Operational Intelligence for MFT

Trends in digital file and data sharing blog series: An introduction

Trends in digital file and data sharing

Organizations have an expanding need to manage digital files. They are either providing access to files to drive productivity through sharing and collaboration internally or providing rich, relevant customer experiences “extending the enterprise.”

At the end of Q4 2019, we completed a round of research around digital file and data sharing to capture the trends and market shifts.

This blog series will highlight key insights from that research. For example, do you know who in your organization is responsible for retrieving customer/patient data? According to our research results, respondents are unable to commit to a single source of responsibility. We surveyed both line of business and IT. While IT respondents place the responsibility with IT (80%), line of business was split at 49% IT and 51% data protection officer.

File Sharing

Sharing files is not new. Employees have been working inside the firewall, sharing files or storing them on a network drive for years. Companies have been sending Managed File Transfers (MFT) for decades. Both are critical, but maybe outdated, limiting an organization’s competitiveness, whether it’s competing for talent or consumers of your products and services.

In 2020, organizations must improve the “experience” whether it’s for their consumers, citizens, patients or end-users. Otherwise, they will lose the talent war and lose customers.

This research, conducted by Vanson Bourne, targeted 800 IT and business leaders. It was designed to uncover the needs of those who consume content and have to access data for work.

It is clear that the demand for secure access to files and data for transfer or collaboration continues to evolve. At the same time, the demand for data is increasing and the need for security and governance is growing.

Consumers trends and digital data

Consumers expect more from their experiences. They want easy but secure access to file collaboration and the assurance that their data is protected.

But what does that look like in practice? Are organizations prepared to provide “consumers” with the level of services they require, while ensuring security? How much data is being collected and where is it stored?

File transfers, data sharing and collaboration within an organization

Then there are the internal consumers, who need access to data to work, collaborate on content or drive digital business.

Data security and responsibility

Data security is critical when it comes to digital files and data sharing. A part of data security is identifying who is responsible within an organization for managing and protecting data – both internally and with consumers and partners – as well as who manages the governance related to personally identifiable data.

Next week’s blog will focus on trends in digital files, data sharing and consumer trends.

To learn more about this topic along with the trends, watch our Webinar Series “2020 Trends for Modernizing your File & Content Strategy” with guest speaker Forrester Research Principal Analyst Cheryl McKinnon.