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IBM Sterling File Gateway vs VisualCron 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

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
VisualCron
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
20th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Workload Automation (25th), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of IBM Sterling File Gateway is 5.6%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VisualCron is 2.3%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Sterling File Gateway5.6%
VisualCron2.3%
Other92.1%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Sourav-Dutta - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead - Database Administrator at SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS LLC
It's user-friendly, and I didn't need long to understand the process
We use VisualCron for all our automation needs, like connecting to FileZilla, calling APIs, generating PGP keys, creating encryption files with the PGP key login to Azure, etc. It can automatically log in to SQL Server and execute SQL script jobs in bulk. We had 2,000-3,000 users at my previous…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable aspect is that it has good functionality."
"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's a very good, stable, and organized tool, as it is from IBM."
"The functionality of this solution is very high and it has many features, and one feature which is good is that you are able to plug in your own code."
"IBM Sterling File Gateway is user-friendly, allowing us to easily monitor and track file data."
"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."
"The technical support is very responsive and as soon as you raise a ticket you are connected to someone that is able to help you at all levels, whether it is at the product level or any technical level."
"In the past, it seems the whole industry adopted this solution because it was the leader in the field."
"We don't have to do any coding. We just plug and play and it works."
"It helped us reduce manual steps."
"VisualCron makes everything clearer and easier to maintain."
"VisualCron is a very powerful program to automate different steps in your business processes. We use it to automate replacing files and inform departments about the replacement."
"It has improved our organization with more automation within the business departments and less administration and development in the IT department. Usually, as the IT department, we are the bottleneck for many requirements within the business. With this tool, the business departments are able to perform many task themselves."
"The most valuable feature of VisualCron is its ability to schedule interactive jobs so that you can have interdependencies within the job and interdependencies of a job on another job, and so on."
"VisualCron is a handy tool that we (the IT department) provide for the business departments to obtain easy access when automating and scheduling."
"The tool has reduced our operational costs by 40%."
 

Cons

"We need REST APIs or other tools to create that listening producer."
"The product itself wasn't very easy to comprehend. I required a lot of customization that didn’t meet my needs."
"The product is expensive."
"Based on my experience, there's some room for improvement. We're currently using version 6.1.1, which has a limitation where files are purged after seven days. We have to restart the purge count manually through our standard procedure. This issue should be resolved in the latest version."
"The API capabilities could be expanded to make integration more versatile."
"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."
"Whenever we enabled additional logging for the communication channel, the system used to have hiccups."
"The number of failed files number increases with high workflow so that needs improvement."
"I would like for VisualCron to expand audit log to show who changed job variables that are initialized per job run."
"Our suggestion to make it better and more manageable in terms of GDPR: Implement it in a very partnership way."
"VisualCron seems to operate like an efficient machine when it comes to improvements and enhancements and new features. I always appreciate the quick response I get when bringing up an issue or coming up with suggestions. I've mentioned before that it would be great to see a move away from SQLCE and XML configuration files."
"Some preferences and permissions are not quite self-explanatory, but those are rather advanced features."
"VisualCron is software, and you will experience performance degradation when you scale up. VisualCron takes too much memory or CPU power. We have to increase the hardware resources of a specific server or system."
"There are some conditions in the mail trigger, but you can only use them as an "AND" condition, not as an "OR" condition."
"An area for improvement in VisualCron is its cluttered interface."
"VisualCron's command console is a little bit difficult to understand and needs to improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"ROI is one month."
"VisualCron is correctly priced because it wasn't very cheap, and it wasn't overly expensive, so the price for it was set correctly. When my previous company bought VisualCron, it was €800 per server per year. On a scale of one to five, I would rate the pricing for VisualCron a five because it was just right. The tool was affordable, and it has one of the most competitive pricing in the market."
"We are fine with a rather cheap setup. Licensing with VisualCron is fair. You have a simple one-year licence in different sizes. There isn't a licensing jungle with hundreds of options and opt-ins."
"The pricing is extremely fair, and because of that I recommend purchasing multiple instances to split out the processing load across multiple application servers."
"ROI is 95 percent."
"The price is a bit high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Computer Software Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
7 Eleven, ABB Sécheron SA, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Amazon Europe Core, Apple, Assa Abloy, Aston Martin, Banco Santander, BMW (Australia)
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Sterling File Gateway vs. VisualCron and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.