Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Reviews

Name: Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct
Brand: IBM
Rating: 4 (7 reviews)

Vendor: IBM

4.1 out of 5

7 reviews
71% willing to recommend

518 followers

What is Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?UNIXBusinessApplication
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IBM's Sterling Connect:Direct is a software product that offers security-hardened, point-to-point file transfers to reduce reliance on insecure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transmissions. It is designed for high-volume file distribution within and between businesses. The solution guarantees more reliable file movement, from batch integration and movement of large images or catalogs to synchronization with distant sites. Sterling Connect:Direct also enables hybrid cloud deployment through certified containers, allowing for simple and consistent deployment lifecycle management.

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Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is the #8 ranked solution in top Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions. PeerSpot users give Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is most commonly compared to Control-M: Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct vs Control-M. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 80% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 43% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

March 2024

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Featured reviews

Ahmed El Attar

Systems Infrastructure Manager at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank - Egypt

Mar 20, 2023

We are using Connect:Direct to move some application files from point to point, from one application to another application, which might be used by another application and which should maybe use the tool process and make selections on these files. So, simply, we are using Connect:Direct to move one…

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Ankit Rahangdale

Infrastructure Tech Lead at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Sep 6, 2022

The setup depends on the requirement. In the current environment or current project, we have it as a middleware. We have other tools for displaying the output of a file, and there is an application that is taking it to the display servers so that it can display the data. That is one implementation in the current project. There are also multiple implementations for their finance-related file transmission because that requires security. All the financial data is automatically transferred by the Connect:Direct whenever the application team puts a file into one of the directories. We provide the directory where they need to put the file. We have the automation job that picks up the file and delivers it to the user or the application that needs to utilize that file. Its setup is straightforward. The concept is straightforward. All the related information is also available on the internet. If any of the newbies want to check or get some info on Connect:Direct, they can go to the IBM site, and they will get all the details regarding the implementation, configuration, and any issues they are facing. They can just check with the error message, and they will be able to get some details about it. It is a pretty straightforward tool. In open systems servers, the setup and configuration take 10 minutes or less than that. It also supports silent installation, which hardly takes two minutes. It can be deployed anywhere. It supports on-premises and cloud deployments. IBM recently provided a patch for cloud HPE servers. There were a few vulnerabilities that caused data leaks, and they have fixed that in their recent updates.

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Michele Illiano

Head of Division at Innovery

Mar 24, 2022

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is a solution that is on the market for a very long time. There is an integrator that has been developed and evolves every year. On the roadmap, there is always a new integration. For example, it's one of the solutions in the market that out of the box can handle EBICS protocol. The file processing is done very well. By default, there are a lot of configurations that can be customized. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is one of the stronger MFT solutions in the market, it is available in each type of installation, and offers SaaS, PaaS, YaaS, on-premise. It can allow the customer to do everything on the file interchange.

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Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct market share

As of March 2024, the market share of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category stands at 9.1%, marking a decrease of 11.0% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

"Automation is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides 100% reliability for file transmission. It ensures that files get delivered in a secure manner. When you use Connect:Direct, your file 100% gets delivered to the next delivery location. If the log shows that a file got delivered, it will have all the transmitted data without truncation or other data issues."
"The Security Plus feature of this solution is excellent, and allows you to send encrypted files very securely to remote destinations."

Room for Improvement

"Sometimes we face issues and can't figure out the cause of failures."
"They have File Agent, which is an additional utility and a component of Connect:Direct, for automated file transmission. In that utility, there is some issue with the file name. There is a limitation on the file name, and that is being fixed by IBM."
"This solution cannot be deployed on a root_squash NFS, which limits superuser privileges."

Pricing

"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."
"Annual licensing fee."

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

43%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

Educational Organization

Energy/Utilities Company

University

Non Profit

Healthcare Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Outsourcing Company

Media Company

Hospitality Company

Legal Firm

Wholesaler/Distributor

Logistics Company

Recruiting/Hr Firm

Construction Company

Transportation Company

Compare Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct with alternative products

Learn more about Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Features

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Performance capabilities such as extraordinary scalability and low latency.

Automated, dependable file transmission that permits unattended, round-the-clock operations.

Designed to run on a variety of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, IBM z/OS, OpenVMS, i5/OS, and HP NonStop.

Advanced security features with cutting-edge encryption to meet regulatory and industry standards.

IBM certified containers for Sterling Connect:Direct are enterprise-grade, secure product editions that are scalable, secure, easy to install, and manage update and rollback processes. They also have integrated common software services for consistent deployment lifecycle management.
Boosts transfer speed for large files over high-speed networks by up to four times the previous speed while reducing latency.
Gives existing FTP transfers the ability to retry, checkpoint, and compress existing transfers.
Supports a variety of network protocols, including TCP/IP, Systems Network Architecture (SNA), and an optional high-speed add-on based on Aspera FASP technology.

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

High performance: Takes care of your most demanding workloads, including multi-gigabyte files to large volumes of small files.

Reliable file delivery: To help ensure predictable, assured file delivery, it offers automated scheduling, checkpoint restart, and automatic recovery.

Secure transmission of files: Maintains the confidentiality of customer information and supports regulatory compliance measures.

Speed up patching and installation: By deploying your solution with a certified container that contains all necessary components, you can drastically cut installation and patch time from hours to minutes.

Reviews from Real Users

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its robust file processing and its security for file transfers. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

Michele I., Business Unit Manager at Innovery, writes of the solution, “The file processing is done very well. By default, there are a lot of configurations that can be customized. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is one of the stronger MFT solutions in the market, it is available in each type of installation, and offers SaaS, PaaS, YaaS, on-premise.”

Camilo M., Pre-sales Engineer at Dell EMC, mentions, “It's a great tool because it offers secure file transfers and it has a fast and efficient protocol for very large files.”