Workload Automation Blog

User Reviews: Orchestrating Workflows and MFT Together

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4 minute read
Flora Tramontano Guerritore

Companies are creating unnecessary risk and slowing the delivery of business services by utilizing multiple solutions to manage file transfers and entirely different tools to orchestrate application and data workflows. What’s needed is a platform that allows IT pros to manage file transfers and application and data workflows from a single view. According to PeerSpot reviewers, Control-M can solve this issue. It is the top-ranked Managed File Transfer (MFT) tool according on PeerSpot, whose members share how Control-M simplifies, automates, and orchestrates secure file transfers with related application and data workflows, across hybrid infrastructures.

In a recent PeerPaper™ report titled “The Value of Selecting a Platform that can Orchestrate File Transfers Alongside Related Application and Data Workflows,” PeerSpot members who use Control-M Managed File Transfer discussed the selection factors they considered when looking for a holistic solution, including a consolidated view of application, data and file transfer workflows, support for multiple protocols, policy-based self-service enablement, security, audit and compliance capabilities, and the ability to orchestrate file transfers alongside related application and data workflows.

Use Cases

PeerSpot members have varied use cases for MFT and application and data workflow orchestration. For instance, Mark F., a Senior Systems Analyst at a recruiting/HR firm, uses Control-M “… for secure bank payments, banking applications, …database housekeeping, and various housekeeping tasks.” His company also puts Control-M to work “… in lots of different areas where we need to coordinate the platforms, and also areas where the jobs that are running are critical so that if there’s a problem we can know if they’re not running correctly.”

One-to-many and point-to-point security encryption are the use cases for an RPA-WLA BU Director at a tech services company Anirudh R., a Manager of Application Services at a tech services company, has a variety of use cases. He said, “We work on insurance-based clients, so we have a lot of files that come in every day. The business does some manipulation on that, which, in turn, reflects in the New York Stock Exchange, so we use [Control-M] Managed File Transfer for all SLEs and things like that.”

Support for Multiple Protocols

Support for multiple protocols allows companies to transfer files between systems or locations using the protocol that is most appropriate for their needs. The tech services RPA-WLA BU Director values Control-M Managed File Transfer in this context. He said, “Whether it’s the architecture or the use case. It supports all file transfers.” For this reason, he deemed Control-M to be “a flagship product.”

A Lead Consultant at a media company uses Control-M to run multiple applications, including SFTP transfers, Arkin, and Informatica. He shared, “We have also integrated some of our reports with Control-M and I’m running them on my local machines. We are planning on expanding Control-M to other applications in the future. That’s one of our next steps, to go to applications at the organization level.”

Security

An MFT platform should have features that protect data from unauthorized access and theft. Security measures may include encryption and authentication protocols. The tech services Manager of Application Services values Control-M’s ability to encrypt and decrypt files. He elaborated by saying, “Usually, with other tools, we do a file transfer, and then we have to encrypt and decrypt it, but in [Control-M] Managed File Transfer, we can do it in one go.”

Ability to Orchestrate File Transfers Alongside Application and Data Workflows

The ability to orchestrate file transfers alongside application and data workflows allows companies to see all their workflows in one place and makes it easier to troubleshoot and optimize them. It also helps reduce the complexity of IT environments by consolidating multiple tools.

Claudio G., a System Programmer at an educational organization, shared how Control-M manages all files at his company: “Some of our clients… send the data to the bank about their employees’ salaries. The bank takes that data and prepares payments for different people in the company. Control-M is used for the information transfer between the bank and Visa, American Express, or Mastercard.”

“We work with technologies including Hadoop, Informatica, all kinds of databases, and file transfers…,” said Raul G., a Batch Scheduling Administrator at a software company. For him, Control-M Managed File Transfer’s major benefit is that it “can work with almost all of the applications that are on the market right now.” Control-M’s ability to “integrate file transfers more readily, resolve issues quickly and orchestrate a diverse landscape of vendor products” was what stood out to a VP – Systems Engineer at a financial services firm.

360-Degree View of Processes

The final factor—a consolidated platform with a 360-degree view—allows companies to see all aspects of their business in one place and makes it easier to identify and fix issues.

For a System Engineering Manager at a marketing services firm, Control-M is leveraged for file transfers. He finds the “visibility of a successful transfer is very useful (e.g., the ability to report on that or view whether that job succeeded or failed in the dashboard).”

Additionally, a Director at a performing arts institute loves that Control-M’s GUI is so intuitive. He explained, “Most tools have a huge GUI. You need to open five to seven windows to go to the parameters. Sometimes you don’t have all the parameters in the GUI. With Control-M, it is three clicks and we have all the information that we need. ”

To read the full report, “The Value of Selecting a Platform that can Orchestrate File Transfers Alongside Related Application and Data Workflows,” click here.

White Paper: PeerPaper™ Report Control-M Managed File Transfer

Given that many business processes involve both file transfers and application and data workflows, it makes little sense to manage each of these functions with separate tools. This report provides firsthand reviews by IT practitioners who’ve taken a single-platform approach—and delivered better results for their business, more easily.


These postings are my own and do not necessarily represent BMC's position, strategies, or opinion.

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About the author

Flora Tramontano Guerritore

Flora Tramontano Guerritore, Lead Solution Marketing Manager at BMC in Rome, Italy, drives Solution Marketing efforts for solution messages and positioning, products, sales plays, and use cases that support the Digital Business Automation marketing program. With deep domain expertise and staying current on key industry trends and hot topics, Flora applies her mindset to understand customer goals and the value they can derive from Digital Business Automation solutions. Flora built her technical foundation in IBM, working in various roles in engineering, software development and customer support. Prior to joining BMC, Flora served for 10 years as the Worldwide Product and Offering Manager for IBM’s z/OS and distributed Workload Automation products, directing key technical and marketing tasks, which included business analysis, product roadmap and strategy, as well as the development of messaging, collaterals, and content delivery at customer briefings and events.