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Flux 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Flux
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
32nd
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Workload Automation (32nd)
IBM Sterling File Gateway
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
3rd
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 March 2026, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of Flux is 1.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Sterling File Gateway is 6.9%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Sterling File Gateway6.9%
Flux1.1%
Other92.0%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

it_user4080 - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Lightweight and extensible with great support staff
* Lightweight * Uses java standards * Can run in j2se or j2ee environments * Can run as embedded or standalone * Works with multiple db or in-memory * Great support staff * Extensible * Cluster(able) * Can integrate and be a major player in any SOA environmentFlux has made excellent design choices the benefits of which can be passed down to customers in terms of price and capability. I don't see any IT vendor rival this.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Flux has made excellent design choices the benefits of which can be passed down to customers in terms of price and capability."
"Excellent customer support"
"In the past, it seems the whole industry adopted this solution because it was the leader in the field."
"The biggest advantage of the tool is that it acts as a centralized solution for all the different protocols."
"The solution's most valuable features include the partner management capability, which centralizes all configurations and connections."
"The most valuable aspect is that it has good functionality."
"It is a very flexible platform, and this flexibility is the best part of it."
"Very high functionality with the ability to plug in your own code."
"Scalability is fine."
"It also has good error-handling methods."
 

Cons

"It would be nice to have more file transform capabilities for transforming xml and csv documents."
"Need a better way to track a particular work item through multiple, independent workflows."
"The product itself wasn't very easy to comprehend. I required a lot of customization that didn’t meet my needs."
"Whenever we enabled additional logging for the communication channel, the system used to have hiccups."
"IBM is advising not to use the IT translate anymore but this is going to be an extra cost to the customer to use the alternative."
"I faced issues during stress testing."
"The admin console needs some work."
"The solution should provide content or videos explaining to freshers how to configure it and what every field means."
"We have issues with the stability of this solution, like server-down issues."
"The areas that need improvement are user management, user interface, and the segregation of users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"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."
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885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MetLife DHL Express The Clearing House Payments Company ADP Bank of New York Mellon Conway, Inc Carnegie Mellon University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Flux vs. IBM Sterling File Gateway and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.