind. They offer intuitive, no-code interfaces that empower teams to configure workflows without writing custom scripts. This drastically reduces time to deployment and ensures new users can be productive with minimal training. Workflows are modular and reusable, allowing organizations to manage thousands of file flows without duplication or complexity.
2. Reduced Risk and Fewer Errors
Manual scripts are prone to breakage—especially when they’re undocumented or left behind by former employees. Automation through MFT solutions eliminates these risks by standardizing processes and providing centralized monitoring. Built-in logging, validation checks and alerting mechanisms ensure greater consistency, reducing failure rates and troubleshooting time.
3. Seamless Integration with Integration Platforms
Automated MFT platforms support integration via APIs and out-of-the-box connectors for integration platform as a service (iPaaS) solutions and enterprise systems. This makes it easy to incorporate file transfers into broader workflows—whether syncing customer data, processing invoices or ingesting analytics feeds—without custom development. Connectors for integration platforms (iPaaS) add guaranteed delivery, persistence and unlimited file size to iPaaS transfers without any effort from your development team.
4. Enhanced Visibility and Control of File Transfers
Comprehensive dashboards provide real-time status updates, audit trails and access control capabilities. Role-based permissions and automated alerts help IT administrators maintain visibility over sensitive data transfers, even across distributed environments. This transparency is critical for compliance and incident response.
5. Lower Operational Costs
Automated file transfer solutions reduce IT overhead by accelerating deployment, reducing troubleshooting time and minimizing manual interventions. By eliminating the need for one-off scripts and dedicated maintenance resources, organizations can reallocate team bandwidth to more strategic initiatives. Many customers report significant reductions in infrastructure costs and support effort.
To see these benefits in action, consider how global footwear brand Crocs improved efficiency and agility by automating file transfers between its retail locations and corporate systems.
From Hours to Minutes: Crocs’ File Transfer Automation Journey
A common use case for automated file transfer is streamlining the flow of data from global point-of-sale (POS) systems into centralized analytics platforms. This process is vital for retail organizations that rely on real-time sales data to inform inventory planning, customer engagement and business decisions.
Challenge
Crocs, the globally recognized footwear brand, faced this exact challenge. Its IT team was regularly asked to create new file transfer connections between retail store systems and corporate systems. Each connection required two to four hours of manual effort—coding, configuring, testing and deploying connections. With hundreds of file transfers occurring daily between employees, customers and partners, this process quickly became unsustainable.
Solution
As pressure mounted to improve IT efficiency, Crocs also began migrating from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud. This transformation presented a timely opportunity to rethink how file transfers were managed. Seeking a modern, cloud-based solution, Crocs selected Thru for its ability to deliver not only robust automation capabilities but also a collaborative approach to designing a solution tailored to their specific needs.
Results
Since adopting Thru’s MFT platform, the Crocs IT team has significantly accelerated their onboarding process. What once took up to four hours now takes just 30 minutes, enabling the team to respond quickly to new connection requests and reducing overall IT overhead. The result is a more agile, responsive IT environment that supports the company’s global operations without the burden of manual scripting or complex maintenance.
Continue reading about how Crocs automates global file transfers using Thru »
Unlocking Efficiency with Thru’s Managed File Transfer
As more organizations modernize their infrastructure and adopt automation-first strategies, file transfers are emerging as a critical area of improvement. Thru’s MFT solution provides a scalable, secure and cloud-native service to automate, monitor and manage file exchanges across your enterprise and ecosystem.
With Thru, you can eliminate the complexity of maintaining custom scripts; accelerate onboarding of partners and systems; and ensure secure, compliant data flows, while empowering your teams with intuitive, self-service tools.
Learn more about Thru’s File Transfer Automation »
