Three reasons why Transfer CFT crushes IBM Connect Direct

In every industry sector there seems to always be one brand, solution, or product which is known and instantly recognizable by all. In the drinks and beverages market, it is Coca-Cola; in consumer electronics, it is probably Samsung; and in car manufacturing, it is likely to be Ford.

For MFT, one we hear frequently is IBM Connect Direct.

…I may be pushing the analogy a little with MFT; it’s unlikely that anyone outside of IT recognizes Connect Direct. However, in the world of data exchange solutions, it is about as famous as it gets; known for both internal file movements at some of the world’s largest organizations and being part of the IBM portfolio.

Then it stands to reason that this must be the best solution in the marketplace – right? Like Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Ford?

Maybe. “Best” can be very subjective and dependent on the weight applied to a lot of different factors. Instead, consider three of the top reasons Axway Transfer CFT customers prefer the Axway solution over IBM Connect Direct.

#1 – Transfer CFT only uses open standard protocols

It seems odd to even have to point this out in 2025, but my general belief is that proprietary protocols – where there are sufficient open standards to address the market’s needs – is a tactic to retain customers by adding risk and uncertainly to any attempt at moving.

Okay, so there is a debate to be had on whether the current open standard protocols in the data exchange industry are sufficient. However, I would say that the widespread use of open standards is a vote in their favor.

Proprietary protocols suffer from:

• Poor governance and development due to responsibility resting on a single party;
• Locking customers into product ecosystems with smaller support;
• Reduced competition, leaving customers at the mercy of price increases which they may not be able to avoid or afford;
• Reduced skills pools, which are usually used as a scarcity advantage to charge higher rates for professional services activities.

Transfer CFT only uses open standard protocols for transfers between nodes and third-party solutions such as file gateways. The only exception to this is the opportunistic use of parallel TCP connections between Transfer CFT nodes – where possible – to speed up transfers.

Axway Transfer CFT:

✅ Transfers files using RFC compliant implementations of SFTP or PeSIT.

✅ Is interoperable with other solutions which use SFTP and PeSIT, such as Axway’s own file gateways or third-party alternatives.

✅ Benefits from changes to open standard protocols, such as changes in cipher support and depreciation.

#2 – Interoperability with wider business tools

Having spent much of my career speaking to and pitching to IT leaders across industries, I have found that there are several consistent topics which span business big and small. One of these is the necessity of interconnectivity between tools for:

• Enriched security and operational information
• End-to-end process automation
• Speed of process execution
• Cost saving

Enquiries about APIs, connectivity with ITSM tools, SYSLOG outputs, and other methods of interconnectivity are top of the agenda for IT teams who can no longer solve complex problems using the capabilities of a single solution.

With a portfolio as large as IBM’s, the focus is to keep customers within the IBM ecosystem, by offering interoperability with its own solution offering first and foremost.

For customers of their enterprise licensing agreement, this is a cost-effective approach. However, I have always been skeptical of the long-term benefits for customers, who are unable to work with best-of-breed solutions from the wider marketplace.

Axway’s Transfer CFT takes an alternative approach, in which the aspiration is to work with whatever the customer has already adopted, or to ensure it is open to future tech innovations.

Axway Transfer CFT offers:

✅ Support for up to 16 Operating Systems, including none other than IBM z/OS and IBMi.

✅ Installable in cloud environments and containerization options.

✅ File transfers are invocable through REST API and command line / shell.

✅ Ability to send events onto Apache Kafka.

✅ Can connect to any file transfer gateway of your choosing, using open standard protocols such as SFTP and PeSIT.

#3 – Lower ongoing cost of investment

Much of my career has been spent working in the file transfer and data exchange industry. An industry in which it is the aspiration of any vendor to work with enterprise-sized customers – a space where the use of IBM Connect Direct is highly entrenched.

Having spent many years speaking with enterprise IT leaders, I have sensed a resentment toward the ongoing cost of maintenance, upgrades, and services – which cannot be escaped due to the cost and effort of migration.

In some cases, I have heard of upgrades which can last up to a year in length and require intensive professional services involvement, all of which come at a significant cost to the customer.

It’s a perpetual cycle of cost to maintain versus fear of cost to break that cycle and move to an alternative. An unfortunate situation which I assume leaves customers not in a position which represents the best return on investment.

In contrast, Axway Transfer CFT:

✅ Is designed to be easy to upgrade, maintain and scaled by the customer.

✅ Has a simple subscription model based on number of transfers, with a handy customer portal which displays monthly reports on usage.

✅ Uses open standard protocols and strong documentation, making Transfer CFT highly accessible for existing MFT operations teams.

✅ Uses data streaming for object-based storage, which eliminates the need for host storage and therefore reduces cost.

The final round

“You are just saying this because you are Axway.” I am not a telepath, nor a gambler, but this is probably what you are thinking. If not, and I have already convinced you, I am much better at this than I thought.

But you are right, why take my word for it?

Axway Transfer CFT has 40 years in the internal file transfer and data exchange marketplace, having successfully worked alongside the likes of Swiss Post, Daimler, Inmar Intelligence, and more. All of whom have selected Axway as the partner of choice to help them achieve their business objectives.

The switch from IBM to Axway is no untrodden path, filled with inexperience and danger; this is a well-documented and paved path, ready to be comfortably navigated.