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ActiveBatch by Redwood vs IBM Sterling File Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
ActiveBatch enhances ROI with automation, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and supporting remote work, increasing revenue and accuracy.
Sentiment score
6.6
IBM Sterling File Gateway is valued for cost-effectiveness, ease of use, robust support, and simplifies monitoring, enhancing retail processes.
We require fewer team members to handle operations due to its robust automation.
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
ActiveBatch by Redwood is praised for responsive support, though complex issues sometimes need customer advocates for resolution.
Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Sterling File Gateway support is mixed; praised for availability but criticized for delays, inefficiencies, and outsourcing concerns.
We often need to escalate issues to level two or three for solutions related to long-standing problems.
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
Regarding the technical support of IBM Sterling File Gateway, I would rate their job about nine.
CEO at Logic Systech Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
ActiveBatch by Redwood offers robust scalability, efficiently handling thousands of jobs and growing teams without bandwidth issues or disruptions.
Sentiment score
6.4
IBM Sterling File Gateway is highly scalable with some complexity and effective for large transactions, but performance may drop.
ActiveBatch by Redwood's scalability is excellent; it experiences minimal failures and outages.
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
ActiveBatch by Redwood is reliable, efficiently reducing manual tasks, with minimal downtime often due to external factors.
Sentiment score
6.2
IBM Sterling File Gateway is generally stable, with occasional bugs and issues, but cloud migration has improved overall performance.
 

Room For Improvement

ActiveBatch needs a more intuitive interface, enhanced integration, better support, and customization for improved usability and efficiency.
IBM Sterling File Gateway needs user management, interface, auto-deployment, performance, and licensing improvements for a better user experience.
On the web console, users encounter daily activity issues where the job instances do not appear or update correctly, and they cannot view the latest logs.
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
I believe ActiveBatch by Redwood could be improved because the UI could be modernized.
Manager, Production Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
When there is an audit requiring proof that a file has gone in a secure way, most customers have not been able to prove it.
CEO at Logic Systech Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

ActiveBatch offers cost-effective pricing with reliable support, though additional fees and subscription transitions may increase costs.
IBM Sterling File Gateway is costly but valued for secure transfers, cloud compatibility, and appealing to corporate organizations.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for ActiveBatch by Redwood has been great
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
 

Valuable Features

ActiveBatch by Redwood enhances workflow automation with ease of use, extensive integrations, and robust alerting for efficient process execution.
IBM Sterling File Gateway offers secure, automated file transfers with high configurability, supporting large data volumes and multiple protocols.
ActiveBatch by Redwood has positively impacted my organization by efficiently managing a significant volume of data and workflow between our database and applications on the web browser.
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
The best feature that ActiveBatch by Redwood offers is the user interface.
Manager, Production Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Automation is working fair for all my customers and was never a problem.
CEO at Logic Systech Pvt Ltd
 

Categories and Ranking

ActiveBatch by Redwood
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
15th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (29th), Workload Automation (15th)
IBM Sterling File Gateway
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of ActiveBatch by Redwood is 2.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Sterling File Gateway is 7.4%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Sterling File Gateway7.4%
ActiveBatch by Redwood2.5%
Other90.1%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Application Administrator Lead at Bluestem
Manages thousands of jobs daily and reduces downtime through secondary node support
The current feedback I receive from my end users regarding ActiveBatch by Redwood highlights issues with the tabs or panes during job modification. When the next user monitors it, they need to close the pane or job and reopen it to see the changes reflected. If the end user makes an update, it will not be visible unless they start from the beginning again. Implementing a refresh button would be helpful for real-time updates when the end user needs to see changes immediately. We currently face issues with the web console of ActiveBatch by Redwood. When users operate through an RDP session, every user has their own ActiveBatch by Redwood application. However, on the web console, users encounter daily activity issues where the job instances do not appear or update correctly, and they cannot view the latest logs. This issue is only present on the web console, as the application itself works without any problems. ActiveBatch by Redwood can be improved by adding more features, as we are not currently handling cloud-based applications like S3 buckets and Azure. Connecting to these cloud platforms would be a helpful enhancement.
DB
CEO at Logic Systech Pvt Ltd
Has supported consistent deployments and automation but needs better reporting and tracking
The disadvantages I see in IBM Sterling File Gateway include price and reporting. Reporting is not very easy. If 10 people are putting file transfer using this protocol, determining who did what file transfer, how long it took, what encryption was done, and whether it was accessed by somebody or whether it was fully done without any retrial is difficult. Reporting is a big problem in IBM tool, according to our customers' complaints. When there is an audit requiring proof that a file has gone in a secure way, most customers have not been able to prove it. Additionally, when there is a large file transfer which has to be done in multiple pieces because of bandwidth restriction, they have not been able to do splitting. The splitting was not possible during file transfer. Many customers have asked if they can split the file and then send it, or pick and choose and send it from a large file. It was also found that it was hogging the bandwidth whenever it was doing file transfer. Ultimately, we ended up selling HP also. The tracking and monitoring features of IBM Sterling File Gateway present some challenges, particularly with tracking, monitoring and compliance issues which RBI is asking for. While it was possible to address these issues, it required an expert to figure it out. When expertise business activity is required, it costs money to customers who are not willing to pay. Regarding future features to make it more competitive, automation email could be one feature I recommend where once the file transfer is done, an email or log should be created for the admin person confirming successful completion. Second is 24/7 support in case of any issues. IBM has never been able to give round-the-clock support whereas customers can ship files even at midnight. Our support is also based on support from IBM. The third improvement area could be automation release notes. IBM has never given us or customers notifications when a new release or patch has come. Whenever a patch is released, an email should go to the buyer or user and to the reseller so they can sync up whether to upgrade the patch or not.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
31%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for ActiveBatch by Redwood has been great; we recently renewed our license, and it was a smooth process without any issues.
What needs improvement with ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
I believe ActiveBatch by Redwood could be improved because the UI could be modernized.
What is your primary use case for ActiveBatch Workload Automation?
My main use case for ActiveBatch by Redwood is file processing. I use ActiveBatch by Redwood for file processing for debit card transactions.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The cost-effectiveness of IBM Sterling File Gateway was a major factor in our decision to use it, in comparison to the higher costs associated with DataPower.
What needs improvement with IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The disadvantages I see in IBM Sterling File Gateway include price and reporting. Reporting is not very easy. If 10 people are putting file transfer using this protocol, determining who did what fi...
What is your primary use case for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
I have been dealing with IBM Sterling File Gateway for some time, and we have sold to about six customers across India with the help of IBM. One large bank which we have sold this solution to is SB...
 

Also Known As

ActiveBatch
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Informatica, D&H, ACES, PrimeSource, Sub-Zero Group, SThree, Lamar Advertising, Subway, Xcel Energy, Ignite Technologies, Whataburger, Jyske Bank, Omaha Children's Hospital
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ActiveBatch by Redwood vs. IBM Sterling File Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.