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GoAnywhere MFT vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 14, 2025

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

GoAnywhere MFT
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sterling Commerce Connect:D...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of GoAnywhere MFT is 10.8%, up from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is 6.9%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
GoAnywhere MFT10.8%
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct6.9%
Other82.3%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

Rohan Suryawanshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation simplifies file transfer and builds confidence in security
I appreciate the features of GoAnywhere MFT such as advanced workflows to automate all the transfer and reduce manual effort. The logs and reporting are very helpful for checking all the compliances. The encryption is quite good. The main feature which is very useful is connectors to connect it with cloud services such as AWS, Azure, GCP. The automation in GoAnywhere MFT really helps us because it reduced the manual work significantly. We can transfer hundreds of files with zero manual interventions. The audit trails also help during the compliance audits. It has given stakeholders more confidence in the security of file transfer. It also helped developers to securely transfer the files. Overall, the impact was very good and positive in our business and personal improvements.
Caio Nascimento - PeerSpot reviewer
Transform encrypted files with enhanced flexibility and very robust
The package that IBM delivers does not come with many premade tools or templates. This means we have to create a lot of things by ourselves, which requires more work. We have a team of four to five people just to develop map-based programs. Additionally, the initial setup could be simpler and better.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If it's dealing with SFTP or any kind of secure transfer, we don't hear about it. It's good. Everything works."
"It has all the things needed to build robust projects, giving you different resources, SFTP, and all the different things you might need to manipulate files."
"If I have a job that I need to run on the system and I want the data transferred, I can use GoAnywhere and schedule it on a daily basis, a weekly basis, or whatever, and it does the job for me to transfer the files over to the other systems, or back and forth."
"Whenever a customer has to create a case, they create a case directly through our support portal."
"Handling file transfers is efficient and accurate, which enhances our business processes by minimizing human error and improving accuracy, ultimately reducing costs."
"We like that GoAnywhere helps to centralize the exchange of data among our systems, employees, and customers."
"I like the versatility GoAnywhere provides, allowing transfers through HTTPS and different protocols. It can also transfer through a server and a client."
"The most valuable feature is the Advanced Workflows."
"The Security Plus feature of this solution is excellent, and allows you to send encrypted files very securely to remote destinations."
"The product has been very stable."
"Security is the most valuable feature of this product."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"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."
"Offers secure file transfers with a fast and efficient protocol for very large files."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
 

Cons

"We can improve GoAnywhere MFT's API documentation and automation logs, which will make it more user-friendly and help people comprehend it much more effectively, reducing friction."
"In terms of scalability, I would rate it around five, as it needs further scaling. The interface built should be more stable, as performance varies across different browsers and deployed versions."
"Sometimes we use GoFast in GoAnywhere MFT because there are many failures or server issues."
"I want to be able to use GoAnywhere to create customizable reports that I can share with the MSP containing any information related to file transfers."
"When a monitor invokes a project to accomplish something, that gets logged as a job. I've had a little difficulty figuring out where to look to see the monitor's activities itself, to see if the monitor is having a problem. For instance, if an account on a secure FTP server has expired, the monitor that uses that account doesn't announce to us that it's having a problem. I want to work with them on this to get it fixed."
"What I can suggest right now about GoAnywhere MFT is the integration of AI for chat support, as I am still trying to find my way around the app."
"The pricing is not favorable sometimes when we use it for a few people. Even if we purchase additional licenses, no discount is given."
"The limitation with GoAnywhere MFT is that it primarily offers an upload option to SharePoint without allowing flexibility in terms of selecting and mapping SharePoint fields."
"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."
"The resources required for this tool are costly and not easily available in the market."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct could improve by adding some of the functionality that some other vendors have. For example, GoAnywhere has call agents, which are small clients that can be installed on the endpoints and can be handled by the central point on the server. If I want to do this with the IBM solution, I have to sell a lot of account addresses. The price could be unprofitable for the customer. There is some small functionality that could be implemented and could be easily done to improve this solution."
"The user interface could be more user-friendly."
"Sometimes we face issues and can't figure out the cause of failures."
"The initial setup could be simpler and better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For what we pay to GoAnywhere every year, we are getting a fantastic deal. From a dollar perspective, it provides very good value."
"Compared to other tools it's less expensive."
"Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT carries a higher price tag than other MFT solutions."
"I find it to be very fair. It is very good."
"Its pricing is fair. It is not the most expensive, and it is not the cheapest. For what we get in our environment, the pricing model works pretty well."
"It is moderately priced. If I compare it with other products that we have been using, its price is moderate. There are approximately 30% to 40% savings."
"The pricing for GoAnywhere MFT seems reasonable when compared to other similar services, especially cloud services. Azure is significantly more expensive."
"The cost of GoAnywhere versus the value it brings to our data transfer operations is reasonable... The cost is relatively expensive but, back to the car analogy, that's to be expected with a Ferrari."
"The solution's licensing cost is too high."
"Annual licensing fee."
"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
35%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Media Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise37
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?
GoDrive eliminates the need to use the exchange server for file sharing.
What needs improvement with Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?
We keep asking them to implement a feature for our upcoming project, which would benefit all other companies using the product. One area for improvement in GoAnywhere MFT is that they don't have a ...
What needs improvement with Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
Based on experience, the one area IBM can improve for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is the support mechanism. While support is available 24/7 whenever required, the solution time during American...
What is your primary use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
The majority use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is for file transfer, specifically secure file transfer.
 

Also Known As

HelpSystems GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer,
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

McKesson City of Modesto, California Kwik Trip Northwestern University Charter Communications
HZMO, Bank of Communications
Find out what your peers are saying about GoAnywhere MFT vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.