Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Don’t leave MFT and B2B/EDI behind in your move to the cloud

digital transformation + cloud adoption

When it comes to digital transformation, everyone is talking about how important cloud adoption is to future-proof your transformation. (And it’s true!) But in their rush to keep up, when moving systems and business applications to the cloud, some organizations think about APIs but forget to check that their MFT and B2B/EDI operations won’t be broken in the process.

Here’s a look at why cloud adoption is essential to your digital transformation, how you can make a smoother transition to the cloud, and how to preserve your MFT and B2B connections as you do it.

You can’t have digital transformation without cloud adoption

Digital disruption is everywhere, and that transformation has accelerated in our post-pandemic world. Organizations need to develop new business services quickly and be innovative. They often turn to web services to accomplish this, which is a new way of building applications.

If you want to go fast in your digital transformation, you often need to build on what already exists instead of building code from scratch.

It’s possible to create cloud native applications faster because smaller teams benefit from preconfigured services. This is why almost all start-ups nowadays are big users of these new development and operating methods: they have a catalog of services right off the shelf to build services quickly.

Digital transformation and cloud adoption go hand in hand.

If you need proof, just look at the colossal 40% growth of the IaaS public cloud services market in 2020. It’s almost unheard of, and the investment is there: this is where companies are going at a rapid pace.

Cloud adoption is becoming an organizational imperative

Beyond wanting to keep up and capitalize on this new and exciting growth, you may not have much of a choice on cloud adoption.

When you have an existing MFT or B2B/EDI integration process that is working smoothly, it’s not as if you can simply lift all of that to the cloud, and some are understandably dragging their feet.

But you need to anticipate and plan for it at an enterprise level, because if you’re not already in the process of moving to the cloud, you may soon be forced to.

The entire IT world is moving towards massive cloud adoption, and other software providers and business applications you rely on may force the shift sooner than you’re ready. When they move to the cloud, will you be left behind?

Crucially, will all of the interconnections that allow for file exchange and data flows today be impacted by the use of new applications in the cloud tomorrow?

In a recent independent survey, IT decision-makers said the biggest barrier to successful digital transformation was data integration issues.

It’s clear that transforming the entire IT backbone, the mainframe, all the existing systems, and all the existing data exchanges to make them more cloud-friendly is no simple feat. Taking stock of existing integrations is essential to ensure that this global change to your infrastructure won’t break something else in the process.

You don’t have to rebuild all over again

The reality is companies don’t start from scratch. They have assets, applications, systems that are running already. And they have spent a lot of time building and developing it all.

So how are you going to make these old systems cohabit and interconnect tomorrow?

MFT and B2B/EDI can sometimes fall by the wayside: as organizations become focused on digital transformation and new cloud-native applications, they can forget about these legacy systems and interconnections that are still driving their business right now.

But your business can’t afford to lose critical MFT and B2B solutions. It’s essential to find a way to continue to make all of these integrations work in the new world.

Optimized MFT solutions in the cloud allow you to adapt to your current cloud adoption strategy and be ready for your new cloud-native applications to come. And cloud strategy and implementation services can help accelerate your B2B/EDI move to the cloud.

As a trusted player with in-house expertise, Axway can provide the solutions, skills, and expertise to manage the transition – without starting from scratch – for greater peace of mind.

Hybrid cloud: it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition

At Axway, we’ve been doing this for two decades. We have already developed cloud solutions that are being used by organizations around the world.

The move to cloud is typically a gradual one. The lived experience is not one single type of cloud: it’s different permutations that will mix and shift as organizations use a combination of different cloud services.

Hybrid cloud (also referred to as multi-cloud) is a combination of legacy systems that continue to run on-premises but can interconnect seamlessly with any type of cloud.

Organizations are often using a combination of different cloud services, and a hybrid cloud combines and unifies to create a single, flexible, cost-optimal IT infrastructure. The solutions you use for file transfer and B2B connections must be compatible with this model.

Our customers are already running our solutions in a hybrid cloud. Some are running on-premises and in the Axway Managed Cloud, others are choosing to host theirs in a multi-tenant AWS or Azure cloud; all of that can be interconnected, it can work.

Move to the cloud, scale when you’re ready

Many companies rely on SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning platform, which has become a core part of many organizations’ business processes. When the company gave its customers a 2027 deadline to move to its next-generation cloud ERP platform, S/4HANA, many were forced to speed up their cloud adoption.

When one of our customers was faced with this situation, they knew their use of SAP was mission-critical and it was time to accelerate their move to the cloud. But they still had applications running with integrations between the old SAP and other systems, or even with external partners.

They didn’t miss the opportunity to anticipate potential pitfalls, and they reviewed their file exchange and B2B integrations. Those were critical break points, but anticipating the change and working with Axway to make the transition made for a seamless process.

This process can happen step by step.

Because we offer the flexibility of a truly hybrid cloud, it’s possible to start in one permutation and shift to another tomorrow. Outsource your partial or complete cloud management services, and then bring them back in-house without disruption. You’re always in control.

Either way, make sure your MFT and B2B solutions are ready to come along on your move to the cloud. Your business depends on it more than you may realize.

Learn how Axway Managed Cloud Services gives you the power of a cloud platform with the business and technical expertise of a world-class team.

Key Takeaways

  • Cloud adoption is a critical piece of the digital transformation puzzle.
  • But there are barriers to adoption — most notably on the side of data integration.
  • While MFT and B2B/EDI solutions are often placed on the backburner, their successful integration is critical to driving continued business.
  • Axway has in-house expertise to manage this transition and accelerate cloud adoption.