Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer vs IBM Sterling File Gateway comparison

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer vs. IBM Sterling File Gateway

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File ...

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Sterling File Gateway

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

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 Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer is 3.8%, down from 4.1% 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
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Sterling File Gateway	7.4%
Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer	3.8%
Other	88.8%

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Featured Reviews

Manikanth Reddykistammagari

Senior System Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Centralized monitoring has improved secure file transfers and supports proactive operations

Centralized monitoring and alerting make it easier and quicker to identify failed or delayed transfers. Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer has secure protocol support like SFTP, FTPS, and HTTPS, which allow safe data exchange with different partners. These features have positively impacted the organization by improving transfer reliability, strengthening security and compliance, reducing manual effort, and enabling faster issue resolutions. This helps ensure consistent delivery and better partner satisfaction. The automation and scheduling capability is especially valuable as it allows us to standardize recurring transfers, reduce manual interventions, and minimize errors. I also appreciate the retry and recovery mechanism, which helps ensure files are delivered when there are temporary network or partner-side issues. Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer's scalability and centralized management allow us to manage multiple partners and high volume from a single platform while maintaining strong security and visibility. Overall, the feature set helps us keep transfers reliable, secure, and easy to support in a production environment.

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Devarshi Buch

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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It makes a logical link between the inbound/outbound transfer, and makes it clearly visible. This is a very important feature for managing transfer with different environments, and it's very helpful in case of troubleshooting."

"We have definitely seen a return on investment with Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer, as we have saved 20 to 30 hours per week of operational efficiency and issue resolution is 30 to 40% faster, reducing downtime and failed transfers."

"Axway consolidated all of our communications into one platform, simplifying network and port management. Now, all we have to do is open one port to this application, and we can remove all the firewall rules on that port. It's much more straightforward to manage from a security perspective. We used to rely on an archaic FTP solution, but Axway features SFTP, so it was an improvement security-wise."

"The product is simple for encrypting data transfer of all the assets in our system."

"It provides a good amount of storage capacity for a reasonable price and has a good range of connectors."

"The product's initial setup phase is pretty straightforward."

"It’s very flexible."

"AMPLIFY has all the essential features for managing file transfer."

More Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer pros

"I have found almost all the features valuable."

"In IBM Sterling File Gateway, automation primarily involves schedulers, which significantly transfer daily generated claim files to the end user. We ensure that the directory and files are up to date, particularly those placed in specific directories by the source. Processing can stop if someonechanges the directory without updating it in the SFG partner profile. On the destination side, after setting up a partner file, we provide the end user with an MFT link, user ID, password, and a guide on uploading, downloading, and viewing files. Initially, we set up a primary password for them, and they can later change it to a preferred one for viewing their files. This process ensures smooth file handling, but miscommunication regarding directory changes can lead to issues."

"It offers easy utilization of resources for smooth transfers."

"It is a very flexible platform, and this flexibility is the best part of it."

"The solution's most valuable features include the partner management capability, which centralizes all configurations and connections."

"What I like best is that the tool is very secure and reliable. We can send huge files, even up to hundreds of GB. The automation depends on the source - it can be through automated processes, manual transfers, shell scripting, or file scripting. Partners can schedule batches according to their needs."

"I like its ability to communicate in B2B scenarios."

"It's highly configurable, there is no need for standalone scripting."

More IBM Sterling File Gateway pros

Cons

"It is complicated to manage multi-operations, particularly in handling file name changes within file transcripts."

"Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer is a strong platform, but there are a few areas that could improve the experience."

"Improvement in Data Encoding would be very appreciated (I'm thinking of ASCII-EBCDIC, ASCII-ASCII, etc.)."

"The tool can try to make it a little bit more flexible so that we can easily invoke the APIs, and in such a way, it can be made a little bit better."

"Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer can be improved with more logging or easier onboarding."

"One area of improvement is troubleshooting. When a transfer fails, they provide little information about the login, which makes troubleshooting difficult. Also, file transfer scheduling is primitive. By that, I mean you can't define a complex schedule, like scheduling a job to run at particular hours multiple times in a day."

"Their monitoring is not up to the mark and needs improvement."

"The areas in need of improvement are the monitoring and the cut-off management, when needed. Today you have at least two solutions: Buy the other Axway suite, Sentinel, or integrate it into your monitoring system."

More Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer cons

"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."

"The product could be improved by offering native API capabilities and making the solution more user-friendly for larger, multi-node implementations."

"Whenever we enabled additional logging for the communication channel, the system used to have hiccups."

"IBM Sterling File Gateway depends on a database, which can be a drawback compared to platforms where system resources are entirely controlled internally."

"We need REST APIs or other tools to create that listening producer."

"We have issues with the stability of this solution, like server-down issues."

"The number of failed files number increases with high workflow so that needs improvement."

"Too many features; UI is not good."

More IBM Sterling File Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The platform's price aligns with the market."

"Pricing and licensing is related to the protocols you choose to support."

"It is quite expensive, and because of that, we get good service from them in return for the price paid."

"AMPLIFY's license is a one-time investment."

"I do know that it's generally considered expensive, but it's also widely used across corporate organizations due to its robust protocol communication, secure file transfer capabilities, and integration features. Although there are other tools on the market, IBM Sterling File Gateway stands out for its unique options and cloud compatibility, which offers future benefits, particularly in avoiding data storage issues."

"It's reasonably priced at $800,000."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable."

"There are two types of customer licenses, an annual preview license, and an ELA-based license. I have found the solution is priced well. However, they need to review the pricing model because if you look at any other competitors, such as GlobalSCAPE, they do pricing based on the components and what you select. With this solution you have a monolithic application which you need to buy, there is no component level price discount."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

32%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?

The product is simple for encrypting data transfer of all the assets in our system.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was good; I would say it is a little pricey, but the value for money is always there. They bill us for the number of files we transfer instead ...

What needs improvement with Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer?

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer can be improved with more logging or easier onboarding. I give it a nine out of ten because there are a few features which are missing, perhaps including easier ...

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?

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...

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Compared 14% of the time

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Product Reports

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Download Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer product report

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer report

IBM Sterling File Gateway

Download IBM Sterling File Gateway product report

Also Known As

SecureTransport, Axway SecureTransport, AMPLIFY MFT

No data available

Overview

As a multi-protocol MFT gateway, Axway SecureTransport provides the flexibility you need to support virtually any MFT use case. Secure, manage, and track file flows among people and applications inside your enterprise, and beyond your firewall to your user communities, mobile devices, and the cloud. Perform high-volume automated file transfers between systems, sites, lines of business and external partners, to user-driven communications and mobile, folder- and portal-based file sharing.

Axway

Securely manage transfer files with authentication, encryption and audit trails while you retain administrative control of data using a library of templates.

Sterling File Gateway can help you increase secure and dependable file transfer with your trading partners. It consolidates disparate centers of file transfer activity and facilitates the security-rich exchange of file-based data over the Internet. It helps companies avoid the risk and operational issues that can result from using loosely controlled file-transfer servers.

IBM

Sample Customers

BNP Paribas Securities Services, Bollor_, E.ON AG Group, BMW Group, IdenTrust, Gassco, International Post Corporation, SNCF, DB Schenker Logistics, Logius, CSCA, La Poste

Information Not Available

Axway AMPLIFY Managed File Transfer vs. IBM Sterling File Gateway